Wayne Everhart has been appointed the City of Plant City’s new streets and stormwater director.
The department was in search of “strong leadership,” according to City Manager Bill McDaniel, and he knew whoever landed in the role had their work cut out for them. There are lots of changes ahead as the department is now officially an independent operation and McDaniel said he’s expecting to see impactful results relatively quickly.
“After a diligent search, we promoted from within,” McDaniel said. “Wayne Everhart was previously the superintendent at utilities maintenance and he rose up head and shoulders to be the leading candidate. He has been promoted to director of streets and stormwater. It’s an interesting position because I have carved out this role from where it used to be under the city engineer’s management and have made it a standalone operation because of its size and scope and responsibilities. I felt like it needed some independent leadership.”
Everhart is a face many recognize around town. He was hired with the City of Plant City in 1989 and has worked his way up the ladder, improving every position he touched. He saw departments merge and split. He watched as communication opened to streamline efficiency and knows firsthand what needs to be done to complete a job.
Before he came to work with the city, he worked in utilities in a family-operated business. He jokes utilities are in his blood so building a career around improving the city’s utility function was a seamless transition.
He knew this was a neglected department and said he felt he could step up and help get things where they need to be. Initially he volunteered to “lend a helping hand” until the city found someone they wished to hire to run the newly carved-out department. It wasn’t until he saw the reposted job listing with an altered set of descriptions for the position that he thought perhaps he would be a good fit.
“That’s when I really decided that this was something that I wanted to go for as a career,” Everhart said. “I was very close to the different departments so some of the organizations behind the scenes and really just employee moral as a whole made me think, ‘Hey, I can help, I can get this back on track.’”
He’s only officially been on the ground in the role for three days, but he said he’s excited to get to help open the form of communication throughout the departments and get things back where they need to be.
Everhart said McDaniel has made his goals for the city very clear and the first step upon taking the position is to figure out how the department is going to support those goals. From there, he said, he’ll begin a deep analysis of operations as a whole and get a feel for where the staff see concerns and where they feel they’re right on target.
“One of the things I’m committed to doing is making sure that our stormwater systems get managed and maintained properly,” McDaniel said. “Wayne has a very demonstrated history of success out there in utilities maintenance and I think he brings a lot to the table as our new director of streets and stormwater, and I’m looking forward to him addressing what I see as a backlog in maintenance work and then moving us forward in a very positive way.”
McDaniel echoed Everhart’s concerns. Summers in Florida are filled with nonstop rain and it’s imperative the city has a functioning system to carry the water away from people’s homes regardless of where they live.
There’s a lot that Everhart said he feels needs to get “back on track,” but he said that his background in utilities should help open a more efficient line of communication. Verbalizing goals better helps make sure nothing overlaps. For example, it makes sure the city doesn’t pave a street that utilities then needs to cut up a year later to do massive repairs underground.
He said he’s aware he has a “plate full,” but has no doubt that as a team they can successfully make the necessary changes.
“This is actually my first week, but as soon as it was announced I started making plans and preparations to make sure I was ready to get rolling as soon as I started,” Everhart said. “And we’re already in it with both feet. There’s a lot that’s ahead, but I think we’re going to really shape this into what our city deserves for it to be.”