Past, Present, New Beginnings: Town Manager to Retire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MORRISVILLE TOWN MANAGER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

MORRISVILLE, NC – John Whitson, Morrisville’s Town Manager has announced his intention to retire from North Carolina’s local government system after serving over 20 years. He has been the Town Manager in Morrisville for over nine years and in Lewisville for 11 years. His last day as Morrisville’s Town Manager will be December 14. “The experience has been rewarding,” said Mr. Whitson, adding that he has made lasting friendships along the way.

Mr. Whitson was hired in 1992 as Lewisville’s first manager shortly after Lewisville was incorporated. In Lewisville he led the development of the town’s first comprehensive plan; development and implementation of land use planning and administration; development of a downtown plan; implementation of the early stages of the downtown plan including the design and construction of a town square green and improvement of the town’s main roadway through downtown from two lanes to three lanes with sidewalks, curb and gutter, and decorative streetlamps; and he organized and coordinated the extension of the Forsyth County/Winston-Salem public sewer to downtown. He also planned and conducted a major annexation expanding the town from eight square miles to ten square miles and completing annexation agreements with both Clemmons and Winston-Salem.

In Morrisville Mr. Whitson will likely be most remembered for gaining approval to merge Morrisville’s water and sewer systems with Cary. Now, seven years following the merger, Morrisville utility customers are paying lower utility rates resulting in about 15 to 20 percent savings over the previous year. He has been responsible for the modernization of the town’s automation systems and management procedures especially the procedures involving public access to pending actions of the Town Council. He might also be remembered for gaining approval for a special census in 2004 which ultimately garnered Morrisville an additional $6.5 million in state/county shared revenues. Many elected officials and staff will remember Mr. Whitson for his pursuit of ideas requiring special authority from the North Carolina General Assembly such as collecting stormwater fees via the property tax bill and the authority to establish a Municipal Service District to convert private streets to public streets.

Mr. Whitson’s retirement will be short-lived. He has accepted the position of City Manager in Texarkana, Texas. The move will permit him and his wife, Lillian, to be closer to their daughter, Jessica, who lives and works in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Texarkana is also where Major Whitson served as the Military Comptroller of Red River Army Depot for three years and is only 120 miles from his hometown of Soper, Oklahoma. Mr. Whitson has worked for the public for 44 years which includes his 24 years of military service retiring in 1992 as an Aviation Branch Lieutenant Colonel. He was also a Master Army Aviator accumulating more than 4,000 hours of flight time, serving in both Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Town Council will be holding a Special Meeting on Tuesday, October 30 at 6:00 pm to discuss appointing an Interim Town Manager and the process for appointing a permanent Town Manager. It will be held at the Historic Christian Church of Morrisville, located at 222 Church Street. Overflow parking is available at the far end of the First Baptist Church parking lot across the street.

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Contact:

John Whitson, Town Manager – 919.463.6150

Stephanie Smith, Public Information Officer – 919.463.6207