'Very thankful': Mexico Beach City Council selects Chris Hubbard as new city administrator

MEXICO BEACH − Local officials have selected a familiar face as the next city administrator.

In a special meeting on Thursday, Mexico Beach City Council members approved Chris Hubbard to be the new city administrator. Hubbard, a 52-year-old Barbourville, Kentucky, resident, is a former city administrator of Mexico Beach who held the position from October 2006 to April 2014. Hubbard said he left Mexico Beach for a job offer in Georgia and has been a real estate agent since 2016.

"I'm very thankful the Mexico Beach City Council has given me the opportunity to return as their city administrator, and I am extremely excited about the future," he wrote in an email. "I fell in love with the city, the community and its residents and business owners three decades ago while stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, and I feel blessed to now have their support in welcoming me back.

"Mexico Beach has made great strides since 2018's Hurricane Michael, and I look forward to keeping the city moving in a positive direction."

Hubbard will be the permanent replacement for former City Administrator Douglass Baber, who resigned in June. There also have been two interim city administrators since then: Michael Manning, who held the position from Baber's resignation until Aug. 15, and Mell Smigielski, the current interim city administrator.

Hubbard was one of 15 people who applied for the job, according to previous reports. City Council members earlier this month ranked their top applicants, with Hubbard coming in as the No. 3 option at that time. The two people who ranked above him were Patrick Marsh, former city manager of Fernley, Nevada, and Timothy Day, district manager of Inframark Corp. in Cape Coral.

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Smigielski said the City Council held interviews for the position last week, and only Marsh and Hubbard were able to attend. Officials then decided that Hubbard was the best choice. His contract was solidified Thursday.

Hubbard will be paid an annual salary of about $105,000 − approximately the same as Baber. He is slated to begin transitioning into the position on Monday.

"Because Mr. Hubbard had been the city administrator here before ... they felt that having someone come in who has some experience in the city and already knew many of the people and how things are done here (would) be the better solution," Smigielski said.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Former City Administrator Chris Hubbard will return to Mexico Beach