Brunswick City Manager Carl DeForest announces intention to retire in 2027

BRUNSWICK — After 35 years of service to the Brunswick, City Manager Carl DeForest announced his plan to retire in 2027. The announcement of DeForest's upcoming retirement was made during the city's goal-setting session on Monday. DeForest served many roles at the Brunswick Division of Police, including as police chief, before he was appointed as Brunswick's permanent city manager in 2017. "I will tell anybody, even people who won't listen, that it's been an absolute pleasure being with the city, and 35 years have just flown by," he said. "I'm not going away mad. I'm not going anywhere. It's just time for somebody else to saddle up and ride." DeForest said his intent is to retire by the middle of next year. "I will do everything I can to make that transition smooth and positive for the community," he said. "We'll probably talk at length in the future about the process." Vice Mayor Nick Hanek said he will propose and probably create an ad hoc committee to help start finding a new city manager. His intention for the committee would be to vet who the city will use as a search firm. "I liked what Oberlin did during their search," he said. "They had the two city manager finalists both present on different things, like the rec center or the library, to the public for some public input. I think that's going to be really important." The decision on who will be the next city manager is an important one because DeForest has been "so integral in what we've done for so long," Hanek said. "We've been through transitions that were sudden. This is not that," he said. "This is one where we can think about, we can look at and we can approach who takes over such an important role with some diligence, thought and community input. I also think some professional input because this is a professional government, and this is a professional position." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.