Cameron to retire as city street supt.

In 1988, Rex Cameron drove a 1972 Ford pickup pulling a trailer into Holton, ready to begin a new job, not knowing anyone in the city other than then-City Manager Gene Williams and not having a place to live.

Since then, as Holton’s street superintendent, Cameron has built a regionally-respected program that rebuilds the city’s historic brick streets one block at a time with the help of young people in the community every summer.

But as he told the Holton City Commission on Monday, this summer will be his last.

“It’s been a great 28 years, even though it’s been up and down like any job,” Cameron told commissioners. “But I really appreciate the support the citizens of Holton have given me through the years, and I appreciate your support also.”

Cameron also asked commissioners to continue to support the city’s employees after his retirement, effective Friday, July 15, by considering merit increases for those employees. As a department head, he said, it is often “frustrating… to try to keep up morale in your department without having some way of rewarding your employees.”

“Give the city manager and the department heads a tool to improve their departments, improve the morale of their departments and help the employees,” Cameron told commissioners. “It’s not fair to an employee who’s been here five or even 10 years and not make that much more than a brand-new employee who just came in, because there’s no way to advance.”

Cameron reflected upon the success of the brick street program, active for more than two decades with the main goal of refurbishing the city’s brick streets — about seven miles of road, it has been reported. But he noted on Monday that the best thing about the program is the 67 young men and women who worked on summer street crews — oftentimes more than once.

“It’s been really interesting to watch those kids grow up right in front of your eyes and move on,” Cameron told commissioners.

It has also been interesting to see what “those kids” have moved on to, he added. He and street foreman Greg Tanking said they have gotten contacts and visits from representatives of the Secret Service, the FBI and law enforcement agencies conducting “background checks” on young people who listed Cameron as a reference in applying for “safety-sensitive” jobs.

“Just this past year, we’ve had one of those individuals come and talk to us about a former employee, who’s a great kid and I had nothing bad to say about him,” Cameron said. “This guy tells me, ‘I’m here to dig up dirt! I’m supposed to find the bad stuff, and I’m not hearing it!’ And I told him, ‘Well, he’s from Holton.’”

Cameron also told commissioners that while his intended retirement date of July 15 is “right smack dab in the middle of street season,” he wanted to give city officials “the opportunity to get a replacement named.” Commissioners and others in the commission chamber that evening responded to Cameron with applause for his 28 years of service.

“I’ve heard a lot of good comments about the job that you’ve done over the years,” Commissioner Mike Meerpohl told him.

The commission also took action on Monday in regard to the imminent departure of another city employee, City Manager Bret Bauer, by appointing Assistant City Manager Kerwin McKee as the city’s interim city manager after Bauer leaves. Bauer has announced that he will step down as city manager, effective Thursday, June 16, to take a similar job in Texas.

McKee has twice served as interim city manager in the past, following the resignation of Bauer’s two predecessors — Brad Mears, in 2007, and Glenn Rodden, in 2009. Commissioner Tim Morris noted that McKee had been serving as the city’s codes enforcement officer prior to Rodden’s departure but was promoted to assistant city manager after Bauer was hired in 2010.

“This is why we changed Kerwin’s job from zoning to assistant city manager, in anticipation that something like this would happen,” Morris said of Bauer’s impending departure.

During the two previous periods when McKee served as interim city manager, it was noted that his monthly salary was increased by $2,500 but returned to his regular salary when a city manager was hired. The commission voted to implement that increase in McKee’s salary upon Bauer’s departure.

McKee also noted that while serving as interim city manager in the past, that extra $2,500 was voluntarily shared with other city employees “who have to do extra” during the search for a new city manager.

“It takes a lot of extra effort on everybody,” he added.