The city of Dalton has named Public Works Director Andrew Parker as the sole finalist to take over as city administrator later this summer. He will succeed current City Administrator Jason Parker (no relation) when he retires in August after more than 33 years of service with the city.
Mr. Parker joined the Public Works Department in May 2010 after earning his civil engineering degree from Southern Polytechnic State University. After beginning his career as a project manager, he was promoted to assistant director of the department in the summer of 2014.
He was promoted to department director in November 2019. Since taking over, Mr. Parker has overseen a number of scheduled and also emergency projects, including critical infrastructure repairs to Botany Woods Drive and Dug Gap Battle Road that became necessary after weather erosion threatened to make those roadways unpassable.
“I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity to serve in this new role for the City of Dalton,” Mr. Parker said. “Serving the Public Works Department for the last 11 years has been very rewarding, and I believe that experience gained here in Dalton has uniquely prepared me to succeed in this new endeavor. I’m very passionate about Dalton. I’ve spent the bulk of my professional career here and the city means a lot to me.”
A native of northwest Georgia, Mr. Parker is a 2006 graduate of Murray County High School. In addition to his Civil Engineering degree from Southern Polytechnic, he holds a number of advanced and specialized engineering and public works management certifications including being a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia. He is active in the community outside of his role with the city government. He has served as an instructor with the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce Emerging Leaders Institute since 2013.
“I feel one of my strengths is as a project manager and the city has a lot of exciting capital projects coming up including the aquatic center, gateway corridor improvements plan, the Heritage Point Soccer Complex, John Davis Rec Center renovations, and the Mill Creek Riverwalk to name a few,” Mr. Parker said. “I believe professional execution of these planned projects is key, and that is something that I will enjoy based on my background managing infrastructure projects with the Public Works Department.”
“It’s wonderful that the city already had someone on the staff with the talent and experience to step in and take over with Jason retiring,” said Dalton Mayor David Pennington. “Andrew is uniquely qualified for this job since he’s coming in from one of our most complex departments and he’s really a great project manager, which is really what a city administrator does most of the time.”
Mr. Parker is expected to be presented to the City Council for a vote of approval at its meeting on Tuesday, July 6.