Scottville moving forward with community development position

Scottville moving forward with community development position

By Rob Alway

Editor’s note: Rob Alway is a Scottville city commissioner and editor-in-chief/owner of Mason County Press. This article serves as an op-ed, including some opinion as an elected official.

SCOTTVILLE — The Scottville City Commission unanimously approved the creation of a community development director position during its regular meeting Monday, Sept. 26. This position will be a diverse position that will include grant writing, planning, zoning and code administration and enforcement, liaison to the business community, and economic development.

This new position will offset many of the duties that are currently tasked to City Manager Jimmy Newkirk. Being a small town, Scottville asks a lot of its city manager. In bigger towns, there would be several departments that handle various aspects of operating the town. In Scottville the city manager is not only the top administrator of the city, he is also the human resources director, Department of Public Works director, parks and recreation director, economic development director, chief planner, and many more tasks. The hope is to offset some of those duties and, at the same time, create a position that will help increase the city’s revenues.   

This is a position that I researched and proposed through the Commission’s Personnel, Rules, and Ethics Committee, which I chair. It was initially brought in front of the whole commission during its regular meeting on July 25 with a recommendation for the Commission’s Finance Committee to review. The Finance Committee, in August, recommended proceeding with the position. 

About 15 years ago, the Scottville Downtown Development Authority became part of the Michigan Main Street program and hired a Main Street manager work with the downtown businesses. This job will feature some of the elements of the Main Street manager but will be much more and will serve the entire community. 

This new position will be a great investment for the residents and property owners of Scottville, especially with a high priority focused on grant writing and economic development. I am proud of our accomplishments so far and can’t wait to see what else will happen in the future. 

The position is expected to have a pay scale ranging from $40,000 to $50,000 annually, along with full benefits.

City commission meets at 6:30 p.m. at city hall, 105 N. Main St.

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