Meet Larry Williams, Bunnell's new city manager

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Some people keep pictures of their children on their cell phones. Larry Williams has pictures of his blue-ribbon alpaca.

Williams was named the new city manager of Bunnell this fall, but his journey took him to some unexpected places before that. He was the city manager of Eatonville for five years and then Belle Isle for eight before he found out his grandchild in Pennsylvania had a serious illness.

“When your child calls you up and says, ‘We need you, Dad,’ then Dad goes,” Williams told me during a visit to his office in the Government Services Building. He’s an unassuming man, with gray hair, glasses and a beard that is meticulously trimmed along his jaw like a razor’s edge.

He recalled that the family had a difficult decision in 2008 because he also had four properties that needed to be cared for in Florida. The ultimate solution was that his wife, Donna, would stay in Florida while he moved to Pennsylvania to be with his grandchild.

The year before, they had a family reunion in Hershey, Pa. Every day, he drove by a farm. “I thought, ‘That looks cool,’” he recalled. “Never thought I’d buy one.”

But that’s exactly what he did. After never having farmed more than a 10-by-10-foot plot in his life, he bought a 38-acre farm. He thought it would be good for his grandchild, too.

For the next four years, he raised alpaca and sold hay. He had the animals sheared regularly and sold the fiber, he said. He even helped an alpaca mother deliver a baby himself when the veterinarian was too late getting to the farm.

Finally, the situation with his grandchild improved enough that it was time to reunite full time with his wife. With the market improving, they decided to put the farm up for sale and wait to see whether it would sell before the four properties in Florida did. As it turned out, Williams had the cash in hand five weeks after posting the listing.

In 2012, he returned to Florida, and, after looking for homes in St. Augustine, the Williamses settled in Palm Coast. He was retired, but he got involved in the community, volunteering at Feed Flagler last year. And then, he read about the turmoil in Bunnell, with City Manager Armando Martinez taking heat from some of the commissioners.

“I’m sitting here getting annoyed if someone takes my vacuuming away from me,” Williams said. “I needed something to do.”

So, he offered to help in the search process. And as he got more involved, he decided to apply for the job. As fate would have it, he was hired.

He seems to genuinely love it so far. He has a big smile on his face at all times and has no qualms about making his mark on the city without getting in the way. He doesn’t seem to be out to prove anything.

I sat with him during WNZF’s “Free For All Friday” radio show last week and had a similar experience with him there as I did in his office. I think he’s a great addition to the Flagler community. Welcome aboard, Larry!