Michelle del Valle Named New City Manager

Commissioners gave unanimous, enthusiastic support for del Valle (pictured above) to takeover when Randy Knight retires in January. Meanwhile, a split 3-2 vote approved increased hourly rates for the city attorney

April 8, 2026

By Beth Kassab

Winter Park City Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize Mayor Sheila DeCiccio to begin to negotiate a contract with Michelle del Valle to became city manager in January.

She will succeed Randy Knight, who has served in the position for 19 years.

Winter Park has a city manager form of government, which means the person in that job sets the tone and runs all aspects of the on a daily basis, helming more than 500 employees. The elected commissioners set policy, but the manager is largely responsible for overseeing the execution of policy.

Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said a national search to fill the job was unnecessary because she “wholeheartedly” supported del Valle, who has served as assistant city manager since 2008. DeCiccio cited del Valle’s education, experience and connections.

“She has the knowledge, the relationships, the contacts … and I can’t tell you how important contacts are to get things done,” DeCiccio said. “When we had the cold snap she was able to pick up the phone and call the people at Publix, at Advent[Health} to get them to turn on their generators so there wasn’t a drain on our [electrical] system.”

The four other commissioners also enthusiastically endorsed del Valle, who Knight named as his recommended successor as early as 2022.

Knight said in a letter to the commission that he will retire on Jan. 8.

Del Valle lives in neighboring Maitland and spent 16 years working that city before joining Winter Park, which has a population of about 30,000. She will be required to live in Winter Park as part of the city’s rules for the job.

Two commissioners expressed reservations about a second major hiring decision on Wednesday, questioning whether the contract for the city’s attorney should be put out to bid.

Kurt Ardaman and his partners at the Fishback Dominik law firm have represented the city since 2015.

Elizabeth Ingram, the newest member of the commission who started her term last month, said she’s still a “newbie,” but didn’t see the harm in considering other proposals.

“I don’t think it hurts to see what else is out there, maybe we’ll still go with them, but I think I would like to put it out for bid,” she said. 

Commissioner Warren Lindsey agreed.

“I think that Kurt and your firm have done a fantastic job, but I agree with Commissioner Ingram … if we bid it out very likely [we] could select Fishback again, but I think it’s a conscientious thing for us to do that,” he said.

DeCiccio and commissioners Craig Russell and Kris Cruzada voted in favor of keeping Fishback and approved its requested increase to its hourly rates.

The commission, which spends between $500,000 and $650,000 a year on the city attorney contract, will pay $325 an hour for lead attorneys, up from $275.

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