Benson commissioners hired a new town manager Tuesday night.

He is Matthew Zapp, town administrator of Madison Village, Ohio. Madison Village is a town slightly smaller than Benson in terms of population and town government, and Benson commissioners said Zapp is a good fit.

"Mr. Zapp was really a standout," Commissioner Fred Nelson said, noting Zapp's experience recruiting new jobs to Madison Village. "The board wants the next town manager to really have a hands-on approach to economic development."

Earlier this year, Zapp helped land a lawn-mower factory for the town, which is expected to bring about 20 or so high-paying jobs, he said.

Zapp is scheduled to start on Aug. 2. He replaces Keith Langdon, who is retiring June 30 after decades as town manager. Town Planner Braston Newton will serve as interim manager in July.

Zapp will have a salary of $70,000, plus an education stipend of $5,000 per year for tuition as he completes his master's degree in public administration.

Read a full profile about Zapp in next week's Herald.
 

If all goes as planned, Seth Lawless will soon become the Town Manager of Knightdale.

Town Manager Gary McConkey retires April 30 and Lawless, the assistant town manager, will take the helm.

Mayor Russell Killen said Lawless has proved himself during the three years he has been working as McConkey’s assistant.

Killen said the assistant manager position was created to do just what it has done – give the town a change to try Lawless out.

Killen said Lawless is a good fit: He’s proved himself capable of being prudent with tax dollars, been well-accepted by the staff and community, is fair, sets high expectations and is just an all-around nice guy, Killen said.

“Almost everybody likes Seth,” said Killen, “That’s something you can’t underestimate – both in getting people to work with you and for you – that’s important. He’s just a generally nice guy and that helps in a lot of situations that town managers are going to have to face.”

Read more in Wednesday’s Eastern Wake News.

^{Most reporters are not mathematicians.}

^{I certainly am not. That is why I ask questions when it comes to stories involving those pesky numbers that made me cringe in college. Recently, I spoke to a Johnston County town manager to get clarification on estimates involving a water project.}

^{After a few minutes, the town manager obviously seemed annoyed with me. I guess my math skills were not clicking as fast as he would have liked. His tone of voice changed, he sighed loudly several times over the telephone and made a remark that he could not have explained it any easier to me.}

^{Sorry, but I did not go to college to become a math whiz. Numbers take me a little bit longer to comprehend than vowels and nouns. I could have just gone on my assumptions, printed the numbers and got everything wrong. But instead, I went straight to the source, asked a few questions, got the right information and wrote my story.}

^{I guess the town manager didn’t see it that way.}