Operations Manager Neal Kolb moving to another opportunity
By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The City of Elkhorn Common Council voted unanimously in favor of hiring a replacement for Department of Public Works Operations Manager Neal Kolb when it met Monday night.
Kolb is leaving the position after this week for another opportunity, and said Monday night he was appreciative of the city for his time in Elkhorn.
In a Human Resources Committee meeting prior to Monday’s Council meeting, City Administrator Sam Tapson said the city would cover the absence of a manager in the interim, as it has in the past. Tapson noted the city is at a point in the year where projects coming up are basically routine projects.
“We’re not getting into things where we have construction, because those types of things are being handled by consulting engineers,” he said. “So, I think we can handle the interim, whatever that interim turns out to be.”
In the meantime, the position will be covered by an experienced Department of Public Works employee, with City of Elkhorn Utilities Director John Murphy helping oversee the department.
Tapson said he recommends the city attempts to re-staff the position. He noted the idea of consolidating the department with the utilities department has been brought before aldermen in the past, but he doesn’t feel it’s a wise idea at this time.
“I think you put too much into one basket at that point,” he said. “At some point, I think, it will overtax that primary department. I don’t think it’s fair to DPW, the community or John Murphy to try to just throw all that together. I don’t think that’s a good plan at this point in time.”
Alderman Scott McClory said he remembers previous conversations about combining the departments, and agrees it doesn’t make sense at this point for the city to go that route.
“I think you potentially diminish the effectiveness of the entire operation,” Tapson said. “And that’s not a reflection on any one individual, it’s just a reflection on that it’s just too much.”
Tapson said it would be nice to promote from within the city, though he doesn’t think it’s a good approach at this point. He said he’s spoken with an employee, though the employee is not comfortable with taking on that role yet. However, he said, the employee asked about enrolling in classes to get a better feel for some of the supervisory and management skills the employee felt they may need, something Tapson said the city could certainly work with.
McClory said he’s glad the employee is willing to take on the interim roll, and that Murphy is willing to provide oversight for larger concerns that fall outside the scope of day-to-day business until the city finds a replacement for Kolb.
Aldermen were in agreement at the committee meeting that the city should seek applicants to hire a replacement for Kolb, and passed a motion to bring the topic to the City Council Monday night.
At the Council meeting that night, Myrin commended Kolb for his work at the city before presenting the report and the committee’s recommendation to the full council.
“Congratulations Neal,” Myrin said. “It sounds like a great opportunity for you. We’re going to miss you. You did a great job.”
A motion to seek a replacement for Kolb was approved by the council unanimously.
