20 December. 2008 | Williamston Enterprise

CITY TO STAY WITH MCKENNA

WILLIAMSTON — Six months ago, residents and business owners expressed concern over the city outsourcing the community development director and planning and development director positions to McKenna Associates.

At the last City Council meeting, residents and business owners praised the work of Michelle Aniol and Zeb Acuff, the McKenna employees currently contracted to the city. However, some are not certain the arrangement is a good long-term solution for the city.

Council member Carmen Siciliano said the city's current projects will benefit from having continuity, which is one reason he voted to continue the McKenna contract.

"I simply felt, with the new businesses they're bringing in, we need to weigh the importance of keeping them around to see those projects through rather than risk losing them," he said.

Council member Scott VanAllsburg said he was pleased to hear the positive comments from business owners.

"Zeb has bought into the idea that we need to be more business-friendly, and he's going that extra mile to help businesses out," he said. "There seems to be a trend in Williamston that if we're going to make an error, we're going to err on the side of helping them out, and I think Zeb has bought into that. With Michelle, Lisa has reported that she's really dedicated and is really out in the community trying to get people to come in."

Aniol said she was overwhelmed by the positive comments about the work she has been doing as community development director.

"I was very moved personally and honored by the comments that were made in the audience," she said. "I have felt welcomed by this community since the beginning. ... From a company standpoint, there's no better joy than to have a contract renewed or extended. On a personal level, it is something I look forward to every week knowing that I'm going to be able to come up here and work with the people here."

Council voted 6 to 1 to continue the McKenna contract indefinitely with a 60-day "out" clause. Council member John Pratt cast the "no" vote.

City Manager Lisa Hitchcock said she wasn't sure the arrangement would work six months ago, especially with the community development position. However, she said she has been pleasantly surprised by the results.

"I've been impressed with them myself and, asking other people, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback," she said.

Barb VanDenBerg, owner of Williamston's True Value Hardware store and a member of the Downtown Development Authority, said she was initially hesitant about the arrangement, but has been pleased with the situation.

"Being on the DDA board, I interact with Michelle, and she has always had information ready for us and done what we asked when we need information and followed through for different board meetings — whatever is on the agenda," she said. "From a business standpoint, I've interacted with her on occasion and she has been very helpful. I know she's always had information ready and followed through and has been very effective."

VanDenBerg said, however, she thinks the McKenna contract works as a short-term solution but may not be the best long-term one.

"I feel we need to have ownership in the positions, and the same goes for the police department," she said, "but the economy is going to dictate that: Can we afford to have a full-time staff?

"I think the McKenna contract was a fix to get professional help in the least amount of time. As long as it works, it's good. With us having the streetscape coming up, we need to have someone there. As business owners, we can't take the time to do the things a full-time person would do."

VanAllsburg agreed, and said the contract should be re-evaluated in another six months.

"This idea of the part-time thing still being the long-term solution, that's still up in the air," he said. "They need to continue to prove that they're able to meet the demands we have as opposed to having a full-time person. There's a lot of power in that firm as far as getting things done. Are they able to harness that power, in part-time roles?"