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Cottonwood Heights council debates hiring economic‑development leader vs. contracting expertise ahead of Olympics
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Summary
Council members weighed hiring an assistant city manager with redevelopment and finance skills against contracting retained consultants. Staff emphasized the need to update zoning and internal processes first; members asked for a preferred qualifications list and parallel RFQ/RFP options.
Cottonwood Heights councilmembers considered whether to hire an assistant city manager focused on economic development and public finance or to retain consultants on a project or retainer basis to guide the city’s town center and gravel‑pit redevelopment efforts.
Mayor/Chair (Speaker 2) and several council members said continuity and trust argue for adding a staff position; one councilmember urged hiring someone with demonstrated redevelopment and municipal finance experience. Staff noted a two‑part challenge: cleaning up outdated zoning and codes while simultaneously pursuing near‑term development opportunities tied to the town center and a gravel‑pit mobility hub that is on a UDOT timeline aimed at 2028.
One staff member (Speaker 1) offered a practical timetable: a full code rewrite could cost in the low hundreds of thousands and take roughly two years, and he said he could lead that effort. He told the council, “I can update our codes… I’ve done that for 30 different cities and counties in the country.” Council members flagged grant‑writing and relationship building as additional functions a new hire or contractor could provide.
Proponents of contracting said a retainer model yields flexibility while the city completes internal fixes and avoids hiring a so‑called “unicorn” candidate who combines deep public‑finance experience, redevelopment track record, grant procurement, and local knowledge. Opponents said that contractors have sometimes produced generic deliverables in prior city projects and that a senior assistant on staff could better safeguard city interests over time.
Council direction: members agreed to draft preferred qualifications and suggested releasing both a job posting and a request for proposals/qualifications to evaluate market responses. Staff also highlighted fiscal timing: if the position depended on a proposed tax increase the city could not finalize the hire until after the truth‑in‑taxation hearing (noted as August 11); however, staff said one could shuffle existing savings to start sooner if council prioritized it.
