Lake City’s Interim City Manager Says ‘No Mas’ Wants Out – Asks Council to Find New Interim
Posted March 29, 2022 02:15 am
Photo: Shashank Sahay via Unsplash | Columbia
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LAKE CITY, FL –
On Sunday afternoon, March 27, Interim City
Manager Paul Dyal told the City Council he wants
'out.'
In an undated letter to the Mayor and Council Members, Mr. Dyal told the Council that he would “like to step down as the City's Interim Manager," adding that he would like "to go back" to his previous position as Executive Director of Utilities."
On Monday morning at 11:03 am, City Clerk
Audrey Sikes sent out a revised agenda for
Wednesday morning, adding Mr. Dyal's request.
For over a year, Lake City has been in turmoil and run like a Wild West show.
Mr. Dyal's 12th hour appointments of the City Police and Fire Chiefs left most folks shaking their heads. See: New Police Chief, New Fire Chief: How Did That Happen?
Mr. Dyal’s recent name-calling blow-up at the City-County Joint Utility Committee was not a feather in Mr. Dyal's cap nor the City's.
Both the City’s and County’s frustration represented years of mismanagement on both sides of the street.
Over time, the City-County made up their own reality to suit their own circumstances, something never questioned by the County’s mainstream media, the Lake City Reporter, which would fan the fires of discord for headlines.
Neither the City nor the County believes in written strategic plans, five-year plans, and generally – any plans.
Each has been flying by the seat of its pants since this reporter began covering Columbia County in 2006.
Mr. Dyal said in his letter to the City Council that his actions "put an undue negative light" on the community and the City Council.
Throughout Florida, Lake City is known as a train wreck in progress, and for those in the know, Columbia County's reputation is not exactly sterling.
While Mr. Dyal’s recent remarks and actions are questionable to some, none of the Council complained.
The City has no one to stay its rocky course until it finds a city manager with a new skill set to put the City back together and on course.
On Wednesday, the City Council will decide what to do about Mr. Dyal’s request and what to do with headhunter Rene Narloch and her most recent picks for city manager.
Stay tuned; Lake City is at it again.
