By Dan Moffett
An unprecedented year for personnel change in Ocean Ridge is continuing to take shape as town commissioners begin their search for a new town manager and clerk.
At a special May 27 meeting on succession, commissioners laid out their plans for dealing with the retirement of Town Clerk Karen Hancsak, who is planning to move to North Carolina within the next year.
Hancsak’s departure not only opens the clerk’s job but also the finance director position she has filled for decades. Ocean Ridge has been something of an outlier among small South Florida municipalities — most of them have town managers who double as finance directors, while the clerks generally stay out of budget matters.
Town Manager Ken Schenck has told commissioners he does not want to take over the finance duties when Hancsak leaves. A unanimous commission followed the recommendations of Mayor Geoffrey Pugh and Commissioner James Bonfiglio and decided to begin the search for a new town manager who would also handle finance, a move that opens the door for Schenck’s departure.
Schenck, 75, served as Pahokee city manager for 12 years before taking the Ocean Ridge job in 2006 under then-Mayor Ken Kaleel.
Hancsak has been town clerk for 25 years and was deputy clerk before that.
Commissioners are making final changes to advertisements for the manager and clerk positions that will go out later this month. Commissioner Richard Lucibella urged the commission to allow a six-month training period for both positions to ensure a smooth transition.
Pugh said the town manager position should be filled first, so that he or she can have input into the clerk’s hiring and oversee further staff reorganization.
The year of change in Ocean Ridge started in January with the forced resignation of Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi, who was replaced by Lt. Hal Hutchins. Then Town Attorney Ken Spillias told commissioners he will be retiring next March.
In other business, commissioners gave final approval for plans to raze the six-unit building at 5001 Old Ocean Blvd. and replace it with a large duplex that will house two families. The existing building, owned for years by Bob Weisblut, has 10 bedrooms and parking for 12 cars; the new building will have two two-car garages. The dramatic reduction in density and traffic was appealing to the commission.
“This is exactly the kind of change we’ve wanted for the south end,” Pugh said.
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