Marion council prepares for longtime city manager’s departure

MARION — With longtime City Manager Lon Pluckhahn soon leaving for a new job, the Marion City Council has appointed an acting city manager while still looking for candidates to fill his role running the daily operations of the growing community.

The city’s community development director, Tom Treharne, will serve as acting manager after Aug. 2, Pluckhahn’s last day on the job. Fire Chief Deb Krebill will serve as acting city manager pro tem.

Pluckhahn will be taking on a new role this fall as the deputy city manager in Vancouver, Wash. He has served as Marion’s city manager for 14 years, currently earning a $186,068 salary. During Pluckhahn’s time leading Marion, the city’s population swelled by more than 10,000 people.

Pluckhahn has led the city through many new developments and projects, including the Marion police facility and the Marion Enterprise Center, the YMCA, the city’s fire department headquarters and the city’s purchase of the Marion Airport.

Most recently, he also helped lead the city’s recovery efforts through the COVID-19 pandemic and last August’s derecho.

During his last City Council meeting on Thursday night, council members and Mayor Nick AbouAssaly thanked Pluckhahn for his many years of service in Marion.

“I think you can be very proud of the impact you’ve had and feel really good about the difference you’ve made,” AbouAssaly told Pluckhahn.

Pluckhahn told The Gazette that advertising for the city manager job will run through the end of the month before the city takes a first review of the applications.

“In the first three days, we were getting close to 15 applications already,” Pluckhahn said. “We expect a robust pool.”

The city is using a “dual process” in searching for a new manager, including doing its own networking and advertising to find qualified candidates as well as using a professional search firm to help widen the reach. The city is using Hinson Consulting of Washington, Iowa.

AbouAssaly told The Gazette that once finalists are picked, there will be public open houses to give community members the opportunity to meet the candidates.

Last month, the council also came to a consensus to pause the ongoing search for the city’s first deputy city manager, which began earlier this year, to put full focus on hiring a new city manager. The council also agreed that a new city manager should be involved in picking the No. 2.

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