Adams Township manager Peaco retiring at end of March
ADAMS TWP — After 23-and-a-half years of service to the township, Gary Peaco will be retiring from his full-time role as township manager by the end of the month.
The retirement was made official at a township supervisors meeting Monday night, March 10.
“I have a lot of mixed feelings,” Peaco said during the meeting. “I enjoyed my time at Adams. It involved a lot of projects. It’s been very interesting and fun.”
Peaco, 64, said he took the opportunity to retire, as he is on the verge of reaching retirement age.
“I’m going to be 65 shortly. I’m able to physically retire because of age,” Peaco said. “I'm fortunate enough that I can retire. I have home projects to do.”
Peaco’s last official day of work is March 28. However, he said he will continue to work for the township on a part-time basis for as long as necessary, as no successor has been chosen yet.
“There's a lot of things that need to be done, whether it's reviewing bills or approving payroll or those types of things,” Peaco said. “Those things need done, and I can help the board during the process because I know there's a lot going on.”
Peaco’s retirement comes at an unusual time for the township. In the month prior to his departure, Mike Knox retired from his position as code enforcement officer and Jenna Hoehn resigned from her position as secretary.
According to Peaco, Hoehn’s departure was for “personal reasons,” while Knox — like Peaco — had reached retirement age.
During Monday’s meeting, supervisors voted to promote assistant code enforcement officer Joe Julian to the role that Knox previously held. As of Monday night, Jennifer Ford is serving as secretary on a temporary basis while the township searches for a permanent secretary.
Peaco says the timing of all three departures within one month was a coincidence, and that others within the township are coming close to retirement age. He also said Knox’s retirement was not unexpected.
“We’d been talking about a succession plan for several years,” Peaco said. “We knew Mike was going to retire, and we have some other folks that are getting close.”
