By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Even as the City of Burlington Common Council worked to finalize a contract to promote Lt. Mark Anderson to police chief Tuesday night, another city official announced he was leaving.
Director of Public Works Craig Workman confirmed Tuesday that he had accepted the job as the Director of Public Works in Whitefish, Montana. Workman had been in charge of the city’s public works department since December of 2012.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bob Miller confirmed Anderson is the candidate forwarded by the Police and Fire Commission to be the next chief of police. The commission conducted an internal search to replace Peter Nimmer, who left in May to become the chief in Shorewood, and got four applicants.
Anderson declined to comment Tuesday night on the potential promotion, saying there were details that still need to be worked out. He confirmed the contract being discussed in closed session Tuesday night was one of those details.
Miller said before Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that Anderson was candidate whose contract is being discussed.
Anderson was promoted to lieutenant in 2007 under Scot Eisenhauer, the chief who preceded Nimmer. The promotion resulted in a no-confidence vote for Eisenhauer in 2008 by the police union, which officially protested Anderson’s promotion.
However, Anderson has served in the position under both Eisenhauer and Nimmer with no apparent issues once the incident passed and Eisenhauer resigned to take the police chief position in Iron River in 2010.
Workman leaving
Workman said Tuesday the opportunity to work in Whitefish – which is in northwest Montana and known for being an outdoor recreation haven – was too good to pass up.
“I guess you could say my family and I have been looking for a new adventure and challenge,” Workman said after the meeting. “I wanted to incorporate a move to the west.”
Workman was one of five finalists for the position. The others were, according to online news sources, David Dobbs, city engineer for the city of Great Falls, Montana; Karin Hilding, senior project engineer and interim public works director for Whitefish; Ryan Leland, city engineer for the city of Helena, Montana; and Carl Spier, deputy city engineer for the city of San Diego, Calif.
During the meeting, Workman announced the news, saying that the news spread quickly and he’d been forced to send out a mass e-mail.
“It was a bittersweet decision for me,” he said. “I’m leaving some work unfinished, and for that, I apologize.”
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