After just four months on the job, Milton’s new city manager, Scott Collins, is crying uncle.
Yes, it is that tedious to manage City Hall.
Thankfully, retired City Manager Randy Jorgenson is willing to return as Interim City Manager and will likely be appointed to the position during tomorrow night’s council meeting.
Jorgenson is perfect for the position because of his institutional knowledge, plus he’s tough as nails and doesn’t back down to the bullying stemming from a small but loud group of Mayor Heather Lindsay’s supporters who seemingly strive to create constant chaos.
Jorgenson’s possible return is also good news for economic development since he’s been the driving force behind the city’s lengthy effort to construct a new wastewater treatment plant in East Milton to replace the aging existing facility, which sits in a flood zone in downtown Milton and discharged effluent directly into Blackwater River.
Back in 2021 Jorgenson even drank treated effluent from the plant to demonstrate it was clean enough to drink after processing.
Sources say Collins might stay on to help with construction of the new plant, which should clear its last hurdle and receive final permitting any day now…
But let’s dig deeper into the subject at hand.
In Pensacola News Journal’s February 10 story about Collins’ resignation, Reporter Tom McLaughlin quoted an accusation from Pam Mitchell labeling her, erroneously, as a city resident.
“Mitchell speculated the effort to bring Jorgenson back to the city was an effort to impede the auditor general’s efforts,” wrote McLaughlin in the story, referencing a state audit similar to what took place in the City of Gulf Breeze.
Mitchell’s ludicrous speculation is just the ramblings of an embittered woman who lost her 2018 bid to become a council member before moving out of the city four years ago. Sadly, since that time she’s done her level best to attack duly elected city leaders, using a group called Milton Concerned Citizens, She’s also tried hard to derail the new plant project.
Mitchell comes across as extremely jealous of Councilman Jeff Snow, who has done an effective job mitigating the damage she and her group attempt to create.
In our opinion, Snow’s ability to counter the haters at city hall is impressive and an indicator that he should consider seeking a higher office. In the meantime, we hope he will continue his successful efforts to keep moving the city and its important projects forward. Let’s show gratitude to Jorgenson for stepping back in to help toward that end and let’s ignore the haters who apparently have nothing better to do than “speculate.”
