Town recognizes Ron Moore for work as interim manager

In his final regular board of aldermen meeting as interim town manager on Oct. 8, officials recognized Ron Moore for his work in the role since June. 

Mayor Don Collins presented Moore with a heavy stone square etched with the phrase "Better to face the bear than run from it." Above the saying was a bear's face etched in stone, while the bottom expressed a "thank you" from the Town of Black Mountain.

Moore was named interim town manager nearly three weeks after former town manager Matt Settlemyer abruptly resigned on May 22. The town asked Land of Sky Regional Council executive director Justin Hembree to fill the spot until an interim could be selected.

 Mayor Don Collins said Moore came into a tough situation, but he "faced the bear." 

"It was a heartfelt gift of thanks and appreciation from the board," Collins said. "He came into a situation where you had people retiring, people move onto other jobs, and he faced the bear. He didn't back down from any situation."

The board voted 4-1 on Sept. 10 to offer the town manager position to Josh Harrold, who served as Black Mountain's director of planning and development for over three years before taking a similar position in Lewisville. 

Moore, who retired as the Buncombe County District Attorney in 2014 after serving in that role for 24 years, had no town management experience before officials approached him about filling the interim position. 

"The board and I admire him for his leadership and toughness," Collins said. "He may not have been a town manager before but I can tell you this - he doesn't back up from any bear."

Moore addressed the board in the final minutes of the October meeting.

"It's been my honor to serve you for the last four months," he said. "My goal when I got here was to leave it better than when I found it and we tried to make some changes and move in a positive direction.

"I hope we've solved problems that the new town manager will not have to deal with," Moore continued. "Time will tell how we did with that, but thanks for the opportunity to serve you."

Harrold started in the position on Oct. 11. A reception welcoming him back to the town will be held from 12-2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 23. The reception is open to the public.