‘Hard to Replace’
Monday, April 9, 2007
Matt Zimmerman, center, visits with Kent Heermann, left, Bev Toso, second from left, and Ray Toso, on Tuesday, February 27, during the Candidate Forum in the Little Theater in the Civic Auditorium. Zimmerman was hired as Emporia's City Manager today.
Running a city is one thing. But working an airport?
That remains Kathy Nowicki’s favorite memory of soon-to-be Emporia city manager Matt Zimmerman: watching him become O’Hare Airport’s most active gofer in the midst of welcoming travelers to a Rotary Club conference.
“We had gone down to the airport to greet the international members, and we were actually giving a lot of directions to travelers that weren’t Rotary,” said Nowicki, who succeeded Zimmerman as president of the Mount Prospect-Prospect Heights, Ill. Rotary Club. “He was giving ATM directions, washroom directions, he even went to check the bus routes because we got so many questions about them. ...
“At the end of our shift, a lot of people thought we were O’Hare employees,” she said with a chuckle. “But he still had an enthusiastic attitude. He said, ‘Well, we’re here to serve!’”
Pretty soon, Zimmerman will be serving in Emporia. He starts work a week from today after spending nearly 4 years as city administrator of Prospect Heights. And by a lot of accounts, he’ll be leaving a pretty big hole.
“He’s a very, very aggressive man,” Prospect Heights Mayor Rodney Pace said. “I’m sorry to see him go. But we are a small city and we’re sort of a stepping stone for administrators.”
By aggressive, read energetic, take-charge, enthusiastic. Several of his colleagues do. They’ll also say that he sometimes doesn’t realize his own enthusiasm.
“Yes!” laughed Alderman John Styler of Prospect Heights. “Sometimes his voice ... I’ll put a finger in one ear if he gets going, because he doesn’t need a microphone to speak up. He has a lot of energy.”
He’s needed it. In the short time since he came on board, Prospect Heights has undergone a lot of changes. Voters approved a resolution cutting the number of aldermen in half. Sharp cuts were made in city services in order to fund the police pension plan. And on Easter of 2006, after repeated vandalism, City Hall was burned to the ground in a fire that was later ruled arson.
“We lost just about everything,” said Pat Wharton, executive director of the convention and visitors’ bureau, which was on the lower level of the city building. What made that even more complicated, she said, is that Prospect Heights is a very politically contentious town with a number of residents who mistrust the government.
“They would come up with information requests for the city and we didn’t have the documents to look up (after the fire),” Wharton said. “But Matt’s usually able to come back with at least some information and answers to offset the questions of the public.”
“Any kind of government we have here is a bone of contention with the public,” she added. “He did a good job bringing professionalism to it.”
In a situation like that, it doesn’t hurt that Zimmerman has a reputation for absorbing and retaining details.Or as his assistant Pam Arrigoni puts it, “The man’s a sponge.”
“What he absorbs is amazing,” said Arrigoni, who will be acting city administrator after Zimmerman leaves. “He knows his stuff. He knows his stuff.”
“At a city council meeting, he can quote figures that were out of our heads three weeks ago,” Styler said. “And he can quote back for about eight months. He has tremendous recall, as far as I’m concerned.”
By the same token, Styler said, if that recall fails, Zimmerman is quick to correct any mistakes he’s made.
“He’s going to be a spark for your community,” Styler said. “That’s the best way to describe him.”
As a manager, Arrigoni said, Zimmerman keeps an open door. And he expects his employees to use it.
“He likes to be in the know with what’s going on,” Arrigoni said. “He doesn’t like surprises. He listens to his department heads, and if you disagree with what he’s come up with, he’s willing to listen and change his mind if you’ve got a good argument.”
Nowicki said she’s seen the same practicality and enthusiasm in his Rotary work. When she had to work with the city, she said, she knew there was someone reliable on the other end.
“He will be hard to replace,” Nowicki said. “He gives a lot to the job. He really does.”
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wifeandmother (anonymous) says...
Interesting article, but as a citizen of Emporia I would like to consider the quality of Mr. Zimmerman's work and his personality once he arrives and is on the job for a while. Then I will feel more confident in making up my mind what kind of city manager he will be for Emporia.
Me thinks the Gazette assures too much!
April 9, 2007 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GaryLukert (anonymous) says...
I wish Mr. Zimmerman the best.
April 9, 2007 at 4:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )