| | | Ex-city manager joins KVCC
Former Kalamazoo City Manager Pat DiGiovanni has been appointed KVCC’s director of economic and community development where he will be shepherding a three-pronged economic-, community- and workforce-development initiative being supported by a grant through the Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s Community Redevelopment Fund.
His responsibilities will include providing administrative, planning, coordination and promotional support of:
● An emerging effort being organized by KVCC to sustain and expand the manufacturing industry that has been a staple in the economic vitality of this part of Michigan.
● Major projects in downtown Kalamazoo, such as a performing-arts center and an arena as envisioned by the ABI (Another Bold Idea) group.
● The foundation’s two-year-old Community Redevelopment Fund that seeks to identify, finance and implement solutions to what are considered “critical issues” existing within the city’s neighborhoods and its hub.
DiGiovanni, who resigned his municipal post in May, will be performing these duties while based in the college’s M-TEC in The Groves.
The foundation’s grant of $126,300, along with college funds, will support the three-part initiative for one year.
“We have been a part of the downtown community since 1983,” said President Marilyn Schlack, “and the college was part of the partnership that created Arcadia Commons. The resulting spinoffs are with us today. We want to continue to be a contributor in the efforts to keep downtown Kalamazoo healthy, growing and an economic asset.
“Being a part of this initiative,” she said, “is a win-win opportunity to do that and to keep an immensely talented, dedicated professional in the community so that he can follow up on many of the projects he played a role in instigating.”
The foundation’s Community Redevelopment Fund, established in 2003, grew out of an entity created in 1990 that had initially focused on growth and development. Its newer dimension focuses on providing grants and program- and business-related investments – low-interest loans and loan guarantees – to organizations dedicated to enhancing the economic growth and vitality of Kalamazoo’s neighborhoods, including the downtown neighborhood.
“The Kalamazoo Community Foundation is thrilled about the partnership that has emerged among the college, ABI and the Community Redevelopment Fund,” said Jack Hopkins, president and chief executive officer of the foundation. “Keeping talent in our community is crucial to advancing Kalamazoo’s economic-development goals. The effort will leverage additional funding to help solve critical neighborhood redevelopment issues and build a stronger community.”
“I’m very excited about this new venture,” said DiGiovanni, who came to Kalamazoo in 1991 and was a city-hall fixture for six years prior to be named city manager in 1997. “I’m looking forward to working alongside a host of community leaders on projects and programs that will benefit the community. I’m especially thrilled to work on projects that will focus on workforce development, downtown development and community enrichment.
“I’m grateful to KVCC and Dr. Schlack for her confidence in me,” said DiGiovanni, a political-science major at Northeastern University and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s master’s program in public administration. “I want to thank the foundation and its funding partners for giving me the opportunity to continue serving this community.”
While the full extent of the ABI commitment to the development initiative is still in the blueprint stage, Ken Miller, chairman of the ABI group, said it is highly likely that a significant portion of DiGiovanni's responsibilities will focus on two major proposed downtown-Kalamazoo projects -- a performing arts/entertainment center and a multipurpose arena.
A meeting of the ABI group, comprised of various stakeholders in the downtown area, is set for Tuesday (Sept. 27) to discuss the extent of the group’s commitment and financial contribution toward the foundation grant.
Said Miller, who recently completed a trio of three-year terms on the KVCC Foundation’s governing board: "The opportunity -- to have an individual of Pat's experience and capabilities bring together the mutual interest of several key community organizations and institutions -- is rare, and something this community is fortunate to have. The product of this three-pronged initiative, while funded by the foundation, the college and members of ABI, will have an enduring benefit for the entire community for years to come."
KVCC plans to embark on strengthening the manufacturing sector in this part of Michigan. Even though there has been an erosion of jobs over the last five years, more than 1,200 companies are still in business and employ more than 65,000 workers.
“To remain competitive,” said James DeHaven, the executive director at the M-TEC that has been serving as a sounding board and place of action for local manufacturers the last two years, “leaders in this sector of the economy need information on innovative business practices that reduce costs and increase productivity. The key to achieving this objective is the availability of a well-trained, highly skilled workforce that can compete in the global marketplace.”
The evolving strategy could include technical training of incumbent workers, the recruitment of future employees through partnerships with high schools, colleges and shops that also nurture careers in manufacturing through apprenticeships and internships, a network for sharing resources such as computer software and best practices, and management support and training.
“For our manufacturers to survive, transition, compete and grow,” DeHaven said, “it’s time to get away from turf issues. It is our plan to understand the best practices within regional educational systems, industry clusters, and economic-development agencies to exploit our strengths. Pat will be playing a major role in what we are trying to accomplish.”
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