By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Chiefland City Commissioners will choose from three homegrown candidates for the vacant city manager position.

            City Accounting Specialist Seth Sache, Interim City Manager Laura Cain. and Water and Facilities Manager Shane Keene are finalists for the position.

            Seth Sache

            Sache earned a Bachelor of Science in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida in 2011 and an online Master of Arts in Christian Ministry from Liberty University in July of 2020. He is director of student ministry for First Baptist Church in Bronson for grades 6-12.

            He was raised on a farm near Chiefland and says he learned hard work and problem solving as a farmer, but one of the best skills he acquired on the farm was financial management.

            He said his academic studies at the University of Florida helped him learn finance and how to make spreadsheets to determine growth.

            “My time at the University of Florida also helped me make budgets and I also learned how to manage a business,” he said in the cover letter that accompanied his resume.

            He went to work for Hibbett Sports in Chiefland after obtaining his associates degree with a business background at Lake City Community College, which later became Florida Gateway College. When the manager stepped down, he became Hibbetts Sports store manager.

            “As the manager I worked out the business side of retail, keeping up sales and maintaining inventory so loss did not happen. On top of that, I managed personnel. I continuously worked closely with the employees to train them on the skills they needed to succeed,” he said.

            He was hired in 2017 by the City of Chiefland to work in grants. He later moved to the position of accounting specialist and helped keep the city’s books and finances in order.

            “Working at the City of Chiefland has helped me learn how government works and has also taught me to work with people from various departments,” Sache said.

            While working for the city, he married his wife Morgan and they had two daughters. Morgan is a teacher at Chiefland Elementary school.

            Laura Cain

            Cain has worked as deputy city clerk since April of 2003.

            She took over as interim city manager and continued to serve as deputy clerk when City Manager Mary Ellzey retired in late March.

            In her resume, she lists her duties as deputy-clerk to include preparing city commission agendas, preparing minutes of commission meetings, assisting and conducting city elections and preparing qualifying packets, coordinating various insurance policies, plans, claims and coverage adjustments, submittal of all insurance claims, maintaining and updating city inventory, backing up project and finance coordinator, having knowledge of government budget and finance procedures, preparing public records  requests, composing correspondence letters and proclamations and performing supervisory and management responsibility as well as working with elected officials, department heads, employees, representatives of other governmental and non-governmental agencies, news media, and the general public.

            She also served in the position of Staff Assistant II in Chiefland City Hall. Her duties included scheduling meetings and appointments, processing and following up on customer service requests, assisting with duties in the utility department at City Hall with water, sewer and garbage accounts; customer relations/complaints/request; assisting the contracted building and zoning official with permitting and maintaining rental calendar for the Tommy Usher Center and city recreational parks.

            Prior to that, Cain served as a Staff Assistant II for the city, serving as support staff to the water and facilities manager, assisting in preparation of the annual budget and preparing reports and statistical data; scheduling and maintaining her supervisor’s calendar of appointments and meetings, making recommendations, review and monitor the budget; file-office correspondence and records, prepare correspondence, memos, purchase orders, and purchase requests.

            Shane Keene

            Keene has served as the city’s water and facilities manager for more than 15 years and served in the United States military from December 1993 to December 2000.

            He served on the Chiefland Fire Department from June 1999 to June 2005, served as the city inmate supervisor, water department trainee, and water plant operator from March 1997 through November 2005.

            Keene served as Chiefland Water and Facilities Manager from December of 2005 to the present.

            He has a long list of educational and training achievements including:

• United States Army, Fort McClellan, Alabama, Military Police School graduate.
• University of Florida, Treeo Center – Gas Chlorinator Troubleshooting, Excavation and Trenching, Water Facilities Security and Response Systems Training, Permit Required Confined Space Entry-Supervisor, Water Distribution System Security.
• California State University, Sacramento – School of Engineering & Computer Science – Water Treatment Plant Operation, Volume I & II
• Daytona State College, Daytona Beach – Animal Control Officer Certification
• State of Florida, Department of Environmental Protection – Drinking Water Treatment Plant Operator, Class B
• Emergency Management Institute, FEMA – Introduction to ICS for Public Works Personnel ICS -100; ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents ICS-200; Intermedia ICS for Expanding Incidents ICS-300; Advanced Command and General Staff Complex Incidents ICS-400; National Incident Management System ICS-700, National Response Plan ICS -800.
• State of Florida, Division of Emergency Management – County Points of Distribution and Staging Area Course.

Keene lists as his accomplishments:

• Actively assisting the city manager with the Comprehensive Plans setting forth a vision of goals for the city’s future
• Spearheaded a mapping application designed to support the city map of the water and sewer infrastructure and track maintenance.
• Solved, designed, and updated the city’s municipal water system by creating an innovative floatation device to accurately determine the tank levels.

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City of Chiefland Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt May 24, 2021; Posted May 24, 2021