Brentwood hires new assistant city administrator

 
By Steve Bowman
Editor, The Brentwood Spirit
Email: bowmansj@sbcglobal.net

It was a night of new beginnings at the May 2 Brentwood Board of Aldermen meeting. The city announced that Fire Chief Ted Jury is retiring and Assistant Chief Terry Kurten is taking his place, and that a new assistant city administrator has been hired. Also, the board re-elected Ward 4 Alderman Thomas Kramer as its acting president and approved the mayor’s 13 appointments to four committees.

Jury has been Brentwood’s fire chief for almost five years and his last day on the job is Friday, May 6. He and his wife Tammy will move to Hawaii.

“Ted has been an excellent fire chief and we’ve been very lucky to have him,” the mayor said. “In his absence, Assistant Chief … Terry Kurten will be filling in and I’m sure we’re going to be in great hands.”

Both Jury and Kurten came to Brentwood in July 2011 from the Ladue Fire Department. Jury was there for 29 years, the last seven as its chief. Kurten was with Ladue for 15 years.

New assistant city administrator

Also at the May 2 board meeting, City Administrator Bola Akande introduced Brentwood’s new Assistant City Administrator and Director of Planning and Development, Lisa Koerkenmeier. She replaces Justin Wyse, who left in late 2015 to be a senior planner for the city of Chesterfield. Her first day on the job was May 2.

Akande said Koerkenmeier most recently was the assistant city manager in Mascoutah, Ill., and that she has also worked in Illinois for Fairview Heights, O’Fallon, Carbondale and Belleville. Koerkenmeier told the board she worked for Brentwood on a contractual basis for four months in 2013 when Ellen Rotjakob was on maternity leave.

“One of her signature work products with O’Fallon and Fairview Heights was updating the comprehensive plan,” said Akande. “Other urban planners, and city administrators like me, consider her the go-to person in the urban planning field.”

Kramer re-elected board’s acting president

Kramer was re-elected as the acting president of the board, a one-year term. Steve Lochmoeller nominated him and Keith Slusser nominated David Plufka. But after each received four votes, Plufka withdrew his name and Kramer was named the acting president. The position serves as the mayor in the event that the mayor cannot fulfill his duties.

The board unanimously approved Thornton’s appointments for four committees, as follows:

Planning and Zoning Commission
Michael Daming, chairman, Ward 1
Mark Favazza, Ward 2
Michael Hart, Ward 1
Paul Moran, Ward 1
Lisa Schuering, Ward 3
Tom Shipley, Ward 1

Library Board
Cindy Manestar, Ward 2

Board of Adjustment
Greg Reynders, Ward 1
Scott Stinson, Ward 2

Architectural Review Board
Matt Foreman, Ward 2
Carl Karlen, Ward 3
Joe Page, Ward 2
Paul Turner, Ward 1

The board also unanimously approved Thornton’s appointments in the April 19 meeting. They are as follows:

Communications Committee
Lori Coulter, chair
Dan Duffy
Steve Lochmoeller
Sunny Sims

Public Safety Committee
David Plufka, chair
Thomas Kramer
Sunny Sims
Steve Lochmoeller

Public Works Committee
Andy Leahy, chair
Sunny Sims
David Dimmitt
Kathy O’Neill

Ways and Means Committee
Keith Slusser, chair
David Dimmitt
David Plufka
Kathy O’Neill

Excise Commissioner
Keith Slusser

Deputy Excise Commissioner
David Dimmitt

International Code Council (ICC) Board of Appeals
J. Roberts Green
Rich Obertino
Andy Leahy

Commission on Human Rights
Thomas Kramer
David Plufka
Keith Slusser

Library Board Liaison
Kathy O’Neill

Police and Firefighters Pension Board of Trustees
Thomas Kramer, Alderman Representative