Joshua Eggleston started his new position as Wayland city manager on Monday, Feb. 5, and took his seat at the city council meeting.
Eggleston said he was looking forward to working with the city and to be given the opportunity to move closer to his hometown of Sparta where his family lives. He also introduced his wife Alison, who was in attendance.
Eggleston moved from Wisconsin where he served as city administrator, clerk and treasurer for the City of Durand since 2013. In Durand, he led a staff of 13 full-time and eight part-time employees plus a larger number of paid-on-call firefighters. He also oversaw a police department similar in size to Wayland’s.
His resume also includes being the village administrator for the Village of Thornville and the Village of Monroeville, both in Ohio. He also served as a rural development specialist with the Ohio Rural Community Assistance program at the WSOS Community Action Agency in Fremont, Ohio.
Eggleston was one of three finalists selected for interviews out of 27 applicants.
Others interviewed were Michael Mitchell, the village manager of Colon and Jeff Thornton, the former city manager of Negaunee.
With Eggleston officially taking the seat of Tim McLean, who resigned Aug. 25, 2017, it was also the last day for interim city manager Larry Nielsen who stepped in to help the city during the transition and to search for a new manager.
Nielsen was thanked for coming out of retirement as Paw Paw city manager to help the city stay on track in the interim.
Lisa Banas said Nielsen dedicated countless hours to help the city and every council member learned something from him.
“His involvement helped with an in-depth recruitment to get good candidates,” she said. “We’re sorry to see him go but he left us in good hands.”
Nielsen said each council member brings a unique set of skills to the table and when blended together, every citizen should be proud they are doing their best to move the city forward.
“The city is in good shape and the taxpayers are in good shape as well,” he said.
Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.
.