At the latest meeting of the Willow Park City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 8, City Manager Bryan Grimes announced several staff transitions and appointments, along with the retirement of two city employees.
Chief Financial Officer/Director of Human Resources Candy Jock (nee Scott) is retiring at the end of the year after a quarter century of working for the city.
“That’s the longest time ever serving the city by a big margin,” Grimes said.
Also, Assistant City Manager Bill Funderburk is retiring at the end of January. He has been with the city since 2021 and was formerly the city manager in Aledo.
“He’s been my best friend in the building,” Grimes said.
Staff promotions and appointments include:
Toni Fisher is the new assistant city manager in charge of development and parks. She was formerly development director.
Michelle Guelker is now assistant city manager over public works, operations and finance and communications. She was formerly public works director and is one of only 63 people in the state with a Class A water/wastewater operator license.
Chase McBride, is the new public works director after having been an assistant in the department.
Amanda Saylor is the new finance director.
Mandy McCarley has been hired as the city’s new director of parks and recreation. She had been the athletic secretary for the Aledo School District for years.
Chelsea Kirkland is the new public works administrative assistant.
“I think we have a lot of great people worthy of promotions. I called one of them at 8:15 last night and he answered his phone,” Willow Park Mayor Doyle Moss said.
Place 2 Council Member Chawn Gilliland noted, “Congratulations to all the new positions. I think we did well.”
All of the changes became effective Oct. 1.
The council named "The Community News" as its Paper of Record. This continues a long-standing agreement between the newspaper and the city.
The agreement means the city will publish its legal notices in the paper for the next fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2025, when FY 26 will begin and another vote will be held.
“Our residents and interested parties will know where to find our publications,” Grimes said.
The "Community News" is published each Friday and can be found online daily at www.community-news.com.
With October being National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the council recognized Freedom House and the work the organization does to help victims of abuse.
The proclamation, read by Moss, states "The problems of domestic violence are not confined to any group or groups of people, but cut across all economic, racial, and societal barriers."
It also notes that in Parker County since 1995, Freedom House, their staff, volunteers, and board members directly confront this local crisis with help from all law enforcement agencies, healthcare providers, the clergy, and other concerned citizens who are working together to aid in the effort to end domestic violence in the community.
Moss urged all citizens to actively participate in the scheduled activities and
programs to work toward eradicating domestic violence, improving victim safety, and holding perpetrators of domestic abuse accountable for their actions against individual victims, and society as a whole.
Council also approved the following holiday schedule for fiscal year 2024-25:
Monday, Nov. 11 - Veteran’s Day.
Thursday, Nov. 29 - Thanksgiving.
Friday, Nov. 30 - day after Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve.
Wednesday, Dec. 25 - Christmas.
Tuesday, Dec. 31 - New Year’s Eve.
Wednesday, Jan. 1 - New Year’s Day.
Monday, Jan. 20 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Monday, Feb. 17 - President’s Day.
Friday, April 18 - Good Friday.
Monday, May 2 - Memorial Day.
Thursday, June 19 - Juneteenth.
Friday, July 4 - Independence Day.
Monday, Sept. 1 - Labor Day.
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