City Administrator Fired; Ken Murphy Named Acting Administrator

     It was business as usual at the October 28th Board of Aldermen meeting, save for the absence of City Administrator Ryan Hunt, who has worked with the City since 2009, becoming City Administrator in 2015.
     Hunt requested leave beginning September 29th, which the Board of Aldermen granted during an October 3rd closed session. The Board voted to fire Hunt last Thursday, October 24th in a closed special meeting. Hunt’s last day was Friday, October 25th. Mayor Todd declined to comment further, stating it was a personnel matter. Hunt did not respond to request for comment.
     “I appreciate his service to the City. He helped us through the big 1-70 project and served the City for over 10 years,” Mayor Mike Todd said. “The good thing is, with the staff we have, we have a number of qualified folks who could step into that position. We’re in good shape.” Todd mentioned the search for a replacement would likely not begin until after the first of the year.
     Announced briefly during staff introductions at the Community Campus meeting on Tuesday, October 29th at Sni-A-Bar Elementary, Ken Murphy, former Deputy Administrator, was introduced as Acting City Administrator.
     Murphy echoed Mayor Todd’s confidence that the absence of Hunt would not affect projects like the proposed Community Campus.
     “Our internal lead on the project has been Theresa Osenbaugh (Assistant City Administrator). She and I have been the main contacts working with the design team, so we haven’t had to make any detours along the way,” Murphy said.
     The October 28th Board of Aldermen meeting included a vote approving an ordinance to call an election in the City on April 7, 2020. The City also extended the current agreement for one year with the Oak Grove Animal Hospital to provide boarding and animal care services for animals taken into custody by the Grain Valley Animal Control Officer.