1 day Ago By By Austin Huguelet St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — Mayor Cara Spencer on Wednesday named an interim streets director, a day after the current director resigned under fire. City officials said on Tuesday that streets chief Betherny Williams, who was much-criticized for the city’s trouble with trash service and snow removal, had offered her resignation.
Her last day was Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon, the city announced Jim Suelmann as interim director of the department. Suelmann worked as director of streets under four different mayors, from 1985 until his retirement in 2006.
Williams’ departure ends a difficult tenure atop a department responsible for delivering some of the city’s most visible services: Trash pickup. Pothole filling. Snow clearance.
The department, hamstrung by staffing shortages, has struggled with all three in recent years , fueling anger among residents that contributed to Jones’ reelection defeat. But a January snowstorm, which covered city streets with ice and snow for days, put her position under a particular microscope. The city’s efforts to plow streets then were so poorly received that Jones eventually had to publicly apologize .
Making matters worse, the mayor’s office put out a statement from Williams saying that part of the problem was that she was receiving bad information from her staff . Aldermen shook their heads, saying Williams only had to leave her house to know conditions were bad. Among them was Spencer, then an alderman running for mayor, who said Williams had to be replaced.
Williams made no complaints in a brief interview Tuesday evening. “It’s been good working here,” she said. “Best wishes to the next director.
” Suelmann is a St. Louis native, the mayor’s office said. He got an electrical engineering degree from St.
Louis University and served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam.
He started working for the city in the Department of Public Utilities in 1978, and was named acting director in 1983. Mayor Vincent Schoemehl named him streets director in 1985. Spencer said she was “incredibly grateful” to Suelmann.
His appointment as interim, she said, would allow her to conduct a thorough search for a permanent director. “Jim Suelmann was trusted by St. Louis mayors for 21 years to provide vital city services to our residents,” Spencer said in a statement.
“With his exceptional experience and leadership returning to the Street Department, we can begin to improve how we deliver these city services right away.” The mayor’s office noted that Suelmann, during his prior tenure, expanded the streets department’s paving program, improved trash service and changed snow removal from just salting to salting, brining and plowing. Suelmann starts Monday.
David Hunn of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report..
