Mexico Beach strives for stability with ‘not-so-new’ city administrator

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Mexico Beach has a new city administrator. But he’s no stranger to the role.

Mell Smigielski previously served as interim city administrator, replacing Chris Truitt. However, Smigielski had made it clear in previous interviews he wasn’t interested in a more permanent situation.

He’s since changed his mind.

“The city’s growing right now, and I’d kind of like to be a part of that. Also, the city employees need some stability,” Mexico Beach City Administrator Mell Smigielski said.

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Smigielski says the stability is crucial, adding that since 2018, Mexico Beach has had 11 city administrators.

His name has been on that list more than once.

“Of course, I’m counted four times in there. So really just seven different ones. But, you know, they’ve had some good ones in there. They’ve had some not-so-great ones,” Smigielski said.

Smigielski officially jumped back into the role in late June. He says several city employees approached him urging him to stay on.

While it’s not a decision he made lightly, he feels the city’s council is finally making progress, and he wants to be a part of it.

“There’s a lot a lot of new employees since I was here last time, and those additions have been for the better. And we have a city council now that is not adversarial. They’re willing to work together and to move things forward,” Smigielski said.

Smigielski is under a two-year contract and will be earning a salary of $130,000 a year. During that time, Smigielski says he has priorities for improvements.

“The biggest talk around town is when are we going to get our pier back? That seems to be the number one attraction in Mexico Beach. The answer is we got bids opening tomorrow,” Smigielski said.

Smigielski hopes construction on the pier can begin sometime next year. The city administrator also cited a handful of FEMA projects he hopes to help across the finish line.

Another relatively new employee contributing to the city’s progress is Finance Director Mike Snyder.

Snyder started in mid-December, earning a salary of $75,000 a year. He’s the first in-house finance director hired in several years and has been doing some catching up for the city.

“The hardest part about an audit is gathering all the information. And we were able to find the information needed and got it back to the auditors in a timely basis, which enabled us to meet the deadline for the first time in a few years,” Mexico Beach Finance Director Mike Snyder said.

The last two audits are finally complete.

Snyder says efficiency and alternative funding will continue to be a priority for the city.

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“Just find the best ways to make the city run at a more efficient level, and then we’ll identify any more errors that need to be corrected. I’d also like to get more involved in different types of state funding for the city,” Snyder added.

Snyder also says he feels the city’s previous personnel challenges are behind them.

The city also announced they had hired Public Works Director Mark Steele. Steele has many projects currently in progress, with a focus on stormwater management and maintenance.

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