2 Charlotte-area town managers resign

Indian Trail and Harrisburg are looking for new town managers.

Indian Trail Town Manager Joe Fivas submitted his letter of resignation to the town council and will leave the post he has held for five years on Nov. 30, the town announced Friday.

Harrisburg Town Manager Mike Rose announced his resignation Friday to pursue a similar position elsewhere in the state. He didn’t say where he’s headed and couldn’t be reached Friday morning.

Rose prefers keeping the name of the town he’s going to private until the town announces his appointment next week, Harrisburg spokeswoman Ann Gibson said. The town Rose is joining is on the N.C. coast, she said.

“I’m leaving Harrisburg with mixed emotions,” Rose said in a statement. “I’m taking a position to be closer to family, but am sorry to leave Harrisburg during this period of growth and opportunity.”

“We’re very sorry to see Mike Rose leave,” Mayor Steve Sciascia said in the statement. “During Mike’s tenure, we’ve established proactive economic development and communications programs and taken town services to a new level. We plan to continue this course with our new hire.”

Applications for the post are at www.harrisburgnc.org.

In Indian Trail, town clerk Kelley Southward has been appointed interim manager and will serve until otherwise directed by the town council, according to a town news release.

Southward arrived recently from Calabash, where she worked for 10 years – first as deputy town clerk and then as town clerk since 2008.

“First of all, I want to thank Joe for his time and service over the almost six years he’s been here,” councilman Gary Savoie said in the release. “Joe has always acted with honesty, integrity and professionalism with everything he did. He worked very long hours to do what’s right and best for this town, and that’s appreciated.”

As part of his contract, Fivas will receive a severance package equal to two months of severance for every year he’s worked, resulting in a 10-month severance package.

The council voted to amend Fivas’ contract this week with his resignation, shrinking the severance package from the 16 months he would have received if terminated before the contract expired in mid-2016, to the 10 months he will receive due to his resignation.

“In respect to Joe’s departure, what you have to understand is that there is heavy turnover in this industry, and at almost six years Joe was our longest-running town manager I’m aware of,” Savoie said.

“Sometimes people know it’s time to move on, and with a distinctive shift in this election, I’m sure Joe looked at it and decided the time was right for both he and the town to move in a new direction,” Savoie said. “I think it was best for the town to make a clean break and start fresh.”

The new council will be sworn in at the council meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 10:55 AM with the headline "2 Charlotte-area town managers resign."