By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Though a global pandemic with local impact is not the way Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff would have chosen to conclude his career, he is glad he stayed.
"It's really been a blessing that I was able to stay beyond the original date of March 27," Deardoff said. "The council asked me in February if I would stay on until the new city manager came on. We didn't know this COVID-19 issue was even coming at that time. It's been a blessing for me to be here and just kind of help the city organization navigate through these times and hopefully get the table set for the new city manager."
Deardoff counted on the relationships he has built over the years to help him make decisions in the midst of the pandemic.
"It was a little easier in that I knew a lot of the players in the community," Deardoff said. "Obviously, the city wasn't leading this effort. We were following the lead of the county. My relationships over there and with the chamber and what have you, just made that communication piece so much easier."
He has communicated with new City Manager Jeff Cantrell, but he knows that Cantrell has a current job and that he'll have his own assessment when he gets here.
"We've had a couple of exchanges on a couple of projects," Deardoff said. "One in particular was the hotel and convention center project, I kind of gave him a little bit of detail on that, but not a great deal. I know he's busy dealing with some of the same issues in Chanute that we're dealing with here. I'm preparing a pretty long list of notes here and there for him, where he can find things and hopefully it will help him with the transition."
Deardoff's last day is May 8. Cantrell starts May 15.