Starkville aldermen interviewed two candidates for the city’s vacant Community Development Director position on Tuesday.
The interviews, in a first for the city, were conducted entirely via video conference as aldermen spoke with candidates from Texas and Florida.
Three applicants applied for the position, which has been vacant since former Community Development Director Buddy Sanders resigned in August. However, only two applicants — Sungman “Simon” Kim and Richard Grana — interviewed on Tuesday. The third applicant, Steve Roberge, withdrew before Tuesday’s meeting.
Kim, who currently operates the Landform and Planning consulting firm in Brownsville, Texas, has 30 years of experience and has worked abroad in South Korea and the United Kingdom. In the United States, he’s worked in Florida, Virginia and Texas, including his most recent stint as director of development services for the city of South Padre Island, Texas, from May 2013 to December 2017.
Kim, in response to a question from Mayor Lynn Spruill on why he was looking to Starkville, said the area is growing.
“I’m looking for a community that will be developed in the future, rather than one that’s already developed,” Kim said.
At a question from Ward 3 Alderman David Little on how he’d deal with developers who take issue with Starkville’s codes or proposed code changes, Kim said he has, in the past, created a communication program to initiate conversations about concerns with developers or community stakeholders.
“The good way to perform is to let them participate in the process,” he said. “Let them know why we are devising this code, for example, and what they’re going to get in the future and get to a consensus. I’ve done that many, many times.”
Kim said he’s also comfortable with coming on in the middle of a code rewrite — as Starkville is presently rewriting its development codes — and did so at South Padre Island.
He also said he likes to get input from his staff and hear a broad range of opinions on projects.
“I like to discuss with my staff members and gain their trust and work together,” he said. “If it’s only me, I do my best to provide an innovative, creative and nice product. But I understand that two brains are better than one brain. I don’t believe that I know everything and I want to hear from everyone who is interested in that development and put their ideas into the product.”
Grana
Grana is currently the managing member of Grana Development Services, LLC in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. He’s worked in city and county planning in Florida since 1995, including his most recent public position as Destin, Florida’s planning division manager from June 2008 to December 2016.
To Little’s question about working with developers, Grana said he tries to be cooperative, but the code must ultimately be enforced.
“You try to work with them as much as you can but at the end of the day you have to enforce your code,” he said. “It might cost them some money to fix it that way. But as long as we’ve done our job in trying to make sure they met the code when permitted, the onus is on them. If they change it after the fact, you can certainly look and see what the code says and if they have wiggle room, but at the end of the day you have to enforce the code the way it’s worded.”
Grana also said he has “extensive experience” writing codes. He referenced his work in Destin, where the code was designed with different areas of the city in mind. He said it was tighter for areas that have already been developed, compared to areas where land is being developed for the first time.
“You have to tailor the code to different areas where you’re trying to get the results that the city council wants,” he said.
Spruill said the city will take time to consider its next steps in the hiring process. She said she may put the community development director position on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting as a discussion item, but she does not anticipate a vote to hire.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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