CARIBOU, Maine — Austin Bleess, Caribou’s city manager, has resigned to take the same post at a city near Houston.
“Last night I was appointed to be the next city manager in Jersey Village, Texas,” Bleess wrote in an email sent Tuesday to department heads in Caribou. “As such, earlier today I submitted my resignation to the City Council, effective March 3.”
Austin Bleess came to Caribou from a similar position in Winnebago,
Minnesota, and has served as city manager here for about 4½ years. In that short time, he quickly became involved with several community organizations, serving as president of the Caribou Rotary and chairman of the Northern Maine Development Commission board. Additionally, Bleess is a member of the Caribou Economic Growth Council, the Regional School Unit 39 New School Project Building Committee, the Cary Medical Center board of directors, the Tri-Community Landfill board of directors and the Aroostook Municipal Association.
Just two weeks ago, Bleess received the distinction of credentialed manager from the International City/County Management Association, a global organization. This title is shared by only 1,400 government managers worldwide.
Bleess closed his email by thanking each of the city’s department heads for “making Caribou a better community each and every day.”
“I’ve really enjoyed my time working with you,” Bleess wrote, “and will always cherish the memories of my time here in Caribou.”
Bleess was not available for comment on Thursday.
Jersey Village has about the same population as Caribou at about 7,862 and is part of the Houston metropolitan area.
