An era in Bridge City came to an end on Friday. Longtime City Manager Jerry Jones (right) had a retirement reception in his honor at the city hall to say thank you and good luck for him in the future.
Jones has worked in municipal government for 51 years. He served the last 21 years first as the public works director and then as the city manager in Bridge City.
The reception for Jones was attended by current and past Bridge City employees, city council members, former Bridge City mayor and current County Commissioner Kirk Roccaforte, and County Judge John Gothia.
Lanie Brown the senior regional director with U.S. Congressman Brian Babin’s local office expressed how appreciated the efforts of Jones have been. Brown presented Jones an American flag that flew over the United States capital and a certificate to go with it.
Retirement starts now for Jones, but he leaves Bridge City in excellent shape financially. “I think probably the biggest thing that I remember is Hurricane Ike and rebuilding from it. We’re proud of the splash pad to have a place for the kids to play. We’ve done a lot of improvements in different areas, we’re drilling two new water wells that are already paid for, so we’ve got a long list that I could tell you about a hundred things, but those are the high points,” Jones replied.
The search for Jones’ replacement began in December by the City Council in Bridge City. Twelve original applicants were reduced to a few candidates from whom a finalists has been identified.
Bridge City Mayor David Rutledge indicated the prospective replacement is currently an assistant city manager in northern Texas. “We think he’ll be a good fit for the people, he’s very personable, we’ve met with him and interviewed him, and I think he’ll carry on in the same tradition as Jerry being very even handed and very protective for the city and for the employees,” Rutledge stated.
The new city manager is expected to be named by February 1. The City Council in Bridge City does have a normally scheduled meeting on Tuesday, February 1, at 6:00 PM in the city hall on Rachal Avenue.
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