WILDWOOD — The Wildwood City Commission seeks applicants for Seat 2 in the wake of a longtime official’s retirement earlier this month.
Wildwood City Manager Jason McHugh received the resignation of Mayor Pro Tem Pamala Harrison-Bivins, effective Nov. 16.
This week, the commission voted to give consent to a proposed timeline to fill Seat 2 in the next 30 days.
McHugh and City Attorney Ashley Hunt crafted the proposal following the news of Harrison-Bivins’ retirement last week. The former commissioner dedicated 25 years to the city. She is a graduate of Wildwood High School and Saint Leo University.
The commission will discuss the process further during a special-called meeting at 9 a.m. on Dec. 1.
Earlier this year, the Wildwood Commission and Florida League of Cities recognized the official’s 25 years of service as a commissioner.
Harrison-Bivins has helped bring the city into the future. She said during the commissioner comments of a recent meeting that she hopes Wildwood prioritizes the town’s recreation center, improvements at Millennium Park and road infrastructure in the next five years.
“One accomplishment that stands out is the approval to proceed with the design of the recreation center at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park,” she said in an October city newsletter, adding that she’s always stressed the need to provide recreation and programs for all ages.
City Manager Jason McHugh presented her with the John Land Years of Service Award.
“I will miss Pam terribly,” Mayor Ed Wolf at the meeting. “She sat next to me for 25 years, and I have always valued her friendship, her insight, and her compassionate care for our citizens.”
First elected in 2000, Harrison-Bivins was the commission’s second-longest-serving member.
McHugh called Harrison-Bivins “a titan of the community” and said she would continueserving the community in other ways “after closing this chapter of her exemplary public service career.”
The notice of the vacancy and application have been posted at wildwood-fl.gov/bc-city.
Completed applications are due by 5 p.m. on Dec. 9. Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements stipulated in the city’s charter, available at tinyurl.com/WildwoodFLCharter2025.
The four remaining commission members will review applications and vote at a special-called meeting on Dec. 15 at 9 a.m. The appointee will be sworn in during the same meeting and serve the remainder of the current term, which expires Dec. 31, 2026.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Wildwood to appoint Seat 2 commissioner as longtime official retires
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
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