McKee to retire as city manager

With Holton City Manager Kerwin McKee’s announcement of his upcoming retirement, the Holton City Commission will be looking for someone to fill his position.

During the commission’s regular meeting last night — held a day later than normal due to the Presidents Day observance on Monday — McKee, who has worked for the city since 1996 and has served as city manager since July 2016, formally announced that he would be retiring as a city employee, effective May 1.

“It was a very hard decision to make, and it took a long time to make it,” McKee said. “There’s a lot of things that weighed into this decision.”

Finding someone to take over the city manager’s position is “up to the commission,” he added, and Commissioner Tim Morris said the commission would soon begin that process.

A lifetime resident of Holton, McKee was hired as the city’s codes enforcement officer in 1996 under former city manager Brad Mears, and when Mears left in August 2007, McKee was promoted to interim city manager, holding the position until Glen Rodden was hired as city manager that November.

McKee served a second stint as interim city manager following Rodden’s resignation in March 2009, holding the position until the summer of 2010 when Bret Bauer was hired as city manager. Following Bauer’s departure from the city in the spring of 2016, McKee was named acting city manager until accepting the job full-time in July of that year.

“I felt like I gained a lot of knowledge during those two times,” McKee said of his stints as interim city manager. “The third time the position opened up, I decided I’d give it a shot.”

McKee said that during his time in city government, the city has improved its financial position and is in a “strong” place. He also noted that the city has “an aging work force” and that he is not the only city administrator who will be stepping down this year, as Electrical Production Superintendent Ira Harrison has also announced his retirement, effective April 1.

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