Post by admin on Jul 23, 2008 14:44:17 GMT -5
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/NEWS01/807230429/1285/LOCAL09
FREEHOLD — Greater organization, improved communication and the creation of a strategic development plan are all on the agenda for the Freehold Center Partnership's new chief executive officer.
"The position challenges me," A. Richard Gatto, 46, of Freehold Township, said last week about his new position at the partnership.
Gatto, a soft-spoken man with an apparent bent toward diplomacy, took over the job on July 1. Since then, he said he has been busy familiarizing himself with all that goes into the partnership, which runs the borough's special improvement district.
The partnership has between 400 and 500 members, primarily property owners and business operators, according to chief operating officer Jayne Carr.
Gatto's hiring is part of a larger restructuring the partnership is undergoing to place greater emphasis on economic and business development. Previously, partnership officials say they focused more on events and marketing the downtown.
Though Gatto does not have traditional economic development experience, partnership chairman Michael Page has praised him for his organizational abilities, his talent at developing consensus and his contacts on the local, county and state levels.
Gatto serves on both the Freehold Township Planning Board and the Monmouth County Improvement Authority. He has served in various positions with the Girl Scouts of Jersey Shore, and was part of the 2007 Monmouth County Budget Task Force.
Gatto, a public accountant, will work part-time. He has a one-year contract, and is considered a consultant, Gatto said. He declined to provide his salary.
Since beginning his new job, one change Gatto says he has already instituted is creating a hierarchy for projects that originate in the partnership's committees.
Committee members will now have to create a business plan for their ideas, which will include time lines, estimated costs and specific funding sources, Gatto said.
Those projects will then work their way up the chain of command, starting with Carr and ending with the board of directors.
"(The projects will be) vetted in a more productive manner," Gatto said. "I think it'll allow for even better programs in a more cost-effective manner."
Members of the partnership's executive board will also serve as liaisons to the partnership's committees, similar to the system used by many municipal governing bodies, Gatto said.
By the end of the month, Gatto said he plans to meet with the partnership's strategic planning subcommittee to begin developing a vision for the district's economic development.
Creating such a plan will likely take three to six months to complete, Gatto said.
Gatto has also begun reaching out to the partnership's critics since taking on his new role, he said.
One of those critics is Carl Steinberg, a borough business owner who recently filed a lawsuit against the partnership with another business owner. The lawsuit primarily deals with alleged improprieties surrounding the partnership's annual meeting and vote in May.
Steinberg has complained that businesses on Main Street benefit more from the partnership than do businesses off Main Street, like his own.
Despite his problems with the partnership, Steinberg so far had kind words for Gatto's efforts.
"He (Gatto) has reached out . . . At least he's got a dialogue going," said Steinberg, adding, "He seems to want to do good things for the partnership."
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
FREEHOLD — Greater organization, improved communication and the creation of a strategic development plan are all on the agenda for the Freehold Center Partnership's new chief executive officer.
"The position challenges me," A. Richard Gatto, 46, of Freehold Township, said last week about his new position at the partnership.
Gatto, a soft-spoken man with an apparent bent toward diplomacy, took over the job on July 1. Since then, he said he has been busy familiarizing himself with all that goes into the partnership, which runs the borough's special improvement district.
The partnership has between 400 and 500 members, primarily property owners and business operators, according to chief operating officer Jayne Carr.
Gatto's hiring is part of a larger restructuring the partnership is undergoing to place greater emphasis on economic and business development. Previously, partnership officials say they focused more on events and marketing the downtown.
Though Gatto does not have traditional economic development experience, partnership chairman Michael Page has praised him for his organizational abilities, his talent at developing consensus and his contacts on the local, county and state levels.
Gatto serves on both the Freehold Township Planning Board and the Monmouth County Improvement Authority. He has served in various positions with the Girl Scouts of Jersey Shore, and was part of the 2007 Monmouth County Budget Task Force.
Gatto, a public accountant, will work part-time. He has a one-year contract, and is considered a consultant, Gatto said. He declined to provide his salary.
Since beginning his new job, one change Gatto says he has already instituted is creating a hierarchy for projects that originate in the partnership's committees.
Committee members will now have to create a business plan for their ideas, which will include time lines, estimated costs and specific funding sources, Gatto said.
Those projects will then work their way up the chain of command, starting with Carr and ending with the board of directors.
"(The projects will be) vetted in a more productive manner," Gatto said. "I think it'll allow for even better programs in a more cost-effective manner."
Members of the partnership's executive board will also serve as liaisons to the partnership's committees, similar to the system used by many municipal governing bodies, Gatto said.
By the end of the month, Gatto said he plans to meet with the partnership's strategic planning subcommittee to begin developing a vision for the district's economic development.
Creating such a plan will likely take three to six months to complete, Gatto said.
Gatto has also begun reaching out to the partnership's critics since taking on his new role, he said.
One of those critics is Carl Steinberg, a borough business owner who recently filed a lawsuit against the partnership with another business owner. The lawsuit primarily deals with alleged improprieties surrounding the partnership's annual meeting and vote in May.
Steinberg has complained that businesses on Main Street benefit more from the partnership than do businesses off Main Street, like his own.
Despite his problems with the partnership, Steinberg so far had kind words for Gatto's efforts.
"He (Gatto) has reached out . . . At least he's got a dialogue going," said Steinberg, adding, "He seems to want to do good things for the partnership."
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com