Interim community development director retiring

Charlie Lansford is ready to rest for a little while.

More than eight months after Lansford took over as interim director of Jefferson City's community development, after former director Pat Sullivan died from cancer, he has announced his retirement.

Lansford's career with the city spans 36 years, dating back to when he first started out as a food services inspector. But on July 29, that service will come to an end as he steps aside from his current position, overseeing the three divisions of the city's community development department.

The decision, Lansford said, is one that has been in the works for a while.

"I had kind of planned on retiring sometime either last year or this year," Lansford said. "With the unfortunate death of Pat Sullivan and the city giving me the opportunity to serve as the interim director until a new director could be found, I extended my time on out and postponed my retirement.

"In the process of doing such, the city administrator (Steve Rasmussen), Mayor Landwehr and I talked about the opportunity for a new director to be hired after the election. That way, the new mayor was seated, with the potential of three or four new councilman coming on, too."