North Bend City Administrator Jan Willis says goodbye
NORTH BEND, Ore. - North Bend's city administrator bids adieu to the position she's held for nearly a decade, and hello to a retirement full of family and traveling.
People packed into the North Bend City Council Chambers Friday evening to say goodbye to Jan Willis.
She tells KCBY, she's been with the city for 12 years, and in this position for nine and a half, all the while working with pretty much the same city council.
"I feel fortunate that we have been able to work together so well and I feel we got a lot accomplished with the boardwalk and remodeling city hall and some other projects," replies Willis. "We're ready to launch into a street scape project in early 2012, so it's just been a pleasure to work here and I'll miss it. I'll miss it a lot."
But Willis isn't walking away just yet. She'll work with her replacement, Terence O'Connor, and bring him up to speed starting January ninth.
Willis says O'Connor comes to the city with good experience, as he leaves behind his position as city manager of Coquille, to fill Willis' role.
"He's a seasoned manager. We'll share some things particular to North Bend, but he has experience managing staff and departments, in fact, Coquille has many, many similarities in terms of library responsibilities, swimming pool responsibility, fire department, so he shouldn't have any problems," explains Willis.
As for Willis' plans for the future; she wants to spend time with her family and grandchildren, and hopes to spend much of March, April and May at her property in Yuma, Arizona.
People packed into the North Bend City Council Chambers Friday evening to say goodbye to Jan Willis.
She tells KCBY, she's been with the city for 12 years, and in this position for nine and a half, all the while working with pretty much the same city council.
"I feel fortunate that we have been able to work together so well and I feel we got a lot accomplished with the boardwalk and remodeling city hall and some other projects," replies Willis. "We're ready to launch into a street scape project in early 2012, so it's just been a pleasure to work here and I'll miss it. I'll miss it a lot."
But Willis isn't walking away just yet. She'll work with her replacement, Terence O'Connor, and bring him up to speed starting January ninth.
Willis says O'Connor comes to the city with good experience, as he leaves behind his position as city manager of Coquille, to fill Willis' role.
"He's a seasoned manager. We'll share some things particular to North Bend, but he has experience managing staff and departments, in fact, Coquille has many, many similarities in terms of library responsibilities, swimming pool responsibility, fire department, so he shouldn't have any problems," explains Willis.
As for Willis' plans for the future; she wants to spend time with her family and grandchildren, and hopes to spend much of March, April and May at her property in Yuma, Arizona.
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