Longtime leader in St. Johns gets the nod as county administrator
The St. Johns County Commission stayed within the county this week in selecting Joy Andrews as its new administrator after conducting interviews with the four finalists.
Andrews has served as interim county administrator since July after the abrupt resignation of Hunter Conrad in late June.
She had been deputy/assistant county administrator the past seven years among 17 serving St. Johns County. Her background includes leading a wide range of departments such as Growth Management, Economic Development, Tourism Development, Health and Human Services, Fire Rescue, Arts and Culture, Grants and Legislative Affairs, Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery, Coastal Management, Public Library System, Parks and Recreation, and Community Redevelopment, according to the county.
Her education includes a master's of public administration from Kansas State University and a bachelor's in international commerce and trade law from Nanjing University, School of Law.
Although a contract is pending commission approval, this concludes a public engagement process of recruitment and interviews that included public meetings, live video broadcasts of the meetings,and a “Get the Scoop on County Administrator Finalists” ice cream social for the St. Johns County community.
The other finalists were Sarah Campbell, town manager for Orange Park, Florida; James Doar, county administrator for Gallatin County, Mont.; and James Harriott, director of engineering – transportation for Causseaux, Hewitt, and Walpole Inc. Professional Consultants, which has offices in Jacksonville, Gainesville, Ocala and Fort Myers.
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The interviews were broadcast live on the County’s GTV channel. The recorded version will be available upon completion of closed-captioning services within the next few days.
The commission contracted with GovHR USA in its search and was provided a pool of 105 applicants, according to Wayne Larson, public affairs director for the county. GovHR USA narrowed the pool to 12 potential candidates for the county's selection committee of Henry Dean, District 5 county commissioner; Brandon Patty, St. John County clerk of the Circuit Court and comptroller; Lilian Hutchinson, St. Johns County director of human resources; and Jerry Wilson, community/business representative.
In a public meeting on Oct. 6, the committee designated five applicants as top-tier candidates and held Zoom interviews with each on Oct. 9, which was recorded and provided to the public afterward.
What happened with Hunter Conrad
Conrad turned in his resignation just four months since earning a contract renewal.
A special meeting had been scheduled for the next day "to consider the existing Professional Services Agreement Between Hunter S. Conrad and St. Johns County, Florida," according to the county's website.
Conrad's contract was renewed in March 2023. But prior to his departure, Commissioner Sarah Arnold stated she had concerns about the communication within county staff, according to Times-Union news partner First Coast News reported. She called out Conrad during a board meeting, without specifically stating his name.
Commission Chairman Christian Whitehurst asked him during the meeting if he would like to comment. Conrad told commissioners he had never heard there was a concern with his job performance and he never restricted information from being delivered, according to the news station.
The commission hired Conrad as interim county administrator in late 2019 after firing former County Administrator Michael Wanchick that November. Conrad had been appointed county clerk of court and comptroller in 2015 by then-Gov. Rick Scott following the resignation of Cheryl Strickland.
In January 2020 the commission bypassed a search for other candidates and chose Conrad in a 5-0 vote as the permanent county administrator without public notice that he was being considered for the job, according to The St. Augustine Record.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Joy Andrews named St. Johns County administrator
