Council officially hires new city manager, MPPD receives statewide honor
By LYNDA STRINGER - Tribune City Editor
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 11:14 AM CST
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| Ahrens addresses the Mount Pleasant City Council Tuesday night after the council voted unanimously to hire him as the new city manger. Ahrens, the city manager in Atlanta, will join the Mount Pleasant staff Jan. 5. Darrell Grubbs, the city's public works director, will continue to serve as interim city manager until then. TRIBUNE photo by Lynda Stringer |
Mount Pleasant officially has a new city manager. The City Council Tuesday night voted to hire Atlanta, Texas, City Manager Michael Ahrens to fill the job left vacant by former City Manager Courtney Sharp. After a motion by Mayor Pro-Tem Robert Nance and a second by Councilman Erman Hensel, the council voted unanimously to bring Ahrens on and he accepted the position.
"We went through the process and we truly believe that we made the right choice," Nance said. "I think he's going to be good for Mount Pleasant. He's a young man on the rise and he'll come here and work hard as he did in Atlanta. We're just glad to have him."
Ahrens, 45, will begin his new post Jan. 5. He will receive a salary of $110,000.
Ahrens, who has served as city manager in Atlanta for nine years and was the assistant city manager there for two years, has a 13-year background in law enforcement. He received his commission as a police officer in Hereford in 1984 and rose through the ranks, serving as police chief at the Atlanta Police Department from 1995 to 1997 when he began his career in city management.
He was among kindred spirits Tuesday night as he attended the council meeting, which was packed with city staff, community members and members of the Mount Pleasant Police Department, who were there for a special presentation awarded to the department.
The department received a certificate of recognition from the Texas Police Chiefs Association Law Enforcement Recognition Program.
The department earned the Recognized Law Enforcement Agency status for achieving compliance with what the TPCA Foundation has deemed Texas law enforcement's 159 best business practices.
Woodway Police Chief Yousry Zakhary, the TPCA Foundation chair and member of the TPCA executive board, presented the award to Mount Pleasant Police Chief Jay Burch and Sergeant Kyle Holcomb, who served as the program coordinator.
"This is an incredible accomplishment for this Mount Pleasant Police Department. They are the ninth police department out of 1,200 in the state of Texas to accomplish this task," Zakhary said.
The TPCA Foundation established the strict standards that include use of force, protection of citizens' rights, police pursuits, property and evidence management and patrol and investigative operations.
Zakhary said the task is difficult to accomplish and being among the first departments to achieve the goal is significant.
"Thus far, only eight departments have achieved "Recognized" status. Tonight, the Mount Pleasant Police Department joins that elite group of Texas law enforcement agencies," Zakhary said as he presented the framed certificate to Burch and Holcomb.
Burch then presented Holcomb with a distinguished honor, awarding him the Certificate of Merit for his efforts in coordinating the recognition program for the department.
"I'm well pleased with receiving this award. It is the highest honor a law enforcement officer can receive," Holcomb said. "I couldn't have done it without the team. Every person at the department had a hand in this recognition program."
It took the department just six months to complete the rigors of the program.
Burch gave Holcomb the credit for the accomplishment. "We wouldn't have accomplished this as quickly as we did without his efforts and his leadership in the department," Burch said. "We're grateful to have a man like him that we could name as program coordinator. He just took charge of it and he got it done. That's why he received this honor."
