JACKSON FINDS ADMINISTRATOR IN JIM ROACH

JACKSON, Mo. -- Eight days after city administrator Steve Wilson announced his resignation, the Jackson Board of Aldermen hired his replacement.

Public works director Jim Roach has been named to succeed Wilson. He will begin work as city administrator July 13, Wilson's last day on the job.

The board voted unanimously in closed session Monday to approve Mayor Paul Sander's recommendation to hire Roach, a Jackson native who became the city's public works director in 1997. He previously worked for Burns & McDonnell, an engineering and consulting firm in St. Louis.

Roach says no one should expect any big changes in how Jackson is run. As public works director he was directly responsible for two-thirds of the city operations, with the other third -- police, fire, library and cemetery -- under assistant city administrator Larry Koenig.

"The transition will be really smooth," he said. Referring to Wilson, he added, "We were in contact with each other every day."

When Wilson announced his resignation, Sander said the city would prefer to hire from within rather than conduct an outside job search. He pointed to two strong candidates in Roach and Koenig. Koenig was not interested in the job.

A statement released by Sander and the board said the position was not ad vertised because Roach has the skills the city administrator job requires. "If you have the type person Jim Roach is already on your staff with the experience needed, there is no reason not to promote him," the statement said.

Growth a challenge

Jackson is the fastest growing city in Southeast Missouri. Roach said growth, which the city welcomes, is also the city's major challenge. Solutions are in the works to ease some of Jackson's traffic problems, he said.

With utility rates seemingly out of control at the national level, the city's electric utility is another area he will monitor carefully. The city makes most of its money to fund operations and keep taxes down through its utility. "We want to nurture that in light of the changes in the industry," he said. "It's not going to stay the way it has in the past."

The city's utility rate structure has not been revised since 1990, and Roach said some adjustments may be necessary. "We don't know. We would like to negotiate a long-term contract that will keep rates where they are."

Roach is a proponent of building hiking and biking trails to connect the city's parks. He also would like to see the city begin requiring that developers include sidewalks in their subdivisions.

Alderman Larry Cunningham said hiring Roach rather than going through a protracted interview process made sense because he thinks Roach would have ended up the best candidate anyway.

"The city is very fortunate to have someone of Jim's caliber, intelligence and ability to work with the public," he said.

"I felt as if he deserved a chance to become the next city administrator, and I think he'll do a fantastic job."

In keeping with tradition, Roach said the open public-works-director position first will be advertised in-house. Minimum requirements are management skills and a background in both science and engineering. He doesn't feel pressed to fill the position quickly.

"I want to be selective about who we pick. It is an important job and requires effort," he said.

So far, nobody on the city staff has indicated an interest.