Photo Credit: STAFF PHOTO BY DANDAN ZOU (Calvert Recorder)
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It's been a tumultuous two years for the small Eastern Shore town of Oxford, Maryland. After many questions regarding how the town was being run by long time Town Manager Cheryl Lewis, Lewis retired in June, prompting the town to engage a national search firm to find her replacement.
On Tuesday, after a rigorous nationwide search, the Commissioners of Oxford named Holly Wahl, the Town Administrator for the town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland as the new Town Manager for Oxford, a small town of approximately 600 residents. She is expected to begin her role January 6, 2025.
Wahl will have much to do as she recreates a town office that is down to one employee, Clerk Vicki Sharp, due to retirements and resignations of previous staff. She will also take over a town where the residents desire to have a more positive future after two years of questions, controversy, and demands for transparency.
Wahl has been called a "crusader" for doing what is right, ethical, and legal in town government. Chesapeake Beach is a very different community from Oxford; 6500 residents in a town where the presence of casinos, developers and large recreational areas and parks dominate. When Wahl and town lawyer Todd K. Pounds discovered that large developers had not paid water and connection fees for their condos in accordance with the town law, they told them they must pay the bills or address any exemptions to the Town Council. Developers didn't want to comply and started a campaign to oust the sitting administration with the election of a new mayor.
A new "pro-developer" Mayor was elected in what could be considered a "suspect" election. Wahl resigned.
Wahl's council members and many supporters described her as professional, responsive, and pivotal person in improving the town's fiscal health and communications. " Holly Wahl was the best hire this town ever made," former Mayor Mahoney said. "The town has never been so well-informed or well-managed."
At Oxford's Town Meeting Tuesday night, several residents expressed their excitement over Wahl's hiring.
" I'm ready for a more positive path going forward into 2025," said one resident. "It's exciting that we have hired such an extremely qualified person to take this position."
Wahl has many academic and experience credentials. In her role as administrator in Chesapeake Beach for the past 8 years, she reduced town taxes of over 17% while increasing services to businesses and citizens, reduced the town's liabilities by $9.44 million, increased the town's net position by $21 million and improving the town's fund balance by over $15 million. This happened via grant funding, fiscal accountability, organizational changes, and the application of technology and alignment of staff with mission critical activities to eliminate inefficiency.
All things that Oxford has needed for over a decade; particularly in the past two years. The Oxford Commissioners shared their optimism in a statement:
"We the Commissioners are absolutely delighted to bring to the Town of Oxford and experienced administrator who aligns with the community goal of managing coastal resiliency. Ms. Wahl has experience applying for and managing grant monies, coordinating with state and local agencies, and has worked with the Army Corp of Engineers on major waterway projects such as the $3 million plus federal dredging of Fishing Creek Channel. She has conducted outreach to engage coastal resiliency citizen steering committees, supporting them in the formulation and development of plans that identify and prioritize areas of risk for flooding and subsidence. Her experiences in procurement and management of large projects will bring cost savings with better management."
This comes at a time when the town is running a structural deficit and the $18 million dollar wastewater treatment plant, which has been in service for five years, will need to be consistently updated. The town also faces the installation of new pumps and other solutions to relieve the increased flooding of various areas of the town. There is an update being made to the town's water meter and water billing software among other important issues.
Wahl will also have to closely monitor the Town's Strand Beach replenishment project as it was discovered last week that the contractor, Underwood and Associates, did not follow their original plans and was putting the project in jeopardy of being "out of compliance" with federal and state permits that were issued. This would be costly for the town as well as put them in danger of being denied future permits. Underwood's project manager, Chris Becraft, in a meeting with Commissioners, citizens and several federal and state agencies last week, committed to correct obvious flaws in the project by April 18, 2025. After that date, the project will be considered out of compliance by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of Environment. Becraft and Underwood had declared the project finished last summer and was paid in full by the town. Resident Jane McCarthy asked the Commissioners who signed off on the project even though it was not in compliance. The answer was the previous town manager, Cheryl Lewis.
Wahl will want to hit the ground running in January. Fortunately, she will have Vickie Sharp, Town Clerk, available to help her manage the transition as well as the Commissioners, Maintenance Supervisor Matt Ozman and Chief of Police Chris Phillips. Wahl's experience and academic degrees will provide the expertise needed to manage the transition.
She will also have an entire town of people excited to have her in charge.
Before working as a Town Manager, Ms. Wahl served as the Director of Operations in the private and non-profit sectors. She holds a master's in business administration from the University of Maryland, a bachelor's in business administration from Johns Hopkins University, an Executive Graduate Certification in Public Leadership from the Havard Kennedy School and a Graduate Certificate from the Academy of Excellence in Local Governance at the University of Maryland. She is finalizing her dissertation to obtain a Doctorate in Public Administration and Public Policy from George Washington University with her research on how Town Managers can leverage complexity to improve public outcomes.
The Commissioners will host an opportunity for the community to meet Ms. Wahl in the upcoming weeks.
EXTRA NOTE: Contacts from Calvert County tell us that Holly Wahl has done an amazing job in Chesapeake Beach and that she is well respected in the area and throughout the State of Maryland.
