As Greg Camp prepares to step down as Festus city administrator to take a job as town manager in Silverthorne, Colo., he said he is proud of his staff’s accomplishments and will miss working with them.
The Silverthorne Town Council voted 6-0 on Jan. 14 to hire Camp as its next town manager, a Silverthorne spokesperson said. His last day as Festus city administrator is Feb. 20.
Camp, 59, who lives south of Festus, said he and his wife, Kristie, have long been interested in moving to Colorado.
“My wife and I have had our eye on this area for a while,” Camp said. “My sister lives 30 minutes away (from Silverthorne). She’s lived in Colorado for 15 years now. I’m excited to be close to family. The mountains of that part of Colorado are breathtaking. It’s an hour west of Denver.”
As Festus city administrator, Camp is paid a $163,707 annual salary, plus a $350 monthly car allowance. As town manager of Silverthorne, he will be paid $260,000 a year, along with a $350 monthly car allowance, according the Silverthorne website.
Camp said his goal in his final weeks as Festus city administrator is to pave the way for the person who succeeds him.
“More than anything else is to make sure our incredible staff – and that’s one of the things I’ll miss most, is these people are so good at their jobs – is to make sure they have everything they need for the transition to a new city administrator,” he said.
Community reaction
City officials and others praised Camp’s work at Festus.
Sam Richards, the Festus mayor, said Silverthorne is getting a top-notch administrator in Camp.
“He has been the best city administrator the city has ever had because of his professionalism, the way he has dealt with the public,” Richards said.
Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon also spoke highly of him.
“I worked with Greg before I took this job (county executive) when he was city administrator,” he said. “We owned property – I still own property – in Festus city limits. Greg was always very good to work with. I’ve found him to be a very good guy. I wish him well in his next endeavor, and I feel Greg will do a good job where he’s at in Colorado.”
Some of those opposed to a proposal to build a data center in Festus are questioning the timing of Camp’s departure.
CRG of St. Louis plans to develop a data center on property north of Hwy. 67 and west of Hwy. CC in town.
Jesse Cordova, a candidate for a Festus Ward 3 City Council seat, recently filed a civil lawsuit against the city, Richards, Camp and all current members of the City Council, seeking declarative and injunctive relief for violations of the Missouri Sunshine Law.
In the suit, Cordova questions how Camp and the others have handled the data center development process.
Another data center critic, Grant Winnett, said he and others who have asked that the development process at least be slowed down so studies can be completed think Camp’s departure from Festus is a bad sign.
“I thought it’s a little telling he’s leaving,” said Winnett, who lives near the proposed data center property, but outside the city limits. “It raises questions for me.”
Winnett said he can only guess how Camp’s departure will affect the data center development project, but anticipates an even tougher situation for those trying to stop or slow it.
“It could hinder the process, but I think it helps the developer when it comes to the development agreement,” he said. “I think him leaving is a sign of tougher things to come. I think it benefits CRG.”
Camp said he believes he and other Festus officials have acted properly in their dealings concerning the data center project.
“I’ll stand by any statement I’ve made, which is, the city has followed the letter of the law, and, to date, we have not received an application to build a data center in Festus,” he said. “We’ve annexed property. We’ve rezoned property. And, that’s it.”
He said he is aware of criticisms against him related to the project, adding that those criticisms are not the reason he wanted to relocate.
“The previous (Silverthorne) administrator – or manager, I should say – resigned in April of last year,” he said. “They posted the job in September. To answer the obvious question – I applied for this before all the data center stuff.”
Camp said many comments made about his job change have been hurtful.
“Maybe that’s what some people have been waiting for, to get some kind of reaction out of me,” Camp said. “But, to those who have personally attacked me and my family and have sought to discredit my work and have never met me, I’ll just say what they’ve done and said is hurtful, which I’m sure is what they were going for, and is reprehensible. I think it’s sad that any keyboard warrior out there can attack a person and their body of work without ever knowing them.”
He said he does not believe his departure will affect the project.
“No, not one bit,” he said.
Camp said he will look back fondly at his time leading the Festus government staff.
“Festus is in excellent shape,” he said. “I think the accomplishments we’ve made to strengthen our infrastructure, expand recreation opportunities, improve the team culture within the organization – I’m going to miss these. I’m going to miss all these people a lot, because they’ve just been incredible.
“This is an incredible community that has a lot going for it, and I may not be here to assist in its continued progress, but I will never forget and never take my eye off this community. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done, and I’m excited about the work to come.”
Next steps
Richards said Festus would begin advertising to hire Camp’s successor immediately and hopes to find a replacement quickly enough so Camp can help train the person before he leaves Festus.
“What we’re going to do, we’re going to put notices in papers (Jan. 19),” he said. “We’ll close applications Jan. 30. We want to have someone in place in order to have a one- or two-week turnover working with Greg.”