Trending
ELKINS -- Operations Manager Michael Kesecker has resigned from the City of Elkins, with his last day scheduled for this Friday.
During the City Personnel Committee’s meeting Monday afternoon, it was announced that Kesecker had submitted his resignation. The matter had been listed on the committee’s agenda for Oct. 5 and Fifth Ward Elkins City Council member Cody Thompson, who leads the committee, stated that the agenda item was brought forth by City’s Human Resource Generalist Sarah Campbell.
Campbell confirmed Kesecker’s resignation with the committee and stated that his last day would be on Friday, Oct. 9. Kesecker, who was present for most of Monday’s meeting, also confirmed this, stating he turned in his resignation to Campbell and City Attorney Geraldine Roberts.
No reason was given during the meeting for Keseker’s decision to resign, and no word was spoken about whether he is going to another position elsewhere.
Roberts, who attended the meeting via video call, told the committee that, “in light” of what she and Campbell knew, they could enter an executive session to discuss who should be the interim Operations Manager. Thompson said they could go into a “very brief” one, and Second Ward Council member and Personnel Committee member Lisa Severino made a motion to enter an executive session.
The Personnel Committee entered executive session around 2:03 p.m. At 2:42 p.m., Kesecker was seen leaving the building before the executive session ended. Later in the meeting, Thompson announced that Kesecker had to leave to go to Elkins City Hall for “something that was a pressing issue.”
The Inter-Mountain reached out to Kesecker for comment on his resignation, but had not heard back as of press time. Kesecker joined the City of Elkins as Operations Manager in 2023.
The committee returned from executive session around 2:56 p.m. with no action taken. First Ward Council member and Personnel Committee member Cody Kerns made a motion to present to Elkins City Council “a new job description for the Operations Manager.” This would include a title change to “Director of Operations” with a salary range of $72k to $76k. This motion was passed unanimously by the three committee members.
Kerns then made a motion to recommend to City Council that current Operations Assistant Melody Himes should be appointed as interim Operations Manager effective Oct. 10 until a “Director of Operations” was hired. This motion was also passed unanimously by the three committee members. The meeting was adjourned around 3:01 p.m.
After the meeting, Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco, who had also been in attendance, told The Inter-Mountain the City wished Kesecker well.
“We thank him for his service to the City of Elkins,” Marco told The Inter-Mountain. “He served as the Operations Manager during some very troubling times, with the closure of City Hall, with some flooding events we’ve had throughout the city. He’s definitely taken us to another level and we wish him well going forward.”
Elkins City Hall has been closed for restoration and recovery work since Aug. 31, 2024, after a sewage overflow incident flooded the building's basement and first floor, including the Elkins Police Department.
The Elkins Police Department returned to City Hall this June, while the Treasurer’s Department and the Municipal Court began operating within City Hall again on Monday morning.
During Elkins City Council’s Sept. 17 meeting, Kesecker announced a Grand Re-opening Ceremony and a ribbon cutting would take place on Oct. 15 to celebrate the return to Elkins City Hall. Asked Monday whether, in light of Keseker’s last day being Friday, the ceremony would still take place next week, city officials said it was considered “tentative” whether or not the ceremony would still be on Oct. 15.
The Personnel Committee will meet again on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. When asked by Thompson if the committee could meet in City Hall by then, Himes stated that they should be able to do so.