Longboat Key Town Manager Dave Bullock will retire in January

The news of Town Manager Dave Bullock’s January retirement caught at least one community leader off-guard this week.

“Oh, no!” said Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce President Gail Loefgren. “He is the best.”

Bullock, the town’s administrative chief since 2011, on Monday told the Town Commission he plans to step aside after the new year begins.

“Up until that time, you’ll have my full and focused attention,” Bullock told commissioners. “There’s a lot of work to do.”

Bullock, who began his tenure in October 2011, expressed gratitude to the commissioners, town staff and residents he has worked with during his five-and-a-half years on the job. The 66-year-old said Longboat Key is composed of “incredible people who really passionately care about their community,” and spending the end of his career on the Key has been his “privilege.”

“I couldn’t possibly have spent it in a better place,” Bullock said.

When Bullock started the job, replacing former Town Manager Bruce St. Denis, he gave commissioners a five-year commitment. When he retires, he will have put in more than six years of service on the Key.

As town manager, Bullock has overseen projects that will have lasting effects for the Key:

• In 2015, Key voters approved a plan to bury utilities, such as power lines and wireless communication gear. The project is intended to enhance the community’s safety, appearance and protection from storm-related outages and recovery from damage. The town expects to begin construction next year.
• In 2016, the town began redeveloping Bayfront Park. New amenities include a dog park, basketball court and observation deck. Town staff expects to have most most of the $3.5 million project finished in June.
• The town is in the beginning stages of constructing the Center for Arts, Culture and Education, a joint project between the town, Ringling College and the Longboat Key Foundation. Located at the Town Center on Bay Isles Road, the facility is expected to house art classes and a 200- to 300-seat black box theater.
• The town constructed two sand-preserving structures called groins near North Shore Road in 2015 to address erosion. In the coming months, the Town Commission will consider long-term options to address erosion on and near Greer Island.

Loefgren said Bullock was instrumental in explaining to town businesses SCAT’s and MCAT’s plans to change public transportation routes, which went into effect April 15. The changes included adding an on-demand shuttle to service the Key north of Bay Isles Road.

“Dave is always good at preparing the community for whatever is coming,” Loefgren said.

At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Jim Brown jokingly moved for a motion to reject Bullock’s resignation, while Mayor Terry Gans called the announcement “bittersweet.”

“I’m sorry to hear it,” Gans told Bullock. “But I’m glad for you.”

Commissioners will decide the hiring process to find Bullock’s replacement, a process that has not yet begun.

Before taking the job on the Key, Bullock had been a deputy county administrator of Sarasota County for 14 years. Prior to that, Bullock owned his own construction and logging company. He also spent eight years as a management consultant.

Bullock was raised in Berwyn, Pa. He attended West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., where he majored in history.

The announcement comes less than two months after Public Works Director Juan Florensa announced his own retirement, which will also happen in January.

“I think we’re losing two of the finest employees the town has ever had,” Loefgren said.