Hughes replaced at Sheffield Utilities – 2nd Sheffield management shakeup in 4 days

by Steve Wiggins
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Allen Hughes, Former Sheffield Utilities G.M.

SHEFFIELD – Allen Hughes, with 18 years tenure at Sheffield Utilities, was replaced today by a former TVA executive. The news came suddenly and follows on the heels of the dismissal of Greg Ray, the City’s Chief of Police. The two actions are apparently not connected with one another.

 

 

 

 

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Steve Hargrove, TVA photo.

Steve Hargrove, who happens to be Hughes’ next door neighbor in Rivermont, has been named Interim Director of the utility. Hargrove recently retired from TVA, and told The Quad-Cities Daily, “David called me this past weekend. He said he needed some help and would I be able to take hold of Sheffield Utilities while things were in a state of change.”

We have not been able to contact Allen Hughes as of this writing, however we plan on getting his statement as soon as practicable.

Printed in it’s entirety, is the media release issued by Sheffield Utilities this afternoon:

 

“Lifelong Sheffield resident and former Plant Manager of the Colbert Fossil Plant in
Tuscumbia, Steve Hargrove was announced today as the Interim Director of Sheffield
Utilities by the Board of Directors. Former General Manager, Allen Hughes will become
the fulltime Civil Manager. Tommy Barnes, Chemical Engineer will assume the water and
wastewater engineering responsibilities.

“At different times in an organization’s history different priorities are needed”, said David
Johnson, Board Chair. “Our needs have shifted in recent years. We are fortunate that
Allen Hughes who has 18 years experience with the Sheffield Utility Department and has
extensive knowledge of our cities infrastructure will be able to have a much more hands on
approach to problem solving and overseeing the upkeep and expansion of our Gas
Department.” In years past, our Civil Engineer was able to provide some support to the
Mayor and Council of the City. As the fulltime Civil Engineer, we will make that possible
once again.”

“Additionally, Sheffield Utilities is in the midst of constructing a $16,000,000 wastewater
treatment facility and we need to have an on-site engineer as we go forward. Tommy
Barnes will now be able to focus all of his attention on this extremely important project”
Johnson added.

Steve Hargrove’s experience in management and public power will be a tremendous asset
as we transition to a fulltime director. Steve has more than 30 years of experience with the
Tennessee Valley Authority in various roles including Plant Manager of the Colbert Fossil
Plant and most recently General Manager and responsible for managing, planning,
staffing, organizing, and controlling 14 combustion turbine generation facilities and two
distributed generation facilities in the Tennessee Valley.”

‘This community is unbelievably fortunate to have the caliber of engineering and
management expertise in one department. We are very appreciative of Allen and Tommy
for their cooperation. We are very pleased that Steve was willing to come out of retirement
to join us in this capacity as we determine the best way to move forward. It’s a win-win for
the department, staff, and customers of Sheffield Utilities.’ “

Sheffield Police Chief Greg Ray

The first management shakeup in Sheffield took place last Friday, when Mayor Ian Sanford suspended Police Chief Greg Ray, pending a termination hearing by the Civil Service Board. That hearing has not yet been announced.

 

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