Pikeville hires new official
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on November 5, 2014 1:46 PM
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Michael Hunt
PIKEVILLE -- Pikeville's town board named Michael Hunt as the new town administrator during the regular board meeting Monday night.
Hunt said he looks forward to working with the residents of Pikeville -- where he will begin in roughly two weeks -- but understands realistically that he may not be able to solve all the problems the town might have.
"I want in some way, in some measure, to improve the quality of life for the citizens. I could be a small thing, something as small as a park bench if you have the money, or something that costs nothing, like trying to allow people to have a forum so they can come and talk about certain issues that affect them and are of interest to them. I have, throughout my career, worked with an open door policy so people can come and talk to me," Hunt said.
"I never tell someone that I can address all their concerns satisfactorily, but I certainly can listen to them, and I certainly will try my best to make sure that their situation or concern is treated with dignity and respect."
When he begins work, he said he hopes to first help with the planning of a town hall and to look for ways to attract businesses to the town.
He said he has some ideas that he will present to the town board, but doesn't "want to do anything not in keeping with their core system of beliefs."
Hunt has nearly 35 years of experience serving as legal consul for local governments, making his credentials an attractive quality to Mayor Glenn Hartman.
"I think he is going to do a great job. He is very well educated and has excellent credentials. He will be an asset to the town," Hartman said.
Hunt graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1975 and Howard University School of Law in 1978.
After passing the bar exam in Florida in 1979 he took a position with the city of Jacksonville, Fla., as city assistant counsel. From 1984 to 1986 he served as Manatee County, Fla., county attorney, and from 1986 to 2011 he went into the private sector, operating two consulting firms specifically geared to consulting local governments nationwide.
In 2001, he became the assistant county attorney of St. Johns County, Fla., and then deputy county attorney. In 2011, he became the Lee County, Fla., attorney and resigned in 2013 to help his brother care for his sick father who lived in North Carolina.
Hunt said after his father died in March of this year he was ready to get back into local government work.
"I applied in part to move back to North Carolina. It has been by desire to move back to North Carolina for several years," said the Raleigh native.
"I saw an opportunity in Pikeville. They have water service, sewer service and provide electric. I worked as an attorney in Florida and my specialty was in utilities."
Hunt said that in his extensive years of experience working with local governments he has addressed many of the concerns and issues that Pikeville is facing today.
"A number of things have happened here that I have already dealt with on some level. St. Johns County, for example, has 25 departments and I was legal counsel for 13 of them, so I have done just about everything you can do from the legal side. In Florida, the attorneys work very closely with the administrator, from hurricanes to a library being built to parks and rec," Hunt said.