Town taps LOW’s Bailey as manager

ORANGE — The Orange Town Council has voted unanimously to name Lake of the Woods General Manager John S. Bailey as its new town manager.

Bailey will begin his new post with the town in early September and will ultimately replace outgoing Orange Town Manager Cole Hendrix, who retires Sept 30.

Bailey comes to Orange from Lake of the Woods, where he manages a community of 8,000 residents with an annual budget of $7.9 million and 54 full-time and 40 part-time employees. There, he is responsible for 11 departments and 21 different citizen committes.

He has been the Lake’s general manager for eight years and previously served as Cumberland County’s adminstrator.

Orange Mayor Henry Carter said 120 applications were received for the town manager position. Council members whittled that figure down to 25 and interviewed about 10 candidates before selecting three finalists. Carter said the vote to hire Bailey was unanimous.

Bailey’s salary will be $105,000 annually.

Hendrix announced earlier this year he would retire from the town in September. He was appointed town manager in 2005.