If you like your water clean – and who doesn’t – you have a few people to thank for making sure the people keeping it that way do their jobs correctly.
Former Kinston City Manager Scott Stevens became one of those people Nov. 26, appointed by Gov. Pat McCrory to the state Water Treatment Facility Operators Certification Board.
“From my understanding, the board is really trying to administer that and make sure that the rules we’re creating are reasonable,” Stevens said. “Because there’s always a cost to that certification, so you want to balance having to require people to get training and certification, with the cost and also with the public safety side of having clean water and clean wastewater.”
Stevens is currently the city manager in Goldsboro, leaving Kinston for that position in August 2011.
A Cary native, he arrived in Kinston in 1992, serving as an assistant district engineer with the state Department of Transportation. Stevens became the Kinston city engineer in 1998, briefly leaving that job for a similar one in Greenville, but returning to Kinston to lead the city Department of Public Services in 2002.
He became an assistant city manager in 2006, and took over as city manager in 2007 following the retirement of Ralph Clark.
Stevens’ position on the board is as a municipal manager of a city that uses a surface water supply. He’s taking the position formerly held by Mebane Assistant City Manager Chris Rollins.
“I talked with the (board) chairman, Charles Brown, who’s the city manager of Mount Olive, and probably that’s how I ended up there, is Charles knew me and knew my background and asked if I would be a part of serving there,” Stevens said. “But, there’s a pretty extensive certification program for our wastewater treatment plant operators.”
Along with Stevens, McCrory appointed AECOM chief engineer Steve Scruggs from Wake County, and reappointed Duke engineering professor David Schaad from Orange County and Iredell Water Corporation assistant manager Danny Sloan from Iredell County.
“The Water Treatment Facility Operators Certification Board works to protect North Carolina’s water, and Mr. Stevens’ background in city management provides him with valuable insights into managing and conserving resources,” McCrory said in a statement. “His time as the city manager for Kinston was especially beneficial, as he dealt with wastewater, stormwater and other water-related issues for the city.”
The next board meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
