By Scott Jenkins

Salisbury Post

After more than 22 years with the city, Salisbury-Rowan Utilities Deputy Director for Administration John Vest is leaving for a job running Mooresville’s public services.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity, and it was a difficult decision, but it seemed to be the right choice to make,” Vest said Thursday. “It’s a new challenge.”

In the past couple of decades, Vest has held a number of titles in Salisbury, and Assistant City Manager for Utilities Matt Bernhardt called him “a much-loved co-worker and friend that we will all miss.”

Vest will remain with Salisbury through the end of January. On Jan. 26, the city will host a farewell reception and roast in his honor at One Water Street, the utilities administration building.

Vest’s job in Mooresville is a newly created position for the fast-growing city. As public services director, he will oversee public utilities, public works and municipal engineering functions, including water and sewer, streets and the city’s vehicle fleet.

He’ll still live in Rowan County, and his commute to work will only be five minutes longer than it is now, Vest said. But he will miss colleagues who have become friends, he said, as they established and built the city’s public utilities system through the years.

“My time with the city of Salisbury will always be special to me, and I’ll leave with many happy memories of the special people that I’ve been privileged enough to work with and know,” he said. “It’s with a sense of sadness that I leave, but I’m excited about the challenge of the new position.”

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Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com.