Roberts begins duties as administrator in Lewisport

Jason Roberts Lewisport City Administrator

Jason Roberts is settling in to his new role as city administrator for the City of Lewisport, though with his past experience as the public works superintendent, the new position is somewhat of an extension of his duties for the past eight years.

Roberts was promoted following the departure of former City Administrator Brent Wigginton. Wigginton’s last day was Feb. 25, and Roberts said he worked closely with him in the final week. R.J. Simpson has moved into the role of public works superintendent.

“Brent and I worked together very well through the years, and I would help him out with running the city in any way I could,” Roberts said. “I learned a lot from him, and I am thankful for the confidence shown in me.”

Among the new duties for Roberts will be assisting in developing an annual budget for the city, along with assuring all departments are focused on serving the people of Lewisport.

“Lewisport may be small, but everyone wants to improve our city every day,” Roberts said. “There are exciting things going on in our town, and I look forward to focusing on the continued growth that we’ve been seeing. I will work closely with Mayor Chad Gregory and the City Council to prioritize our goals, develop a budget and assure we are doing the right thing.”

Roberts said his previous position as public works superintendent was comprised of spending about 90 percent of his time in the field. His new role will still see him in the field, but he will have to adjust to office time.

“I enjoy working in this environment because it is something new and different each day,” Roberts said. “We will remain focused on running our water, sewer, and streets with efficiency and continue the growth. We’ve added more new services in water and gas than we have in a very long time. It’s exciting to see this growth.”

Roberts received a degree in geography from Western Kentucky University and an arts degree from Owensboro Community and Technical College, and worked in land surveying before coming to the city.

“The opportunity to work for Lewisport, my hometown, was very appealing to me,” he said. “I believed I could do more to give back to my community by working directly to improve the town than I ever could in land surveying. It’s been a very rewarding experience.”

In addition to overseeing the growth of Lewisport, Roberts said other priorities moving forward include directly connecting the Hancock Park development with downtown, as well as seeking to improve resources and technology for city work crews.

In what spare time he has – “You’re never away from the city.” – Roberts enjoys University of Louisville athletics, hunting for Native American artifacts around Hancock County, and studying the American Civil War.

“I am humbled to be in this position,” Roberts said. “You’re never going to learn everything overnight, but I have been taught well and have good people working around me.”

By C. Josh Givens