Sterling city manager leaving post, returning to Kansas
BY ANDREW WALTERS
SVN REPORTER
awalters@svnmail.com
Jay Wieland, Sterling's city manager for nearly a decade, is resigning to take the same job in Paola, Kan.
Wieland and wife, Peggy, are both from Kansas.
Wieland's last day is Oct. 5. He starts in Paola, a town of about 5,000 people 45 miles south of Kansas City, on Oct. 15.
"Jay has been a real asset to the Sterling community and the entire Sauk Valley region," Mayor Amy Viering said. "He is a fantastic city manager ... Jay has worked very hard to make Sterling a great place to live."
A search is under way to find his replacement; the council will appoint an interim manager in the near future to help ease the transition, Viering said.
"It probably will be someone who has knowledge of how the city of Sterling works," she said.
During his tenure with the city, Wieland said he is proudest of efforts to revitalize the former Northwestern Steel and Wire property.
Former Mayor Ted Aggen remembers the day in 2001, that he received the phone call informing him that the mill, which employed 1,400 people at the time, was closing.
"I called Jay and said, 'We have to do something. I don't want that place to just sit there rusting and growing weeds,'" Aggen said. "He said, 'We will get right to work on it.'"
Eleven companies since have moved onto the site, and the city continues to work to bring new developments to the west side of town.
Wieland also helped improve downtown aesthetics by implementing the Streetscape beautification project.
"We appreciated and loved our time in Sterling," Wieland said. "I am extremely proud of the time I spent here."
Before coming to Sterling, Wieland was city administrator of Charles City, Iowa, and Hesston, Kan.
Reach Andrew Walters at (815) 625-3600 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 522.
