By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
LAKE ORION — Lake Orion’s village council may have closed the book on the saga of the village manager on Monday when the council voted 4-3 to hire Darwin McClary as Lake Orion’s new village manager.
Council President Ken Van Portfliet, President Pro-Tem Jerry Narsh, Councilmember Teresa Rutt and Councilmember Brad Mathisen voted in favor of hiring McClary.
Councilmembers Michael Lamb, Sarah Luchsinger and Doug Hobbs voted against hiring McClary and wanted to keep current Interim Manager D. Wayne O’Neal.
The selection comes on the heels of the departure of now-retired former village Manager Joe Young, who filed a letter of resignation in June and was later replaced by O’Neal.
The council held interviews on Sept. 30 at Village Hall where they interviewed eight candidates, which included McClary and O’Neal.
McClary is not new to the village. He previously was Lake Orion’s village manager from July 2013 through February 2017, and was interim village manager from April – July 2013.
In April of this year, McClary began working as manager for the village of Stockbridge.
Narsh got the ball rolling, making the motion to hire McClary and direct the village attorney to negotiate a contract with McClary for council approval.
The motion was seconded by Councilmember Brad Mathison.
Councilmember Theresa Rutt agreed with the selection of McClary, mostly pointing to his ability to budget as her reasoning for voting for him.
“I appreciate the thinking of ‘What does this village need right now?’ and we have a lot of things that we need to pay for that have not been planned for. Having someone who can create those plans, with a strong financial background, is really important.”
Van Portfliet echoed Rutt’s comments, adding that his only concern with McClary is his civic involvement, what Van Portfliet called “the getting out and meeting and greeting” members of the community.
“In the interviews, he indicated, he said (that) he plans on improving that and with that, I think he’d be a stellar candidate,” Van Portfliet said. “We need a rock right now. I see him as that opportunity to provide that strength and that rock that we need.”
Councilmembers Sarah Luchsinger, Doug Hobbs and Michael Lamb cast their votes for O’Neal with Hobbs saying that he was on the team which hired O’Neal as interim manager and that he intends to stand behind O’Neal.
Luchsinger added her support for O’Neal, telling the council that in her experience with McClary, she found him “underwhelming” and that the village is in need of someone new.
“Mr. O’Neal has really hit the ground running and not only that, I’ve heard positive feedback from folks that are at the village offices on a daily basis,” Luchsinger said. “I think, now, we need some new blood and Mr. O’Neal has shown that he is willing to get the job done and do it well and not be disrespectful to his colleagues.”
Lamb voiced his concerns over hiring someone who had already been employed by the village but left for a different position in Ypsilanti, stating that he lacked confidence that McClary wouldn’t leave again.
“What I noticed about Mr. McClary, and I don’t want to detract from a very skilled and talented gentleman, but he quit us for more money and just ditched us and went to another community. They had a falling out, he opened his own business, got a job in the small town making a good salary and now he wants to come back here,” Lamb said. “Money isn’t everything.”
McClary, amid pressure from a majority of the Ypsilanti City Council members, signed a voluntary resignation and separation agreement during a special meeting March 7, 2019. The city council then voted unanimously to accept the agreement, according to an article from Mlive.com on McClary’s resignation as Ypsilanti manager.
Lamb threw his support behind O’Neal, calling him a “take charge leader”.
“I agree with Theresa (Rutt) to a point; it would be nice to have one of the less-experienced candidates who would maybe grow into the village and develop a relationship but lets face it, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of money to spend. We’re going to have a lot of trouble finding the money to fix this stuff,” Lamb said. “The Japanese saying is ‘Let’s all move forward together’ and I think we should move forward and not go backward.”
Hobbs spoke again to bring into question McClary’s current position in Stockbridge, where McClary has been employed for only about five months and is now leaving for a new position.
Several members of the council, including Rutt, Narsh and Van Portfliet responded by saying that it was their understanding that the village of Stockbridge had found, after hiring McClary, that they weren’t sure if they even needed a manager.
Van Portfliet also took a moment to challenge Lamb’s claim, saying that he felt the claim that McClary left Lake Orion for “more money” was an erroneous statement because it could not be verified.
O’Neal is expected to continue his duties in the interim position until McClary can officially take over.
As of now, it is unclear as to when that transition will take place.
In July 2021, the Lake Orion Village Council voted 6-0 to hire McClary for “Municipal Consulting and Administrative Services” at a rate of $70 per hour to assist former Manager Joe Young with administrative duties.