Atlantic Beach council holds closed session on town manager candidates; no action taken

The Town of Atlantic Beach Town Council convened a special work session on Jan. 18, 2023, and entered a closed session under North Carolina law to consider applicants for the town manager position. Mayor A.B. Cooper, III called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. in the boardroom at 125 West Fort Macon Road.

Council members recorded as present were Mayor Pro Tem Austin Waters and councilmembers Renea Baker, Joey Dean, Danny Navey and Joseph Starling. Department heads listed as attending included Sabrina Simpson, administrative services director; Sarah Currie, finance director; Morgan Gilbert, parks and recreation director; Marc Schulze, public services director; Fire Chief Mike Simpson; and Police Chief Jeff Harvey. The minutes state that Planning Director Jennifer Ansell and Clerk Katrina Tyer were absent due to Leadership Carteret.

The council entered closed session “pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(6) to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee.” Department heads joined the closed session in groups to provide their impressions of the candidates for town manager; the minutes do not record candidate names or the substance of those impressions.

After considering departmental input, council members continued their deliberations in closed session. The minutes report that council exited closed session at 5:00 p.m., that no action was taken, and that the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. The Jan. 18 minutes were later approved at the Feb. 27, 2023 meeting of the Town of Atlantic Beach Town Council.

No motions, votes, hires or appointments appear in the minutes for this meeting; the document lists attendance, the closed-session authority used and the procedural outcome that no action was taken.