These three interim City of Columbia leaders will be sworn into permanent roles next week

Interim leaders have headed the City of Columbia's public works and IT departments since last year, while the acting deputy city manager has served on a temporary basis since April.

All three will be promoted Monday when they are sworn into the permanent positions.

Public works

Shane Creech assumed the role of interim public works director after the retirement of Dave Nichols.

Creech was among three finalists who recently had a chance to meet with the public and make their case for the directorship.

Creech's goal with the department is to increase public communication and education about public works operations and projects, he said at the Sept. 15 meet-and-greet.

More:Meet the 3 finalists vying to become the next Columbia Public Works director

He also wants to find better software for the department with the goal of improving project prioritization.

"If we could have some (other) software that would help us with that, we could do a better job of educating people," he said at the meet-and-greet. "It gives you that pie chart, that information that is more easily digestible."

Creech has 22-plus years of civil engineering experience, with about 18 years in the public sector. Creech joined the city in 2008.

Creech attended the University of Missouri, where he received a bachelor's in civil and environmental engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in the states of Kansas and Missouri.

Information technology

Mark Neckerman was appointed as interim IT director in July 2021 after the resignation of former director Jim Chapdelaine.

Chapdelaine's resignation to then-city manager John Glascock came after an IT staff member addressed the city council in June 2021 regarding pay and compensation policies, and subsequent accusations by a city budget officer of mismanagement in the city manager's office. Chapdelaine was in the audience at that June meeting.

Neckerman has 25 years of experience working in the city's IT department. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in electronics from the University of Central Missouri.

Neckerman has managed various parts of the department during his tenure, the city said.

City administration

Former Parks and Recreation Director Mike Griggs will serve as deputy city manager full-time after being in the capacity as an interim since April.

A lifelong Columbia resident, Griggs graduated from Hickman High School and received bachelor's and master's degrees from MU.

He first joined the city in 1984 but had a brief stint as the Sedalia Parks and Recreation director. Thirty-six years of Grigg's 39-year career have been with Columbia. After returning here, he started as park services manager. He was promoted to assistant director in 2012 and became director a year later after his predecessor's retirement.

Griggs believes his parks career prepared him for this transition, with a focus on urban planning and infrastructure such as utilities, roads, parking lots, solid waste and event planning, the city said.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Three Columbia interim leaders elevated to full positions