Lewis: 'I'm Not Gong to Cancel That Truck Just Yet'

If Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis has a reputation, it seems one is about his lack of committing to retirement.

"We're calling him Terry "Brett Favre" Lewis at the county offices," County Commissioner Jon Thaxton said, comparing him to the NFL quarterback who retired twice and came back to play (and has since retired a third time).

Lewis may not even get a day off between his role as interim county administrator and (his last working day is Friday), and he realizes there is still an unknown that could keep that from happening.

The city commission is expected to decide on appointing or hiring an interim manager at a special meeting set for 10 a.m. Friday. 

Lewis has planned a family vacation to France in March that he will not reschedule and would have to take an unpaid leave, if hired.

"I've got a U-Haul truck on hold and we're supposed to drive some furniture up to North Carolina this weekend," he said. "I'm not going to cancel that truck just yet."

Lewis said he also needs the full support of the commission to be hired.

But if there's any comfort to take in that, he had the same situation with the county when he was hired, he already had a trip planned for last October. The county commission still hired him and let him take an unpaid leave for his vacation.

"That may or may not give a comfort level to a commission," Lewis said.

Three county commissioners Patch talked to Wednesday were pleased with what Lewis did for the county and hoped he could do the same for the city.

"The best thing he did was restore the confidence of the community and of the staff who were pretty shaken up by what happened," County Commissioner Nora Patterson said. "Even the majority of those employees were doing a great job, and yet they felt condemned by the sins of just a few people.

"It's a little harder at the moment to get a grasp and feel for what's happening in the City of Sarasota but I think Terry's greatest strength is that he's a real people person, he's very genuine and he is a wonderful judge of people."

Thaxton said Lewis was "steady at the helm."

"He has restored the trust people have in the leadership of Sarasota," he said. "He did exactly what he was hired to do. He did so much more effectively than any person I would have ever dreamed. I knew he was good."

County Commissioner Carolyn Mason lauded Lewis' "open mindedness, fairness and willing ear to listen to all sides of an issue and it has helped us tremendously to right our ship that had listed very badly."

In addition to his interim county role, he was considered last year for a temporary job to trim the Sarasota Police Department budget and also served as the interim North Port city manager.

Lewis said he is flattered he's being considered for the city post and what keeps him coming back to these temporary jobs in times of crises is the challenge.

"The ability to help fix things and get involved," he said. "I just love the people I work with. I've been fortune to work around Sarasota County in seven months I've been here, they're great people.

Going into these situations, he said he is fortunate to work with "people smarter than I am and give them what they need and get out of their way." 

While at the county, Lewis keyed in on people who could help the day-to-day operations be more smooth and successful and resulted in the promotion of Bill Little to deputy county administrator.

"He's a true natural leader that has a finger on the pulse of Sarasota County government," Lewis said. "You try to pick those folks who can try and help things get fixed." 

"One of the things I've seen that has helped me over the years is I hoped I developed a tolerance for points of view other than my own," he said. "Sometimes we make things more difficult than what it needs to be."

So far Lewis has only read media accounts of what has happened at the city in addition to brief calls from commissioners Paul Caragiulo and Shannon Snyder on Tuesday when they asked for him to work for the city. 

He is familiar with being in an environment that is subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, said the retired undersheriff for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, as the sheriff's office investigated the county's .

Lewis worked for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Tallahassee, so he is familiar with their investigations. That agency as well as the .

"The criminal investigation is there, but you still have to get the roads paved, the water running and sewers being serviced," he said.

Beyond The Interim

No matter who is chosen for the interim Sarasota city manager position, the city still needs a permanent manager.

The city has to decide whether it wants a search committee or agency to hire a city manager or whether it wants to hire internally.

Mason said the best thing for the city to do is to have clear communication, ground rules and expectations out of the city manager's handling of day-to-day operations to avoid chaos.

"This is definitely a speed bump for the City of Sarasota," Mason told Patch. "If you know about speed bumps, you know they are designed to slow you down, but you can get over them, you just have to decrease your speed and go over them carefully." 

The public should have a say in the new manager, too, she added, as the commission should "carefully decide what qualities they want in a city manager."

Thaxton said his advice is somewhat risky.

"I would say it worked for Sarasota so it may work for the city and that is not to dwell on the matter, but expedite it in a thoughtful and judicial way," he said. "Get it done. Don't second guess yourself."