Six hopeful candidates stated their cases for the position of director of the sanitation and environmental services during Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
The position was vacated in July when former department head Sharon Boyd resigned.
Joe Reed, Perry Burnell, Jim McReynolds, Emma Gandy, Chanteau Wilson and Charles Tilley each were allotted 20 minutes to make their appeal for the job.
Joe Reed interviewed first and listed his extensive employment background from his time at a Dodge dealership when he was 14 to being a former president of the Clay County Board of Supervisors. Reed said his experience as a supervisor provided him with experience, noting that he had helped establish a new landfill in Clay County during his tenure. Reed also claimed to business savvy, telling the mayor and board that when he owned a Yamaha dealership, he consistently won the national award for the least cost on warranty work.
He promised the board that if selected, he would work tirelessly to do the task at hand saying, “Hours have nothing to do with what it takes to do the job right.”
Burnell informed the aldermen of his years in the sanitation business, first working as a custodian at Kansas State University in 1983 and working his way up to managing a staff of 80 people responsible for cleaning 20 schools in Charleston, S.C.
Burnell and his wife then moved to Mississippi where he took a job with North Mississippi Medical Center, also working in the sanitation field. Most recently, he took a job with FedEx as a package sorter, where he proudly informed the board that he was voted May Employee of the Month.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins asked Burnell a series of 12 questions that he also asked Reed and would ask the remaining four candidates as well. Perkins asked Burnell what knowledge, if any, Burnell had of the city’s sanitation department. Burnell then quickly rattled off a series of facts, including the current number of sanitation and environmental services employees, the fact that the city provides garbage bags to customers and how far the garbage can should be placed from the curb.
When prompted by Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Burnell also informed the board the he was certified in Incident Command Training, saying “I like to respond to need. If I can help, I help.”
McReynolds also stressed his lengthy history in dealing with sanitation and environmental services. McReynolds has worked in the private sector of sanitation for the majority of his career, having worked for Waste Management. A lifelong resident of Starkville, McReynolds said he has enjoyed make his community a better place to live.
He began his career with Waste Management in sales before making a lateral move in operations. He was then promoted to Operations Manager where he managed 50 employees, 30 trucks and seven counties. He also noted that during his time in the private sector, he campaigned for a union.
Ward 3 Alderman Eric Parker asked McReynolds about his thoughts on recycling. McReynolds first broached the topic of making recycling mandatory but then quickly changed his approach, saying “Anything you can do to reduce waste going into that landfill, we’ve got to do that.” He added, “Status quo is not in my vocabulary.”
Currently 1500 households and 100 businesses recycle in Starkville.
Longtime city employee Emma Gandy emphasized her ties to the city, which includes 14 years as a city employee. Gandy first started working for the city in the Electric Department then moved to the clerk’s office six months later. In 2005, she was promoted to administrative assistant to the city clerk and also works in purchasing. Gandy appeared to have an extensive knowledge of the sanitation department, in part because she sees the department’s numbers and receipts in purchasing.
In one of his twelve questions for all applicants, Perkins asked Gandy if she was familiar with a report regarding the sanitation department’s finances that was presented at the last aldermen meeting. Gandy replied that she was familiar with the report and offered the board a suggestion to reduce landfill costs. According to Gandy, the city and the county share the landfill. However, Gandy said the city pays 65 percent of the cost. Gandy said that by her calculations, the city could save $30,000 a year by billing the county for 50 percent, instead of the current 35 percent.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot but for the sanitation department, that’s a lot of money,” Gandy noted.
Wilson, another city employee, currently serves as administrative assistant to the mayor and board of alderman.
Prior to working with the City of Starkville, Wilson worked for Prairie Opportunity where she said she wrote numerous grants as part of the American Reinvestment Recovery Act. She stated she would like to apply for grants for the sanitation department in an effort to receive additional funds. She was quick to add though, that while she is eager to get to work, “If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.”
Wilson noted that both her mother and father worked for the sanitation department in Columbus and by working with the sanitation department in Starkville, she would be carrying on their “legacy.”
Tilley emphasized his communication skills in making his case for the position. Tilley worked with the Head Start program for 17 years as the deputy director and business manager. He then worked in the prison system as a case manager before he said he was promoted to Warden Chief Executive Officer. He has since worked with the Oktibbeha County School District as Transportation and Maintenance Director.
When asked by Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk how he intended to motivate his employees, Tilley responded that he leads by example saying, “I’ve found you do a better job when you want to be a part of something,” Tilly said.
After the interviews the board voted to table the motion until its next regular meeting.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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