HASTINGS, Neb. — Before he starts acting as manager, the top-ranking city staffer in Hastings is playing the role of a sponge.

City Administrator Shawn Metcalf is just two weeks into his new job and has met with each city council member and the mayor.

“I’ve also spent time with every single department and I’m trying to visit every location," Metcalf said. "The more that I spend time in these areas, the better I’ll be able to represent all areas of the city.”

Metcalf owns a Master’s degree in public administration and the highest human relations certification offered. He’s originally from Utah and most recently served as city manager in Rawlins, Wyoming. He chose Hastings because of its size and opportunity for growth.

“Really with the staff that we have and with the things that we oversee, like all of the utilities, we have some advantages here and we can get things done in a manner that would be quicker than a smaller city,” Metcalf said.

He replaces Dave Ptak, who resigned amid criticism related to profane and derogatory emails that surfaced in a local Facebook group.

Metcalf says his top priorities are expanding communication and building trust.

“I’ll start with employees to me, that they feel like I’m someone they can trust to be in a role like this," Metcalf said. "I want to improve the trust with our residents, and that goes a lot to what we’re talking about now, the communication and being open and the transparency. That’s what I want really bad.”

He says people should be on the lookout for new forms of communication coming from the city soon.