Waugh Honored After Final City Council Meeting; Parker Confirmed As Next City Admin

Derek Waugh received gifts and congratulations on Tuesday night as he took part in his final meeting as a member of the Dalton City Council. Waugh is leaving Dalton to pursue a new job opportunity as the athletic director at the Marist School in the Atlanta area. His departure was announced in April. 

At Tuesday night's meeting of the Dalton Mayor and Council, Waugh received an award marking his service as well as a road sign for Waugh Street, which Councilmember Waugh jokingly had said was named after him. A sign thanking Waugh for his service was posted behind his seat in the Council Chamber, though it did unfortunately spell his first name incorrectly. 

Waugh was elected to the city council and took office in January 2020. Originally, he planned to leave the council on July 1st when his new job began, but he stayed on an extra week so he could attend Tuesday night's meeting. His seat will then remain vacant until the November general election when it will be on the ballot. Qualifying for that election will begin at the end of August.

“I loved working with everyone on the council,” Waugh said at the time of his announcement in April. “I would say given the time frame when I took office and going through the pandemic and all the things that came along with that it was definitely an interesting time, but it was a good time to be in a leadership position and I just enjoyed everything about the community and I’m positive someone great will step up and take my place and do a great job.”

Parker Confirmed

Also at Tuesday night's meeting, Andrew Parker was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Council as the new City Administrator to succeed Jason Parker (no relation) when he retires on August 12th. Andrew Parker is currently the Director of Public Works. He was named as the sole finalist for the position on June 21st. 

Andrew Parker joined the Public Works Department in May 2010 after earning his civil engineering degree from Southern Polytechnic State University. After beginning his career as a project manager, Parker was promoted to assistant director of the department in the summer of 2014. He was promoted to department director in November 2019. 

“I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity to serve in this new role for the City of Dalton,” Andrew Parker said last month when he was named as the finalist for the job. “Serving the Public Works Department for the last 11 years has been very rewarding, and I believe that experience gained here in Dalton has uniquely prepared me to succeed in this new endeavor. I’m very passionate about Dalton. I’ve spent the bulk of my professional career here and the city means a lot to me.”

Above: Andrew Parker poses Tuesday night with his family

A native of northwest Georgia, Parker is a 2006 graduate of Murray County High School. In addition to his Civil Engineering degree from Southern Polytechnic, he holds a number of advanced and specialized engineering and public works management certifications including being a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia. He is active in the community outside of his role with the city government. He has served as an instructor with the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce Emerging Leaders Institute since 2013.

The City Council met on Tuesday instead of the usual Monday night session due to the observation of the Independence Day holiday.