Administration of the City includes a number of departments which implement the policies of the Kannapolis City Council. The City Manager, Deputy City Manager and Assistant City Managers oversee the daily and long range operations of the departments. Below is a list of the department directors.
Communications
Annette Privette Keller is the Director of Communications. Keller has previously worked for the Mooresville Graded School District, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District, the City of Concord and the Town of Matthews.
In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Keller holds a master of public administration and an advanced certificate in marketing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Keller co-founded and served as president of the N.C. City County Communicators. She volunteers for a number of non-profit and professional organizations including serving as President of the 3CMA Board of Directors, the Rowan County Tourism Board of Directors, Open Government Coalition Board of Directors, and Vice-President of the Kannapolis Education Foundation Board.
Email Annette: aprivettekeller@kannapolisnc.gov
Customer Service
Jenny Johnson serves as the Director of Customer Service. Jenny is a native of California and holds an associate degree in paralegal studies and legal office administration from California State University. As Director of Customer Service her ten member staff are responsible for the utility billing and customer service aspects of city services.
She most recently worked for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in several positions including Business Services Coordinator and Unit Enrollment Supervisor. She also served as the Customer Service and Utility Billing Manager for the Town of Harrisburg.
She is the mother of three daughters and resides in Rockwell with her husband, Jay.
Email Jenny: jjohnson@kannapolisnc.gov
Economic Development
Irene Wong has served as the Economic & Community Development Director for the City of Kannapolis since 2008. She works to attract business activity, and develop and maximize key investments. Her career has included positions in strategic planning, software development, and finance. She is a certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and her master’s in city and regional planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Email Irene: iwong@kannapolisnc.gov
Engineering
Beth Hassenfritz is a native of South Carolina and received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Clemson University. She began her career with a consulting firm that served municipalities across the Carolinas.
In 2005, Beth joined the City of Charlotte’s in-house design department where she designed and managed transportation projects that included roadways, pedestrian facilities, roundabouts, and transit. She joined the City of Kannapolis Engineering Department in 2018, where she has been involved with all the variety of engineering projects the City’s growing department is handling. She most recently served as Deputy Director of Engineering.
Email Beth: bhassenfritz@kannapolisnc.gov
Finance
Brian Roberts has 12 years of accounting and auditing experience. He most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Statesville. Additional work experience includes working as a Senior Internal Auditor for Mecklenburg County, serving as an Assistant State Auditor for the Investigative Audit Section of the N.C. Office of the State Auditor and as a Senior Audit Inspector for the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office.
He is a certified public accountant, a certified fraud examiner and certified as a local government finance officer. Brian is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association and the Association of Fraud Examiners.
Email Brian: broberts@kannapolisnc.gov
Fire
Tracy Winecoff has been a member of the Kannapolis Fire Department since 1999. Since then he has been promoted from Engineer, to Captain, to Battalion Chief and Division Chief. He holds State Fire and EMS certifications from Rowan Cabarrus Community College; a Paramedic certification from Davidson Community College. He is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in homeland security program at Columbia Southern University College. He is currently a Pre-Hospital & Fire Education Instructor with Rowan Cabarrus Community College.
He is also a National Incident Management System Certified Instructor and has North Carolina Fire & Rescue Commission certifications, has completed the UNCC Fire and Rescue Management Institute, and has taken numerous courses with the National Fire Academy and the FEMA Emergency Management Institute.
Email Tracy: twinecoff@kannapolisnc.gov
General Services
Jerome Blakeney has worked for the City of Kannapolis since 2007 when he began working in the Public Works Department. He performed a variety of tasks in the streets and stormwater divisions. In 2010 he was named the Facilities Manager. As Facilities Manager he has worked closely with staff to oversee the fleet maintenance of the City, the warehousing of supplies and materials, and maintenance of all city facilities. Before joining the City he worked for Sysco Foods and the City of Salisbury.
As Director of General Services, he oversees a staff of ten as they perform preventative maintenance and repairs on all city-owned buildings and properties.
Email Jerome: jblakeney@kannapolisnc.gov
Human Resources
Heather James has over 13 years of local government experience in human resources. Her experience includes working for the North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM) where she consulted with 540 municipalities across the state on variety of human resources related inquiries. Prior to working for NCLM, she worked for the Town of Davidson as their first human resources director. Her local government career began with the Town of Oak Ridge as Town Clerk.
She holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a post-baccalaureate certificate in urban and economic development from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s in public administration from Appalachian State University. She is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SCP), IPMA-HR Senior Certified Professional (SCP) and an IIMC Master Municipal Clerk (MMC). She is also a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Government City and County Municipal Administration program. She is active member of the YMCA and volunteers with the Local Government Federal Credit Union Advisory Group.
Email Heather: hjames@kannapolisnc.gov
Information Technology
Tony Eury is the Director of Information Technology. He was formerly employed with Technologies Edge, Inc. who did contract work with the City of Kannapolis. Since 2006 he has worked extensively to address the City’s technology needs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Email Tony: teury@kannapolisnc.gov
Parks and Recreation
Gary Mills joined the City of Kannapolis as the Director of Parks and Recreation in 2000. His previous experience includes holding the same position in the cities of Cornelius and Ayden. He hold a bachelor’s degree in recreation resources administration and a masters degree in parks, recreation and tourism management from North Carolina State University. He has served as a volunteer for several non-profits and is Past President of the North Carolina Recreation Park Association, and the Southern Regional Representative of the National Recreation Park Association. He is also National Accreditation Chair for NRPA.
Email Gary: gmills@kannapolisnc.gov
Planning
Richard Smith has approximately 20 years of experience in planning and community development. He previously worked as the Planning & Community Development Director for Moore County and Senior Planner for Catawba County. He was also the vice-president of Benchmark Planning, a professional planning consulting firm who has worked with local government, state, federal and private clients throughout the region.
Richard previously served as Kannapolis’ Planning Director under a contract agreement from 2004 to 2009. Most recently he was Director of Businesses Services for McGill Associates where he was responsible for managing comprehensive plans, zoning ordinance revisions, small area studies and more for a variety of local governments.
Richard is a native of Rowan County and graduated from Western Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Law. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Appalachian State University. He and his wife, Veronica, reside in Rowan County, have three children, and are very active with their church.
Email Richard: rsmith@kannapolisnc.gov
Police
Terry Spry is the Kannapolis Police Chief. He joined the Kannapolis Police Department in 1994. He has worked as a patrol officer, traffic officer, criminal investigator, and patrol supervisor. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2004, Lieutenant in 2010 and Captain in 2015.
Terry is a graduate of South Rowan High School, attended Pfeiffer College and earned an Associate in Applied Science in Criminal Justice Technology from Rowan Cabarrus Community College. He also holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the N.C. Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.
Email Terry: tspry@kannapolisnc.gov
Transportation and Environmental Services
Michael Rattler began working for the City in 2003 as an engineering technician. He was later promoted to the position of Storm Water Operations Manager and Assistant Public Works Director, and is currently the Director of Transportation and Environmental Services. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he has an associate degree from Rowan Cabarrus Community College.
Email Michael: mrattler@kannapolisnc.gov
Water Resources
Alex Anderson is the Director of Water Resources. He joined the City in 2016 as the Water Treatment Plant Manager. He previously worked for the City of Concord and the City of Charlotte. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in leadership in the public sector.
Email Alex: aanderson@kannapolisnc.gov