BY ART BUKOWSKI
TRAVERSE CITY -- Bryan Crough hasn't changed the world in eight months, but he believes his slice of it is headed in the right direction.
Crough, former director of Traverse City's Downtown Development Authority, moved on July 1 into a newly created community development director position. The idea was to have a city employee focus on economic development outside the DDA district.
Crough contends he's made strides to create one-stop shopping for developers interested in city projects and acted as a vital go-between among various city departments.
"In eight months, can you say, 'Look, that happened, that building is up because of my efforts'? No," Crough said. "But a lot of progress has been made on a lot of fronts."
But the future of Crough's position is unclear. The DDA agreed to cover his roughly $80,000 salary for a year but legally can't continue to fund a position that works primarily outside of the DDA district, City Manager Ben Bifoss said.
Now the city must determine if it can afford to incorporate all or a portion of Crough's position into its 2010-11 budget.
"We need to look at A) whether the position will continue; B) if it does, in what capacity?; and C) how do we pay for it?" Bifoss said.
The city could decide to fully fund the position, Bifoss said, or work out an agreement with the DDA to split its cost. If it's determined that Crough spends about half his time working outside DDA, the city could fund half the position, for instance.
Crough still spends about a third of his time dealing with DDA issues, he said.
Acting DDA Director Rob Bacigalupi said Crough's position is needed even if the DDA can't fund it.
"There's no question Bryan has filled a void that existed in the city," Bacigalupi said. "There is a need here for community development service."
Bill Fernandez is president of the Kids Creek neighborhood association, one of several such associations across the city. He hasn't had any dealings with Crough in his position as community development director, though he believes it's a good idea to continue looking beyond DDA borders for development.
"I think it's good that some of the enthusiasm that he's shown for the DDA ... be shifted to the outlying districts," Fernandez said. "I thought it was a good concept when they came up with it."
Traverse Heights neighborhood president Larry Gerschbacher said it isn't exactly clear what Crough has accomplished so far, though he believes it's a good idea.
"It's going to take time before anyone sees the results of his efforts. I'm sure he's working on a lot of things," he said.
