35 bid for Lakewood Ranch executive director job

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Among the 35 people seeking to become Lakewood Ranch Town Hall's next executive director are a handful of notable locals:

Bruce St. Denis, former town manager of Longboat Key; Jeff Burton, director of the Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency; Neil Gaines, landscape operations manager for the city of Sarasota; Anne Ross, assistant town manager of Longboat Key; David Thompson, building services division manager for Manatee County; and Javier Vargas, deputy director of public works for the city of Palmetto.

The applications deadline was Sept. 11.

Supervisors for Lakewood Ranch's Inter-District Authority will meet at 9 a.m. Sept. 30 to review resumes and narrow the field to the finalists.

Prior to interviews for finalists starting 10:30 a.m. Oct. 8, there will be a meet and greet at 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall.

Eva Rey, executive director for four years, resigned in August. Her last day at Lakewood Ranch is Oct. 8. She will be moving to The Viera Co. on Florida's east coast for a job as director of community management. Viera is a community of about 20,000 in central Brevard County.

Rey's replacement will earn an annual salary between $120,000 and $160,000.

In their first meeting after Rey resigned, Lakewood Ranch supervisors said her replacement should be a change agent, visionary and a leader.

They also highlighted the importance of customer service and making Lakewood Ranch Town Hall a welcoming place for all who do business there.

The next executive director will be only the third in the young community's history.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 3:06 PM with the headline "35 bid for Lakewood Ranch executive director job ."