Mr. Greene Flirts with Winter Haven

David Greene, City Manager in Lake Wales is in an enviable position…. Winter Haven wants him… and Lake Wales wants to keep him.  Both city commissions may be making the wrong decision. 

True enough, Mr. Greene has brought Lake Wales out of the deep hole of debt and put the city on the right track.  We have a lot of positives and are in a position to roll!  New city hall, expanded tax basis, water, ground ready for development.  All the major players in retail and restaurants will be looking at Lake Wales over the next decade. 

So why would the Winter Haven city commission be making a mistake?  It is always hard to make a decision on a new city manager, so many intangibles, so many things can go wrong with a new man.  The commission sees Mr. Greene as a “freebee”.  How could they be criticized if things do go wrong with Mr. Greene?  After all, he has a proven track record.  It seems to me that they are putting all their eggs in one basket, Mr. Greene.

 So lets go back to the Lake Wales City Commission.  They want and are looking at ways to keep Mr. Greene in the city managers seat.  They too don’t want to have the responsibility to fill the shoes of Mr. Greene.  The status quo, especially if it is been comfortable is always the easy way out.

 But why the mistake?  It seems to me that Mr. Greene is aiming a little low.  If indeed he is a great city manager, why Winter Haven?  I think that is a baby step and at 50+ years old Mr. Greene should be looking to step up to the big leagues, not a safe, mini step.  If indeed that is Mr. Greene’s desire it indicates to me that he does not have the confidence to look to the risk of a major city.  People that take the comfortable route may not be as great as assumed.

 Sure, I would think that the City Commission should express their desire to keep Mr. Greene.  But they should let the Winter Haven “think” play out.  Any executive should be open to opportunities and you cannot fault Mr. Greene for exploring the possibility of greener pastures.  He may come to the conclusion that Lake Wales is where the action is until a real opportunity comes along.  If I does go to Winter Haven, it may just indicate that he is not the “great” city manager that has been portrayed. 

As to Winter Haven, you should be opening the door of opportunity, not closing it with the early panting for and almost anointing Mr. Greene as the prime candidate.  By doing so you are eliminating a lot of possibilities.  Just like our local school system, by having an elected superintendent they eliminate many great options.  With a local boy the favorite it precludes a lot of talented city managers from even applying. 

I would bet that Mr. Greene will turn down Winter Haven.  With Lake Wales he has a great opportunity for great possibilities over the next few years.  Mr. Greene will leave Lake Wales sometime, but not for Winter Haven.  The world is too big to limit his options to a baby step. 

If he does decide to take the Winter Haven job, it will indicate to me that he is not the great city manager that all of us want.  It will be an easy decision for the commission, but not the right one.  He will have found a ‘comfortable’ situation to ease into the retirement years. 

So, Lake Wales, let this little flirtation play out, it will tell you a lot about Mr. Greene.  Winter Haven, you better open the doors and look at a lot of possibilities.  Likely you will need them and in the end it will help you make a better decision.