The city of Gluckstadt has hired Jeff Williamson to be its building official and oversee building and planning as the city continues to grow.
Williamson was born and raised in Jackson and has had a career of 26 years in the construction business with 21 of those years spent in municipal government. He spent the first few years of his career working in the private sector. He said his work history in both areas is part of what prepared him for this new role in Gluckstadt.
“I’ve done my share of working in the public sector with municipal government and that has prepared me, but having worked in the private sector as well really teaches you a different level of how to deal with the public,” Williamson said.
However, what most prepared him for his role in Gluckstadt is that he has been in this position before. Williamson worked for the city of Byram when it incorporated in 2010 and was given the same task there that he is to do in Gluckstadt – to build a city from the ground up.
“I was proud to say that, within the year’s time, we had two or three fully functioning departments running – most importantly the planning and zoning department, which I was really head of,” Williamson said. “Like here in Gluckstadt, you are wearing more than one hat. You’re not just an inspector or a building official or a planning director. You become more than that.”
While Williamson had no idea how to build a city at that time in Byram, he said the people around him and his experience of a few years in government helped him get started. However, now he has done it before and has the knowledge of how to build a city for Gluckstadt.
“It is just a matter of taking what you know, putting your best foot forward and trusting the people that you work with and work for to do what’s right,” Williamson said. “I just feel my 20 plus years of experience is really what prepared me, but most definitely the time that I spent in this same scenario ten or so years ago. I can say I’ve been in this position before.”
Williamson is coming to Gluckstadt on a contractual basis while he continues to do work for Madison County as he has for the past seven months and does construction inspections.
“When this job opened up, I chomped at the opportunity,” Williamson said. “This will eventually lead to a full time position in the very near future. I really enjoy doing what I do and look forward to working with the city and was very fortunate that they were able to discuss and accommodate me because this is something that I enjoy doing. If you do something you enjoy, it’s not really a job. It’s more of a career. I’m just very thankful for everything that I have so far in life.”
Gluckstadt’s Mayor Walter Morrison is glad they were able to get Williamson to help with Gluckstadt in addition to his work with the county.
“Jeff has provided some contractoral planning, building, and zoning services for Madison County,” Morrison said. “Madison County has a large area that they have to try to administer. We were very fortunate to be able to contract with Jeff to help us with our needs too.”
Gluckstadt recently adopted its planning and zoning ordinances having previously been under the county’s zoning ordinances. Williamson has only been at the job for a few weeks and hasn’t yet compared the two documents thoroughly, however, he said there are some changes in the City of Gluckstadt’s zoning from what the county’s is.
“The county has a good zoning ordinance, but Gluckstadt wanted to tweak it a little bit to condition it to them like they wanted it done and there are some changes,” Williamson said. “If I had to guess, I’m pretty sure it is a little more constrictive in some areas than the county’s would be.”
Williamson said while there are some more restrictive areas in the ordinance, it isn’t anything that will deter anyone from wanting to build in Gluckstadt.
At the time being, the department is still in the building phase and hasn’t officially taken over the building permits from Madison County. The city is set to take over zoning and building duties on March 1.
“The county is still currently the holder of those permits,” Williamson said. “From the county side of it, if I had to guess, there may be as many as 15 open permits with the county that are in what I’d consider the incorporated time of Gluckstadt. That isn’t an exact number.”
Williamson said his number one goal is to get the planning and zoning department up and running so he can be issuing permits, taking in plans, and reviewing documents. As building official, his job is to be responsible for the implementation, adoption and enforcement of the building codes and standards that the city adopts. He said the building codes and ordinances give him a roadmap for new construction and any growth in the city.
“I hope that it will get so busy we’ll have to hire more people,” Williamson said. “Our goal is to put more people to work that want to work. This particular job and office requires people with certain skills and, fortunately, there are a lot of people like that, which we can bring in that would do a fine job. Within the next couple of months, I want to be up and running. I’m ready for it. We are just ready and anxious to see what the next year holds for this city.”
In the next year, Williamson wants to not only have his department up and running bringing in revenues for the city, but he also wants to see a police department built in Gluckstadt.
“The citizens are ready to have their own police department,” Williamson said. “They are ready to have some other group patrolling their streets, so they can feel just as safe if not safer than they already do in this great city.”
Williamson said he is looking forward to the city providing more services in the next year for its citizens.
“Now with each service and department, you run into its own set of trial and errors,” Williamson said. “Things that the county is already doing for the city are going to be up to the board if those continue, such as road maintenance and things of that nature. We don’t have our own road department as of yet. That is something we are going to be looking for in the near future. From my side, I’m ready to see it grow and expand and have some more commercial come in and residential developments start. Once people catch a whiff of Gluckstadt being incorporated, they’ll build.”
Williamson said he looks forward to watching the city fill up with businesses and is looking to see that in the next year. He said this is his favorite part of his job – watching the growth. He said, whether it is the people he works with growing in their position or the city itself, he enjoys watching the growth.
“I would have to say I’m enthralled by the idea of watching another city grow and expand and prosper and become what it is supposed to be,” Williamson said. “When you get to that point, you can back up and say, ‘I had a little bit to do with that to get it to that point’. That is what intrigues me and gives me a smile on my face.”
He said he is expecting to see plenty of this significant growth in Gluckstadt.
“We are going to have the citizens behind us and supporting the city as they have already come together to do,” Williamson said. “I think you’re going to see much more pride taken by the citizens in their city. I see tremendous growth within the city in the next year, and I’m just really looking forward to it and really hoping it will take off. We can be looking at a significant amount of growth a year from now.”
Williamson said that all of the growth within the city will start at city hall.
“Everything starts here,” Williamson said. “We are the starting point if you are wanting to build or develop in the city of Gluckstadt. You will start here at the city hall in my office.”
