Orchid staffing drama concludes with clerk hire

PHOTO PROVIDED

When its newly hired town clerk officially starts work Feb. 11, the Town of Orchid will close the final chapter of a municipal drama that began simmering in mid-summer 2021 and came to a boil in August with the unexpected resignation of Town Manager Noah Powers.

Vyviana Sawley, 29, is currently in the midst of relocating from her long-time residence in Key Largo, to take the position held by Cherry Stowe, who came on board as Orchid Town Clerk in 2015,  about the same time Powers took the helm as the tiny barrier island municipality’s  fifth town manager.

With  Powers’ precipitous resignation, Stowe — always highly regarded by the Orchid councils she has served — agreed to undertake the duties of interim town manager, while continuing her tasks as town clerk ( both full time jobs) until  a permanent town manager was in place.

With more than a little irony, as event unfolded during a grueling, 5-hour, Town Council meeting Sep. 13, it became clear that Stowe, unknowingly, had been a factor in  Power’s decision to quit, as he finally explained that the “recent events”  referred to in his Aug. 9  letter of resignation, which  gave him  “cause to re-evaluate my employment status with the Town of Orchid,” concerned a mid-summer  meeting with Gibbons during which the mayor suggested the possibility of Powers’ retirement, related to having Town Clerk Cherry Stowe transition into the Town Manager position, presented in such a way that Powers felt he was being “forced out.”

 Gibbons strongly disagreed but Powers remained firm, and Stowe made it clear she had never sought the position.

 So, when the Town suddenly found itself in need of a town manager, several on the Council spoke in favor of moving Stowe into the position, siting her excellent record,  numerous strong job skills and work ethic. However, the Council ultimately decided  to avoid cutting corners regarding proper procedure, (or appearing to); appointed Stowe Interim Town Manager;  and solicited the guidance of  a Senior Advisor from the International City/County Management Association (at no cost to the town) as they sought someone for the permanent administrative position. 

On Dec. 7, after three months, it came as zero surprise when the Council voted unanimously to offer Stowe the Town Manager job, and she accepted, thus switching the Council’s next  task from finding a new town manager to finding a new town clerk. Stowe’s double duty remained the same for all practical purposes, only her title – from Town Clerk/Interim Town Manager to Town Manager/Interim Town Clerk – had changed.

Sawley, who will turn 30 on Feb. 15, voiced excitement at the prospect of moving up the coast from the busy Keys to her new home in Fellsmere.  “I fell in love with the Sebastian (North County) area and have visited family and friends up there  many times.”

While residing in Key Largo, Sawley worked for more than seven years as an accounting specialist with the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative.  A notary public, she  is currently completing a Bachelor’s degree in Supervision and Management from the College of the Florida Keys, and, says Mayor Bob Gibbons ”she comes to us with glowing recommendations and an impressive skill set.”

The response to the Town’s online search to fill the position was robust: “The Town Council,” says Gibbons, “received  resumes from over 60 applicants representing a wide range of professional fields.”

It would be no stretch to conclude that  Feb. 11 can’t come soon enough for Stowe, who will then begin to show Sawley the municipal ropes with which she has become so familiar, and  can at last begin to settle into her “only” full time job as Orchid’s sixth town manager, and third woman to do the job.

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