At Last - City Government News

It's been a long quiet period at the city - at least in terms of meetings. A lot is going on behind the scenes, but it is all hush-hush (that's a J-O-K-E). New city admin Pat Marsh is settling in nicely (still house-shopping) and is getting his staff organized. I enjoy working with Pat; his communication and follow through is refreshing and appreciated.

New city clerk Joan Andrusz is gearing up for her first election on February 19 as well as prepping for the License Review Commission and the hundred other clerk duties. She's heading to Green Bay (I think that's the location) for some in-depth training in the not too distant future. City clerk is a tough job - tons of small details, including many statutory nooks and crannies that few attorneys willingly venture into - oh, and you can't make mistakes or the whole world knows it.

The council approved the hiring of new Parks and Rec Director Jacob (Jake) Anderson. He was chosen from a field of very highly qualified candidates. He's young - just 4 years out of UW-La Crosse - but extremely personable, energized, and ready to move up in his field. (Sue McDade was only about three years out of school when the city hired her, just for reference.) Anderson was the city of Fitchburg's Community Center Director and Rec Coordinator. He also handled some parks-related duties.

He needs to get his pool certification within 6 months of his hire, which should not be a big issue. The council and mayor upped the salary for the position and it showed in the quality of candidates we got. (Jake will start at $51,000.) Jake Anderson starts at the city on January 28, 2008. He will also be moving from Monroe to a location closer to Monona. I'm excited, he's excited, and Pat Marsh is really excited because he's been the acting P&R director in addition to his city admin duties.

One immediate challenge for Jake will be filling a part-time support position because Pat Marsh saw how good Leah Kimmel was and hired her at city hall as his confidential secretary!

Jake also knows the city's recreation program web software as well as anyone in Dane County (at least) so look for that to be up and actually working.