Search Committee ‘Advisor’ Knew Nothing About It

A long tenured former city manager who was voted by the City Commission Tuesday to serve as one of two expert advisors to the Citizens City Manager Search Committee said Wednesday he knows nothing about the appointment.

Jim Hanson when reached Wednesday in Orange Park said “I don’t know why my name came up. I was never approached by anyone at the city.”

Hanson said his only contact with the City of Fernandina Beach was in February when Fernandina Beach Fire Chief Ty Silcox called him about possibly becoming interim city manager after the termination of City Manager Dale Martin.

“I didn’t have an interest in that position and I haven’t heard from the city since that call,” Hanson said.

Now retired, Hanson is a volunteer advisor for the Florida City/County Management Association.

“Under the rules of the FCCMA I cannot condone an appointment to a city manager search committee. It’s against our rules,” Hanson said. “We are only allowed to serve cities under 10,000 population. I can advise cities on the process, but any review of candidate resumes or the candidates themselves would be inappropriate.”

Vice Mayor David Sturges proposed that Hanson and Richard Sala, both former city managers, be appointed as advisors to the Citizens City Manager Search Committee. His proposal was approved by a 5-0 vote.

Observer efforts to track down Richard Sala have so far been unsuccessful.

City Commissioner Chip Ross said he had already filed a motion of reconsideration for the next city commission meeting to revoke Hanson’s appointment.

“The fact that Mr. Hanson learned of this appointment from a Fernandina Observer reporter resulted in me notifying the city attorney of the motion of reconsideration,” Ross said.

Sturges brought up adding advisors immediately after the Citizens City Manager Search Committee vote of approval was introduced for city commission consideration.

“There are two people we can reach out to locally. One man (Sala) called me directly. Both these people served in ‘Florida’ city manager positions for 35 years to 40 years plus,” Sturges claimed.  “I spoke with staff and somebody else (Hanson) who has 35 years in another local city (we can reach out to).”

Hanson said he doesn’t know Vice Mayor Sturges or any other city commissioner.

“I of course know Dale Martin from activities of the FCCMA and Chief Silcox when he was fire chief at Atlantic Beach.”

Hanson earned about $130,000 annually as Atlantic Beach city manager, a job he held for 14 years.

After his interview with the Fernandina Observer, Hanson called the city and spoke with Silcox and City Clerk Caroline Best. He also watched the video recording of the City Commission meeting.

“I wanted to find out exactly what was going on. I didn’t know anything about being named or appointed to a committee,” he said.

Hanson said when he spoke with Silcox, the fire chief was also in the dark about the city commission’s vote to add advisors to the committee.

“I finally pieced together that it was probably the city attorney who mentioned me at some point since she was part of the original conversation about the interim city manager position,” Hanson said, “But as I said I’ve had no conversations with anyone at the city since then about advising them on the vacant city manager position.”

The Atlantic Beach City Commission voted 3-2 in December 2013 to fire Hanson and city attorney Alan Jensen without cause. Prior to Atlantic Beach, Hanson was Board Manager, Marietta, Ga. Board of Lights and Water (1994-1999), Administrative Assistant (1976-1980)/Assistant City Manager (1981-1982)/ and City Manager (1982-1994) City of LaGrange, Ga.

Hanson became town manager of Orange Park in 2014 and retired from that position in 2017.

Last April, Hanson in his capacity as Senior Advisor for the Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA), appeared before the Lake City council and advised them on the city’s search for their next city manager.

“If a city calls me I can give them advice. I cannot be on a committee in any capacity,” he said. “I would also urge Fernandina Beach to use a search firm to find the next city manager. Identifying qualified candidates requires a depth of expertise local committees do not have.”