By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer

MADISON – After lively discussion between the Madison City Council, Mayor Troy Troy Trulock and other city entities the past few weeks regarding a city manager position for the city, a press release from the city was sent the afternoon of Aug. 21 that detailed the 10-member “City Administration Study Task Force” and descriptions of the 10 individuals.

The committee, according to the press release, will study the inner workings of several different administrative roles that might possibly be added to the city, including “project manager, communications director, city administrator and city manager.”

“This process may entail visits to other cities with similar positions, interviews
with current and former elected officials and city employees, and reviews of state codes and
current literature as it relates to the subject,” the press release stated.

The findings of the committee will be revealed to at least one “town hall” type of meeting and one regularly scheduled City Council meeting. City Council meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of every month at the Municipal Building at 100 Hughes Road.

In addition, the committee will hold meetings every Wednesday in September from 4-6 p.m. at the Madison City Schools central office at 211 Celtic Drive.

The members of the committee are as follows, with John Allen counting as the 11th member:

1) John Allen. Allen was tasked to head the committee, asked by District 3 Councilman D.J. Klein. Allen has lived in the city since 1994 and is president of Southern Construction & Design, Inc.

Allen served on the city’s Planning Commission from 2000-07, the Mayor’s Sustainability Committee from 2009-11 and the Architectural Review Board from 2005-07.

2) Bob Drolet. Drolet spent 29 years in the United States Army and is currently president of BD Consulting, LLC. Drolet co-chaired the Madison City School Task Force in 2010.

3) Kris McBride. McBride was most recently Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA). She has 30 years of experience in management and software development.

4) Cynthia McCollum. McCollumn is familiar to Madisonians as a former City Council member, having served 18 years on the Council. McCollum currently works as a professional development/sexual harassment assault response victim advocate with the U.S. Army Materiel Command Logistics Support Activity (LOGSA) at Redstone Arsenal.

5) Taron Thorpe. Thorpe is currently employed with BancoprSouth. He serves as the “Chair of the Madison Industrial Development Board, President of the Riley Behavioral and Educational Center, Vice Chair of the City of Madison Redevelopment Authority, and State Government Chair of Huntsville Madison County Leadership.”

6) Mary Lynne Wright. Wright has been the president of Madison Hospital since its inception in 2012. Wright is a member of numerous healthcare professional boards and serves on the board of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

7) Tom Butler. Butler served Madison in the state House of Representatives from 1982-94 and in the state Senate from 1994-2010. Butler was instrumental in Madison forming its own school system and the city’s receiving money from the BRAC program.

8) Ray White. White served on the Madison City School Board of Education from 2005-15 and was president of the Board for the last six years of his time there. White is managing member in the Huntsville office of Warren Averett, LLC, CPAs & Advisors, the largest CPA firm in Alabama.

9) Robert P. Lott, Jr. Lott fielded a long career with the U.S. Army, including high-level postitions in the Pentagon. Lott has worked for SAIC since 2005 and is heavily involved with the distribution of BRAC funds throughout the Tennessee Valley.

10) Sally Warden. Warden has lived in Madison for 32 years and currently sits on the boards at the Land Trust of North Alabama, Heart of the Valley YMCA and the Asbury Food Pantry, among several others.

11) Al Sullivan. Sullivan Chairman is the current  CEO of ABT, Inc and the president and
CEO of BFA Systems. Sullivan boasts a long career with the U.S. Army with the Joint Staff
and Headquarters Department of the Army in Washington, D.C. and at Redstone Arsenal.

Sullivan is the recipient of several meritorious awards during his time in active duty. He currently serves on the board of the Huntsville Botanical Garden.