- The Gainesville and Alachua County MTPO hired Anoch Whitfield as its new executive director starting in January with a $140,000 salary.
- Whitfield will lead a new four-member staff managing $2 million in funding and expanding MTPO’s focus to the entire county.
- MTPO considered two finalists but unanimously chose Whitfield over Michael Pedron after a split among commissioners.
The Gainesville and Alachua County Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization (MTPO) voted to hire Anoch Whitfield, a deputy director at the city of Ocoee, as its new executive director to guide the organization into its next phase.
Gainesville Commissioner Bryan Eastman will negotiate the contract, although the MTPO already set a salary of $140,000 and other details. Whitfield will start in January.
The MTPO decided to stand up its own staff to manage the MTPO, a required body of city and county commissioners used to coordinate transportation projects with the state and federal governments, after contracting with the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council for years to do the work…