Jerry Hood Resigns as Pinehurst City Administrator

The City of Pinehurst is looking for a new city administrator. Jerry Hood submitted his letter of resignation as the city administrator on July 12, and it was accepted by the Pinehurst City Council.

A two-person committee was appointed by the City Council on July 20 to review the twelve applications received to fill the position and make a recommendation for selecting the new city administrator. Mayor Sarah McClendon and Alderman Greg Willis will be the committee members, but each person on the council will also get copies of the applications and resumes of the twelve applicants.

Mayor McClendon greatly appreciates the work done by Jerry Hood in his more than two years as the administrative head of the Pinehurst city government. "Jerry Hood has done an amazing job in our city. We couldn't ask for a better city administrator. It's going to break our hearts to lose him, we don't want to lose him. Our next administrator is going to have to fill some big shoes because we've become accustomed to how Jerry ran our city," McClendon expressed.

Jerry Hood replaced his brother Robbie Hood in May 2020. Jerry Hood was hired for the position of city administrator in Pinehurst after Robbie Hood became the city manager for Vidor.

The reason for Jerry Hood's resignation as city administrator is to allow him to care for members of his family. "My wife's health and the health of my daughter as well were really the triggering factor to this. I just feel like I'm needed at home, and I need to be there available for them," Hood explained.

The City of Pinehurst offered to allow Hood to work part-time as the city administrator while also caring for his family. Hood replied it would not be fair to the city if he worked just two or three days a week because he stated the position of city administrator requires a full-time commitment from the person handling that job.

Until a replacement is found Hood has agreed to serve as an interim city administrator to assist Pinehurst. The selection of the replacement will be handled as quickly as possible by the committee and the council.

In his over two years in Pinehurst Hood has worked to improve the city. "One of the biggest things was the $6.8 million grant from the General Land Office. It was three projects including upgrading the electrical control room for the Waste Water Treatment Plant, it was some street improvements, and it also involved some sewer improvements. That day-to-day operation to get that grant executed and to completion has really been the keystone part of the two years I have been here," Hood reminded.

Another goal for Hood was bringing every body together to work as a team. Hood indicated, "To see what our needs are for the city and together work towards that common goal."

The beautification of Pinehurst was a goal Hood established about a year ago. "We want potential businesses and potential citizens that have any thoughts of moving to Pinehurst to be able to drive through Pinehurst, and Pinehurst be a place they want to come, and that's what triggered the cleanup Pinehurst program because we need to cleanup our own house, we need to cleanup our streets, we need to cleanup our residences, and cleanup our commercial properties so we can be a place where people want to come," Hood commented.

The advice from Hood for the new city administrator is to build a rapport with the citizens of Pinehurst and with the City Council. Hood suggested, "They'll want to look at business growth, continuing drainage projects, and working for grants. In the City of Pinehurst we rely heavily on grants, so that I feel that will be the main focus."

Speaking of grants, Hood described to the council on July 20 a Community Development Block Grant associated with the Disaster Recovery 2019 Disasters program through the Texas General Land Office. There is the potential for two $1 million grants with the application deadline at the end of July. There is a one percent cost share for Pinehurst of $10,000 for the grants which ARPA funds can be used to cover.

The council approved a resolution authorizing the submittal of applications for the grants. Mayor McClendon and Mayor Pro-Tem Dr. Michael Shahan will be the authorized representatives for the city in regards to the grant applications.

Hood retired from the United States Air Force prior to his taking the position with Pinehurst. After serving as the interim city administrator Hood hopes to assist his wife Shelbi with her business The Purple Rose Boutique started in Pinehurst about a year ago.

With her current health situation Shelbi Hood needs some assistance with running the business. Jerry is getting his master's degree in business administration which he believes he can use to help operate The Purple Rose Boutique even more successfully.

The mayor hopes Hood's replacement will have the same desire and affection for Pinehurst that Hood has. "We're looking for someone that's going to love Pinehurst as much as we do. Someone that's going to be there for our citizens, that's going to give them what they need, that has knowledge about grants, and writing grants the things the city is going to require. It's mostly just looking for that perfect person, and we're wanting to take our time and make sure we get that perfect person for our city to keep our city going in the right direction that it already is," McClendon concluded.