Wrangell Sentinel -

Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen has resigned, effective Oct. 29.

No reason was given in the City Hall announcement, issued shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Von Bargen started as borough manager in July 2017.

"The strain of the past year and a half has helped me realize I need to take a pause and focus on the needs of my family and myself. It has been a privilege to serve this community and the assembly," Von Bargen wrote in her resignation letter.

“We're saddened that she's decided to leave,” Mayor Steve Prysunka said in an interview an hour after City Hall issued the announcement. “But we appreciate that she has personal and family reasons for doing so.” He added, “She's been a fantastic city manager.”

The mayor said the borough will work to “ensure a seamless transition” to the next manager.

Prysunka said he would be meeting at City Hall later Wednesday afternoon to review the job description, and the borough assembly will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Friday to go over the job description.

He expects the borough will advertise the position starting Monday.

"We're going to do a nationwide search with a goal to have a person as soon as possible," Prysunka said.

Von Bargen was working as community and economic development director in Valdez when she was hired for the Wrangell job.

She was raised in Valdez, receiving an undergraduate degree at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, then later a master’s degree in project management from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2011.

After her UAA degree, she returned to Valdez and served as tourism manager for the city’s convention and visitors bureau and as director of the chamber of commerce.