Town Selects New Town Manager

April 1, 2009

Randy Feierabend has been named town manager for the Town of Beech Mountain.

Feierabend comes to Beech Mountain after eight years as planning services director for Caldwell County. Prior to that, he was with York County, S.C., for 11 years as planning and development services manager.

Mayor Rick Owen said Feierabend was selected from a pool of more than 40 applicants. He impressed the town council with his management experience and background in planning.
“Randy is a positive, energetic guy and I think he’s going to be a good fit,” said Owen. “We have a lot of infrastructure needs right now and his experience working with county governments, EDCs and planning boards will allow him to pull different factions together and work for common goals.”

In addition to being certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners, Feierabend will soon complete an extensive city-county administrative course conducted by the UNC School of Government.

“The council members have the best interest of Beech Mountain in mind and I liked what they had to say,” Feierabend said. “They want to move forward progressively and positively.”
Feierabend doesn’t expect to make major changes as he addresses pressing needs.
“We’ll develop a plan to make sure our infrastructure is there for future generations. I want to get a feel for people who live there and what they want, as well as the people who make it home for part of the year. Then we’ll come up with a vision that meets the needs of everybody.”
Feierabend is proud of his record in government, particularly the commitment he makes to the communities he serves. This is only his third job change in 28 years.

“If you’re in government, serving is your reward and I try to serve the citizens of the community,” he said. “Government can sometimes have a black eye with the people. I don’t want that to be the case locally.”

Feierabend is a native of Louisiana and a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His wife, Kathryn, is a watercolor artist. They have a 32-year-old daughter, Megan, who lives in Apex, and a 26-year-old son, Evan, who lives in Fort Mill, S.C.

story and photo provided by Craig Distl