| |
Originally Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2011, 8:37 pm
Last Updated: Dec. 11, 2011, 12:08 pm New E.M. administrator looking forward to building relationships with city, staffComment on this story
By Anthony Watt, awatt@qconline.com
Cole O'Donnell, East Moline's new city administrator, said he always wanted to be involved in government.
But getting involved through elected office takes money and time, so he chose the life of an administrator.
"Here's a way to get immediately into government and help the public and not have to worry about getting elected," Mr. O'Donnell said as he was settling into his new office Wednesday.
Mr. O'Donnell was hired in October to replace Rich Keehner, who left in April to become village manager in Villa Park.
Mr. O'Donnell came to East Moline from a city administrator's job in Algona, Iowa, where he had been since 1999. Before that, he was an administrator in Renville, Minn. His first job was as city clerk in Denver, Iowa.
Mr. O'Donnell has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from Iowa State University.
He sees his job as handling day-to-day operations of the city, carrying out policies dictated by the city council and providing feedback to elected officials from the residents and staff.
East Moline hasn't had an administrator for eight months, and Mr. O'Donnell said he believes there has been some disconnect between elected officials and staff, and both are looking for help with what direction to take.
A lot of his initial focus will be organizational, he said, but he also will be building relationships with elected officials, staff and residents and helping the city iron out immediate and long-term goals.
Mr. O'Donnell said East Moline has dedicated officials and staff, and aldermen want what's best for the community. "So long as they have that vision, we'll be able to move forward," he said.
East Moline needs to be an equal partner with the other communities and be as healthy as possible to help the Quad-Cities be successful overall, Mr. O'Donnell said.
The goal is for all the communities to be so good that someone moving to the area would have a hard time choosing between them, he said.
East Moline has several advantages, Mr. O'Donnell said. Besides the staff and officials, it has room to grow and a lot of potential energy in projects already underway, he said.
If everything falls into place, the development planned by River Eagle Investment LLC could be very good for the city, he said.
The development on the former Case New Holland site is called Port of Call Quad Cities and includes a hotel, boardwalk, technical center and housing for seniors and college students.
The River Eagle group -- comprised of Mike VanDeHeede, state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, Frank Coyle, Matt Stern and Dan Murphy -- bought the site for $1.5 million and plans to break ground on the project soon.
Triumph Food's proposed hog processing plant, near 172nd Street North and Barstow Road, also would be good for the city, Mr. O'Donnell said.
Thousands of hogs would be slaughtered and processed at the plant each day. Opponents fear it could pollute the Rock River, destroy wetlands, adversely affect the floodplain and emit bad odors.
Not everyone may support the Triumph plan, but it would provide opportunities for revenue and jobs, Mr. O'Donnell said.
The downtown also could take off as a shopping destination with a little help, Mr. O'Donnell said. "We just have to look at the future and decide where we want to go."
He said the city has its challenges too, such as the budget.
Getting into the black could require cuts to services, increases to taxes and fees or a combination of those approaches, Mr. O'Donnell said.
"That's the one that needs to be tackled right away," he said.
More about Cole O'Donnell
Hometown: Slater, Iowa.
Family: a wife and four children, ages 6 to 14.
Pets: a dog, a parakeet, two hamsters and two guinea pigs.
Hobbies: barbecuing and outdoor activities such as camping and hiking.
|
