PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Melissa Reichert was appointed as Punta Gorda's permanent city manager during Wednesday's city council meeting in a surprise 3-0 vote that drew a standing ovation from community members and staff.
The agenda item at hand was for council to consider spending more than $32,000 on a firm to search for city manager candidates.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on Reichert's appointment:
During the discussion, council members, city staff, department heads and residents began commending Reichert for the job she had done in the interim role, which she has held since November.
That's when Councilmember Jeannine Polk made a motion to hire Reichert, and scrap the search firm contract.
"I certainly didn't expect to have it happen today, and I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amount support that I got from our community members, our staff and our city council," Reichert said.
Councilmember Greg Julian abstained from the vote, and Councilmember Melissa Lockhart was absent from the meeting.
"We told the residents that we were going to do a firm use a firm to do the search because it's the most important decision we're making this year," Julian told Fox 4.
Reichert said she has already begun implementing strategies during her time as interim manager, focusing on community engagement and transparency.
"I feel like I've been listened to by our city council, and I have the respect of our staff," said Reichert. "So, I've already been able to move forward with initiatives such as having the additional community workshops that we've had and really doing more to make sure that our residents know that we're making decisions in their best interest and finding out what their thoughts are ahead of time."
Reichert has been with the city since 2018, and served as the Assistant City Manager. She stepped into the interim role after former City Manager Greg Murray left the position in November.
Murray was involved in an incident in August where he was removed from a downtown bar by police, which he attributed to a medical issue.
Before finalizing her appointment, Reichert will need to negotiate her contract and relocate within city limits, as required by the city charter, which she has committed to doing as soon as possible.
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