City engineer stepping down as of April 5

Saturday, March 24, 2007
Trying their hands at planting strawberries during the Putnam County Master Gardeners' Show at the fairgrounds Friday were (from left) Ichiro Mozawa, 10, along with his sister Mika, 6, and brother Yuji, 8, all from Greencastle. Assisting them (at right) was Shawntell Light of Greendell Mulch and Mix Garden Center, Mooresville.

Greencastle City Engineer Glen Morrow announced recently that he will resign from his post on April 5 to take a position with a private engineering company.

Morrow was appointed to the position of city engineer in 2000 by Greencastle Mayor Nancy Michael who also recently announced that she will not seek another term in office. Her term is set to expire at the end of the year.

Morrow said he based his decision to resign partly on the fact that Michael is not seeking another term.

"I always said I would do that," Morrow said.

It is too early to tell whether anyone else in Michael's administration will step down before a new mayor takes office in January 2008.

The positions that are normally appointed by the mayor include fire chief, police chief, wastewater and sewer superintendents, street commissioner, city attorney, parks and recreation director, and city planner.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working for Mayor Michael and the city of Greencastle for the past six years," Morrow told the BannerGraphic recently.

He said he plans to continue living in the same area and will commute back and forth to Indianapolis to work at this point.

Looking back on his tenure, Morrow lists his accomplishments as the Franklin Street repaving and storm sewer reconstruction, new city sewer plant, and new mapping for the city's streets, stormwater drains and sidewalks.

Mayor Michael took time on Wednesday to praise Morrow and say that she will miss having him on her staff.

"Glen has been a tremendous asset to my team," Michael said. "He pushed me out of my comfort zone and caused me to see things differently sometimes."

Even though he is resigning from his official capacity as city engineer, Morrow says he hopes to continue acting as a consultant for the city on an as needed basis.

Michael said she will be glad to consider hiring Morrow for future consulting jobs for the city.

In the meantime, she says she will not seek to hire a new city engineer because her term as mayor expires at the end of the year. Presumably this will allow the new mayor to make that choice.

Michael added that she does not think the city will be adversely affected by not having a full-time engineer for the remainder of the year due to the progress that has already been made on the major projects currently being undertaken in the city. She said she does not plan to start any new projects before her term expires.

Morrow said he will try to finish up a few lingering projects in the city before his departure next month. His assistant, Tom Swenson, will continue working for the city.

"I have tried to represent the City of Greencastle well, even serving as the president of the Indiana Association of City Engineers in 2003," Morrow said.

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