Published: July 16, 2008 11:57 am      

Garrett picks successor to roads department superintendent Polce

OAKLAND - The Garrett County Roads Department will see some change as Fred Polce, superintendent of the department for the last nine years, retires and Jay Moyer is brought in to the position.

"Fred has done a wonderful job," Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator, said. "I could talk a lot about Fred. He set the benchmark. ... Jay's had 30 years of public work with the town of Oakland and this will be a bigger job for him, but the county commissioners and myself are confident that he can do it and do a good job."

Pagenhardt said the search for a replacement for Polce, who took over the position in August 1999, began in March. In the time that Polce has been superintendent, he took a department that had been "in the spotlight" for negative things and made it one of the most productive departments anywhere, Pagenhardt said.

On Monday, Moyer accepted the job as superintendent, leaving his work as an employee of the town of Oakland for the last 32 years. He will, however, continue on as a town councilman, serving as chairman of streets and roads.

That position, he said, is what he will be doing for the county on a larger scale. He said the hardest part of the job will be stepping up to the example set by Polce.

"I know that Fred Polce will be a hard superintendent to follow because of the great job he's done over the years," Moyer said. "The citizens of the county are seeing the results they have seen because of the leadership of Fred Polce. I'm going to have a lot to learn, and it will take a lot of time and effort to maintain the high standards that Fred has created."

Moyer said he is looking forward to working with the county employees and the county roads department seems to be a "well-organized operation."

For the town of Oakland, it will be a loss. Peggy Jamison, town council member, said that in losing Moyer, they are losing someone who knew much more about the town than just his job as the wastewater/sewer treatment superintendent.

"The town of Oakland will miss him," Jamison said. "He had a lot of institutional knowledge, a lot of the other facets of the town."

He will continue to serve on the town council, where he's been a member for the last 20 years.

Pagenhardt said when Moyer begins Monday, he will get to work alongside Polce, who is to retire Aug. 1. He said he thinks those 10 days will help to get Moyer more acquainted with the operations, the roads and the people.

Although Polce plans to spend his retirement with his grandchildren and family, Pagendhardt said he is sure the current superintendent will be there to help in situations even after July 31.

"When we started this process of hiring, he took it as seriously as I have," Pagenhardt said. "I'll be here and he won't, but he's handled this, being part of the hiring process, as serious as every minute he's been on the job."

Polce declined to be interviewed about his retirement.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.