Monroe names Ashley Knoll downtown director; council recognizes new hires and service anniversaries

The Monroe City Council welcomed Ashley Knoll as the city's new downtown director and recognized new hires and employee service anniversaries during its Dec. 9 meeting.

Jeff Wells introduced Knoll and highlighted her decade of experience in Main Street and downtown economic development, including positions in Waxhaw and Lee's Summit. "I'm so excited to help champion those businesses and our property owners and, help get them connected and, really grow downtown up for the next decade," Knoll said.

Council also heard a list of new hires with hire dates from Oct. 31 through Nov. 24 across multiple departments, including airport (Christopher Wall), engineering (Vitil Chappell), finance (Edward Johnson), water resources (Jordan Griffin), parks and recreation (Malik Commander, Almond Barnwell, Madison Murphy), and multiple new police hires (Jonathan Henson, Bradford Helms, David Miller, Samuel Clark). The clerk's presentation noted service anniversary recognitions for Benjamin Henson (Fire, 20 years), Sheila Mobley (Parks & Rec, 20 years), Hunter Hovinec (Parks & Rec, 5 years), Andrew Lee (Planning & Development, 5 years), Terry Mills (Police, 15 years), and Lawrence White (Water Resources, 5 years).

Chief Rhett Boland also announced records clerk Kayla Funderburk as Monroe Police Department employee of the month for December 2025, praising her professionalism and peer‑support work.

No formal votes beyond the recognitions were required for these agenda items.