With municipal elections just two months away, Pell City’s mayor and City Council have already taken a giant step toward charting a course for the city’s future. At the June 25 council meeting they hired the first city manager for the city under a form of government that shifts administrative duties from the mayor to the manager.

The City Council will still set policy for the city, and the manager will be responsible for the day-to-day management of municipal government responsibilities.

Patrick Draper has been the city’s fire chief since October 2010.

The former Marine managed training for the Alabama Fire College before taking the fire chief job in Pell City. He holds a BS in business and history from the University of Alabama and a Masters in Public Administration from Jacksonville State University.

He will be stepping into a challenging role in a city seeing growth in population, retail centers and services, with an expectation of increasing demands on city services in the years ahead.

He will also be facing the challenges of transitioning into the new job and working with a new city council in just a few months.

We congratulate the mayor and council for making this important decision in the life of the city, and wish Draper success in moving Pell City forward.