×
×
homepage logo

Bleess leaving Winnebago

By Staff | Sep 30, 2012

The Winnebago City Council was surprised with news this week of Austin Bleess’ plans to resign from his position as the current City Administrator.

Bleess has accepted a position in Caribou, Maine, as their new city manager.

“I will be doing mostly the same things as city manager that I?did here as city administrator,”?he says. “But they have more departments there.”

Caribou is located in northern Maine and has a population of about 8,100.

His resignation from the city administrator position is effective as of Oct. 19 and he will begin work in Caribou on Oct. 29.

The Winnebago City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, Oct. 1 to formally accept his resignation.

“The council will decide the next steps they plan to take at that meeting,”?Bleess adds.

Bleess’ first interview for his new position was conducted over Skype. He then traveled out to visit Caribou.

“I?met the council there,”?he says. “As far as I know, I was the only one brought back for the second round.” Bleess says he has enjoyed his time in Winnebago but looks forward to the move.

“I got along well with the council and got to work closely with them throughout my time employed here,”?he says.

Bleess has served as city administrator in Winnebago since June 2010, after serving as the community development director in Wells.

After more than two years in Winnebago, he is ready to work with the almost $13 million budget in Caribou.

In his most recent review from the Winnebago City Council, Bleess was praised for the work he has done for the city.

“Austin is very responsive to the things that need to get done,”?Ziegler said in Bleess’ review.

One major project Bleess had accomplished during his time in Winnebago is helping to organize and put on the first annual Brewfest which he still plans to attend in 2013.

“I’ll definitely be back,”?he adds.

The special meeting regarding the resignation will be held Monday, Oct. 1, at the Winnebago Municipal Center. The council will discuss the resignation and how they plan to fill the city administrator position after the end of the month.