Oktibbeha County Road Manager Victor Collins will conclude a 30-year career with the county when he retires at the end of the month.
Supervisors accepted Collins’ notice of retirement Monday and voted to advertise the upcoming job vacancy. Those actions came after the board spent more than two hours in executive session with Collins and numerous road workers.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said the board could identify finalists for the position and hire someone by May.
Supervisors could also name an interim road manager in the coming weeks, but Trainer said that action might not be necessary as County Administrator Emily Garrard will handle many of the position’s administrative duties.
Collins joined Oktibbeha County’s road crews as an equipment operator in 1987. He has served as its road manager for the last six years. It was time to retire, he said, after “years of service and to follow some other things … on a personal level.”
“And to rest,” he added.
Supervisors applauded Collins’ dedication to improving Oktibbeha County, and Trainer said the board “will never find another Victor.”
“I’m hopeful we can find someone that can grow into the role, but he’s just not easily replaced,” Trainer said. “He will be greatly missed, and I wish him well in the future. Everything has a beginning and an end, and it’s a bittersweet moment right now since he’s been such a great asset.”
Few details about the two-hour, closed-door session with road workers emerged after the meeting, but Trainer said the board and employees “exchanged ideas” in regard to the department and the upcoming personnel change.
“Those guys will have to prepare themselves for a changing of the guard. You’re not going to have (Collins) there, and people are going to have to embrace the change and be part of the solution moving forward,” he said. “We need to have more meetings with them, have more communication with our personnel. There sometimes seems to be a level of insecurity as it relates to the board and county employees, and we need to continue to address that.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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