Loxahatchee Groves has hired a public works director and an assistant town manager after the recent approval of a two-year contract extension for Underwood Management Services Group.
The utilities director is Larry Peters, while Francine Ramaglia, the former assistant village manager at the Village of Wellington, will serve as the assistant town manager.
“We got a director of public works and an assistant town manager,” Town Manager Bill Underwood told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “I hired them on Aug. 8. Larry Peters was the former community development director and engineer for the Town of Davie and director of public works in Belle Glade. He’s overseeing the canals, and maintenance of the canals and berms, plus he is handling the drainage of water from the roads and keeping the water from the canals out of the roads, because it goes both ways when it rains.”
Ramaglia also worked as finance director for Wellington before being named as an assistant village manager. She was also assistant manager for the City of Delray Beach.
“She is working through the merger aspect of putting the two governments together, and we find new things every day,” Underwood said. “She was in the final five or six for Tequesta manager. The town now has two employees, plus the remaining employee at the district. The remaining employee is Linda Waddell. She was the only employee who remained after the merger. Everybody else resigned.”
He said Ramaglia and Peters are already at work in their respective jobs.
“I talked to Larry a couple of minutes ago,” Underwood said. “He’s got to run over and look at one of the drainage gates on A Road.”
Underwood said he has worked with Peters in the past both in Davie and Belle Glade, and he plans to have them at the next Loxahatchee Groves Town Council meeting to introduce them.
“They’re both, I think, very good choices,” he said.
