By Jim Bloch
With the city of St. Clair moving quicky to fill its vacant city superintendent position, hiring Steve Duchane to replace Quentin Bishop, there was no need to hire a stop-gap interim manager.
Adkins, the former city superintendent of St. Clair, had apparently already decided not to accept the role of interim city superintendent before Duchane was hired.
Outgoing City Superintendent Quentin Bishop made the announcement of Adkins’ change of heart early in the June 2 city council meeting.
The council had voted unanimously at its regular meeting May 19 to hire Adkins, who served as the city superintendent 2006-2012, on an interim basis. The plan had been for Bishop and City Attorney Jim Downey to work out a contract for Adkins, which would have been approved at the June 2 meeting. Instead, Adkins pulled out.
“He rescinded his offer to come in as the interim city superintendent and for the record I’d like to officially read that notice,” said Bishop, as heard on the CTV-Channel 6 recording of the meeting posted on YouTube. “Dear Quentin, Having been able to give more thought and review of the interim city superintendent position, I’ve chosen to request that my acceptance of the position be rescinded. As this conjuncture in time, it would be very difficult for me to balance current commitments with the needs of the city and be able to perform the duties of the position to both my standards as well as the expectations of the mayor and city council. St. Clair is my home, and this decision does not come lightly. However, if I am not able to make a full commitment, I feel that it would be an injustice to us all. I am grateful to the opportunity that you extended, however I must decline moving forward as originally intended. Yours truly, Scott Adkins.”
“Hmmm,” said council member Mitch Kuffa.
In his return, Adkins would have brought far more than either Bishop, his predecessor Warren Rothe and Rothe’s predecessor Mike Booth, none of whom had previously headed a city. Adkins served as city manager of Vassar for four years before being hired in St. Clair in 2006. He then managed the city of Roseville for more than 10 years and then stepped in as the manager of Marine City from April 2023-Sept. 2024.
It turned out that there was no interregnum between Bishop and Duchane.
“Quentin’s last day (was) officially June 13 so there was no lapse to appoint another interim in between Scott and Steve,” said City Clerk Annette Sturdy via email.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
