Fayette County Water System Director Lee Pope has tendered his resignation, citing health issues as the reason for leaving the job. Fayette County Administrator Steve Rapson said the objective in filling the position is to “find another Lee Pope.”
Pope on March 27 said he had recently given his notice, with his last day coming on April 12.
Referencing health-related issues as the reason for his resignation, Pope said he needed to back away from utility management while he determined what is going on with his health. He said he wanted to wait until mid-April to leave, given that the budget preparation process is underway.
Pope said he would be available to be contacted in the interim if needed.
“We’ve got good staff,” Pope said. “I think they’ll be fine.”
Commenting on the resignation, Rapson citing what has become an award-winning water system operation said, “Lee did a great job. He took the department to a different level.”
Rapson said the county has posted the position and “hopefully will find another Lee Pope.”
Pope in his resignation letter referenced his time with the water system since being hired in 2013.
“When I was offered this job in 2013 the Fayette County Water System had quite a few challenges. Today, as promised, you have an award-winning system exceeding all compliance. This system will again receive the Gold Award for compliance and will receive an excellent rating from the sanitary survey completed by EPD on March 13. Financially, the system is stable, and all required compliance is being exceeded,” Pope said.
