Editor

The morning after they dismissed their county manager, two Yadkin commissioners say they are confident that the county will proceed over the next few months with several major capital improvement projects.

Speaking to a group of county department heads, Commissioners Kim Phillips and Joel Cornelius said they are committed to the construction of a new $7 million jail, the expansion of Jonesville's water-treatment plant, the creation of a $25 million, 135-acre reservoir and shoring up a financially-troubled local hospital.

Phillips said that Randy Darden, the county's engineer, will serve as an interim manager two days a week while they search for Eric Williams' replacement.

"He has done a good job for the county and he is a good person," Phillips said of Williams. "But we want to go in a different direction at this time."

Darden, Phillips said, is "already spending a lot of time in Yadkin County and will be spending more."

Phillips and Cornelius said they will begin advertising for a new county manager immediately — someone who doesn't necessarily have a background in local government, they said.

"We're not limiting ourselves to someone in county government," Phillips said. "We need a person in business management with people skills. They can learn county government. I would like us to look outside the box . . . We need someone with strong leadership skills to carry the county forward."

Williams' abrupt departure comes at a critical time for county commissioners who are in the midst of building two new $25 million middle schools; hoping to secure up to $10 million in financing for the South Deep Creek reservoir; investing between $500,000 and $1 million in the expansion of the Jonesville water-treatment plant to extend water lines to the U.S. 421/I-77 corridor; hoping to begin construction this fall on a new $7 million county jail; and discussing the relocation of the county health department to Hoots Memorial Hospital to free up office space and provide the hospital with more patients and revenue.

Cornelius said that despite Monday night's brief closed session and the board's announcement 15 minutes into the meeting of Williams' termination, commissioners did their homework before deciding to seek a new manager.

"This was not something that was done hastily," Cornelius said, speaking to department heads. "We have a great deal of confidence in you guys. I now the rumor mill is running rampant this morning. Just have your employees focus on their jobs."

Williams, who was hired as interim county manager in August 2006, was named county manager in April 2007. Before he came to Yadkin, he served as the city manager of Henderson for 23 years before he was fired by the city council in December 2005.

In May, the Henderson City Council agreed to settle a potential lawsuit with Williams for $30,000, according to The Henderson Daily Dispatch. The settlement, City Attorney Billy Strickland said, represented the fulfillment of the city's contractual obligations of Williams' employment.

Williams' contract with Yadkin County expired July 1.