No action on Valdese town manager until after holidays

The Valdese Town Council won’t be naming a new town manager until early in 2025.

The council met in executive session for more than two hours on Wednesday morning at Town Hall but took no action when the closed-door meeting ended.

Interim Town Manager Bo Weichel met with the council for part of that time, but Mayor Charlie Watts declined after the meeting to say whether Weichel is a candidate for the permanent position.

Watts also declined to say how many candidates the council is interviewing for the post. “All I can tell is that we won’t be meeting again before January,” Watts said.

The council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, Jan. 6, at Town Hall.

The town manager’s position has now been vacant for more than a year.

Manager Seth Eckard was dismissed on Dec. 1, 2023. Valdese resident Eddie Perrou served as interim manager for the rest of December.

On Jan. 2, former Burke County manager Bryan Steen was named interim manager and he held that post until Aug. 23.

Weichel, who had been serving as assistant manager and chief financial officer, was elevated to interim manager on Aug. 23.