FAYETTEVILLE -- Tim Nyander will be the city's next Utilities Department director after filling the position on an interim basis for the past year.
Nyander replaces David Jurgens, who left for a job in Chesapeake, Va., in January 2014.
"I am proud to be a member of such an outstanding utility, which is staffed with so many dedicated employees," Nyander said in a city news release.
He added Wednesday, "We really are going to continue to focus on excellent customer service, because we deal directly, one-on-one, with our customers and we want to make sure that we are providing the maximum amount of service at the lowest possible cost."
The Utilities Department includes all aspects of municipal water and sewer services, parking and internal telecommunications.
The largest area in the department is the Water and Sewer Operations Division, which, with more than 100 city and contract employees, is responsible for two sewage treatment plants, 12,700 manholes, 4,000 fire hydrants, more than 1,200 miles of water and sewer lines, 15 water storage tanks and roughly 76,000 customer accounts.
The water and sewer budget is the city's largest fund at $39.2 million this year.
Fayetteville supplies drinking water and manages sewer services in Farmington, Greenland, Elkins and southern Johnson.
Part of Nyander's job will be staying apprised of possible heightened regulations for minerals and phosphorus in the White and Illinois rivers and coordinating a new sewer connection with West Fork.
"We're going to be looking at taking care of all of the watersheds we're part of," Nyander said. "We're working with Beaver Water District, Beaver Watershed Alliance and all of that."
Nyander was hired as manager of the city's Water and Sewer Operations Division in December 2012. Before that, he served as Public Works Operations manager for Joplin, Mo.
A native of Southwest City, Mo., Nyander, 55, has a bachelor's degree in management from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin and a master's degree in public administration from Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. He has been married to his wife, Beckie, for 30 years, and the couple has a 28-year-old son who lives in Fort Collins, Colo.
Nyander will be paid $100,006 annually, according to Missy Leflar, city human resources director. He earned $82,846 as the water and sewer manager.
Alderman Mark Kinion, chairman of the City Council's Water, Sewer and Solid Waste Committee, said Tuesday he was glad to hear about Nyander's promotion.
"As interim director, he's done an excellent job, and the communication channels have been very open," Kinion said. "I'm delighted we hired him so we can continue the projects we have going forward."
NW News on 01/15/2015
