Michael Monahan was looking for an opportunity that would allow him to quit his job as a mechanical engineer. In 2018, a project in the basement of his McCandless home helped Monahan find his true calling, which led to a business in Springdale with plans to expand in New Kensington.
Six-plus months into his sixth year as city manager of Corvallis, Mark Shepard is working through a routine period dominated by the coronavirus, homelessness and the need to replace more than 120 years of staff institutional knowledge.
In other words itâs business as usual for a person seeking to manage a city of nearly 60,000 people.
âItâs certainly a very interesting and challenging job,â said Shepard, 55, in a bit of an understatement.â
Shepard participated in a pair of dual Gazette-Times interviews, one via email and one via telephone, in an effort to provide an overview of his tenure with the city, which began May 1, 2015.