Curtis Adams
photo by Wes Schultz
Longtime Hamilton County Commissioner Curtis Adams has taken a job as city manager for the town of Crossville, Tn.
The Crossville City Council on Tuesday night voted unanimously to select Mr. Adams to take the place of the retiring city manager.
Mr. Adams said he will step down from the County Commission after budget hearings in early May.
His first day on the job in Crossville is May 17.
Mr. Adams, who is 76, said, "I'm still too young to retire and sit on the sidelines. I feel great and have a lot of energy."
He said he was contacted by Crossville officials after he announced he was retiring from the County Commission.
Mr. Adams said Crossville Mayor J.H. Graham came to Chattanooga and spent the day with him. "We really hit it off," he said.
The Crossville job pays $105,000 a year and the city manager gets a new Impala furnished.
He said the Crossville council includes a doctor and several business people.
The town, which is a retirement and recreational center, has 12,000 residents. It owns the local water company and has 168 city employees.
Mr. Adams said he plans to keep his home in East Ridge and return often for visits. He said it is just an hour and 15-minute drive from Chattanooga.
Mr. Adams had a long career at the Chattanooga News Free Press in circulation and advertising.
He had been considered as a possible candidate for mayor of East Ridge in the upcoming election.
Mr. Adams said he expects the County Commission may leave his seat unfilled since it will be just three months until a new District 8 commissioner is installed in September after the upcoming elections.