'Extreme ownership'
Sep. 19—BLUEFIELD — Bluefield's new city manager has hit the ground running and is now ready to tackle projects and seek public involvement as the city moves forward.
Retired Army Col. Cecil Marson started last month after former city manager, retired Col. Dane Rideout, left for a position in North Carolina.
Marson was garrison commander at West Point when he retired after spending 25 years in the military, most of it in special forces with several deployments to the Middle East.
But his experience in several settings and especially at West Point placed him a leadership position of being the equivalent of a city manager/mayor of a vast complex.
"It is exciting to meet everybody," he said of his first few weeks as he becomes acclimated to city staff, area leaders and the community. "I am learning as much as I can."
On Thursday, residents will get a chance to meet Marson when he holds a "meet and greet" event at Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church on Park Street.
Marson said the event will also give the city a chance to present a questionnaire on how the $4.2 million the city is receiving through the American Rescue Plan is spent. The city has already received $2.1 million and is slated to receive the second half of the funding next year.
"Any resident knows their street better than anyone who does not live on their street," he said. "Thankfully, we have a lot of residents who have been here a very long time. They can give some good insight on what we can use that money for."
Marson said the goal is "to use this money wisely and make sure residents in the city can understand why we are doing it and the benefit of what we are doing" with as much consensus as possible.
"A lot of folks have some great ideas of where the city can go and what the city can do," he said. "What we really need to help get going to take it the next level is a strategic vision for the city that everybody can understand what that is and what their role in it would be to make things better."
That includes larger projects as well as smaller, but very important, things like keeping the city neat and clean.
"That is really important," he said. "When I drive through town and I see a resident who has a really nice yard ... I am so appreciative. It's like, 'Thank you for going the extra mile to take care of your yard and do your part for the city to make it better.'"
Marson said people may move here based on those families doing something extra to make the city attractive.
Part of that is also participation in those larger projects and that is why it is important to receive citizens' input.
"That is the next phase for us to try to get to," he said, adding that when residents participate, discussions are much easier because everyone "sees where they are in the system and how it benefits all of us."
It is part of a strategy Marson calls "extreme ownership," which has the goal of residents taking ownership of their city by being part of the planning process, including how projects impact them.
"We are all together on one big team, Team Bluefield," he said.
That can also be seen as part of a more regional effort with "Team Princeton" or "Team Bluefield, Va." with everyone working together to make the region a better place to live.
That is especially true with ARP money, which each municipality is receiving in various amounts depending on population.
"Hopefully, we can all be interconnected with some of these projects," he said, "and they are all helping and supporting each other so we can do some really great stuff."
That is not easy, he said, but it is the mindset he has as city manager.
More long-range planning and action for the city continues and includes projects like the Exit 1 development and a possible Transportation Bulk Terminal in Bluefield that uses the railroad and trucking industry in shipping and transferring goods with Bluefield as a hub.
Downtown revitalization remains on the agenda as well.
But all long-range initiatives involved ongoing planning and go through several stages of development, which takes time and is done in increments, he said, usually based on 10-year plans.
"These are big efforts," he said, that involve massive grants and focus as well as time.
Large or small, though, it all works toward the same purpose, he said. From the grassroots effort of beautifying the city to revitalization and business growth to larger long-term projects, it's' all about helping make Bluefield a better place to live and work.
Every new business benefits all residents, he said, because it provides money for many quality of life venues like recreation and entertainment.
Having the community involved is a crucial part of that process.
Marson said everyone should have a "dot on the board" and be able to understand how each dot connects with the other and what it helps create overall.
Residents should not be "bystanders," he said, with the world passing them by.
"Then I think the discussions get easier in trying to solve issues,'" he said.
Marson said it will begin with the ARP funding and that is why the Thursday night event is a good start.
"It is our first salvo," he said. "And it would be helpful to me as city manager to hear a lot of different perspectives and then our staff can pull it together."
Marson said that $4.2 million does not have a "seismic" impact because huge projects usually cost far more than that.
"If you got aggressive with sewer and stormwater projects, that would be it," he said. "There would be nothing left. That is why we are looking for grants and feedback to see how to best use these resources," as well as leverage them for more funding.
Marson is going to Beckley Tuesday to a meeting that details how the ARP can be used so any plan will fall into allowable uses of the money.
In the meantime, the city still has to "block and tackle" the basic services like fixing potholes and providing the routine and necessary services as well as doing things like improving neighborhoods by demolishing old structures and figuring out roads.
Items like updating the street obelisks are important, for example.
"We've got to clean that up," he said.
Residents may not be fully aware of larger projects, but they may see things like the obelisks, old structures and bad roads every day.
"We have to address those needs ... and clearly articulate it with a plan everyone can understand."
Marson said he wants to see residents proud of where they live and be offended if they see someone litter. That is the extreme ownership he refers to.
"This is a wonderful place," he said. "We should treat it as such and be proud of where we are from here and where we live and hold it to a high standard."
It is like in the military or private businesses and organizations or an athletic team, he said. When people take ownership, it is successful.
"It is not the board, or the mayor or the boss driving it, but rather the peer pressure of the team," he said.
Marson used the analogy of the "Patriot way" with New England Patriot Coach Bill Belichick creating a professional football dynasty for several years by utilizing a players culture where those who play put pressure on each other to be the best.
Bluefield is also "blessed" to have three colleges in the area, he said, with Bluefield State, Bluefield University and Concord University.
"We actually have somewhat of an academic corridor here in Mercer County. We need to look at ways to market that as an academic hub. That's the way I look at it. We just need to figure out a way of how to take that and run with it."
Thursday's event will start at 6:30 p.m. and be held outside. In case of inclement weather, it will be held indoors at City Hall.
Marson said he is eager to hear residents' input, and the questionnaire will also be available online through surveymonkey.com.
"Our goal over the next couple of weeks will be to look at the feedback and then run the data," he said, and the information will then be presented to City Board, broken down by priorities residents have listed.
"I look forward to meeting everybody," he said. "I look forward to the feedback."
— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com
