By Mike Bush
Roswell’s new city planner said he is pro-development, but thinks growth should be controlled.
“I would say I have more of a long-term mentality,” City Planner Michael Vickers said. “I’m very pro-development but I think we should definitely be controlled in that growth. There’s nothing to be gained by growing too quickly.”
Quick development without adequate study can allow unexpected problems to slip through the cracks undetected, he explained.
“I certainly encourage anyone that has a development opportunity to come in and chat with me … about everything that could possibly come up,” he said. “I will be strict but fair in my recommendations to the (Planning and Zoning) Commission and (Roswell City) Council.
“I certainly don’t want to hold anybody back from development,” he added.
Vickers, a Roswell native and 2001 Goddard High School graduate, began work Aug. 3.
He said the bulk of his job involves the placement of future businesses and/or residential developments, dealing with zoning change requests.
One of his biggest pushes will be urban and rural infill, filling in vacant spaces in areas already developed.
“There’s lots of space out there,” he said. “I think it’s important to utilize space we have available.”
In addition, he noted, there will be a lot of new construction, but given the state of the economy, many communities are focusing on infill.
Vickers is involved with several committees working on development in the south part of Roswell.
“We’ve got the Community Improvement Committee that really kind of focuses on beautifying South Main Street,” he said. “When you fly in here, there’s not a whole lot to look at as you drive north from the airport until you get pretty close to downtown.”
So development along main arterial streets coming into Roswell from the south will be a focus, he said, along with other arterials in the city, such as West Second Street.
“West Second Street is another one of those arterials I think is in pretty desperate need of an upgrade and revitalization,” he added.
He said the fact that single-family houses still are being built in Roswell is a good sign for the local economy.
“I think it shows that we’re somewhat recession-proof, I don’t want to say totally but certainly a little bit … So we’re gong to continue to encourage those developers and contractors to put up nice housing.”
Vickers said he will continue the monthly reports on new commercial and housing developments in the city issued by his predecessor, Zach Montgomery.
“I’m actually working on one right now,” he said in an Aug. 20 interview. “Right now, I’m trying to make sure I’ve got all the correct information on the status of everything. I don’t want to get anybody in trouble or anything … I’ve had a lot of people asking about it.”
He said a big project in which the city is involved now is the 2010 Census
“It’s a huge deal to get to that 50,000 (population) mark,” he added. “I think that we do have that many people here; it’s just a matter of getting them to fill out their information. If we do get to the 50,000 mark we will qualify for federal funding and it will be just extremely beneficial to our city.”
Vickers says he provides the Census Committee with whatever it needs.
“I’m there to kind of give ideas, keep everybody on track, anything they need me to do I’m certainly happy to do,” he added. “I’m constantly promoting (the Census), whether it be in the committee or not, just around town, trying to get the word out that it is that important.”
The Census will be promoted through upcoming events, including the Chile Cheese Festival and the Dragonfly Festival, where the committee will have booths that will offer information to educate the public on the importance of the Census, he added.
After graduating from Goddard High School in 2001, Vickers attended Texas Tech University, where he received a degree with double majors in international business and general business, with a minor in Spanish. After graduation, he worked for about six months for a hotel management company in Austin.
Vickers got a call from an old friend in Denver, who worked for a contractor who specialized in commercial construction. He took a job as business development and marketing director.
“I worked there a couple of years,” he said “Due to a decrease in workload, they laid me off, among several others, and I took a job with an architectural firm doing the same thing, as a business development sales professional.
“So my background as far as real estate has typically been on the private side, dealing with developers, owners, architects, contractors, engineers, subcontractors, property managers and banks as well as municipalities,” he said.
“That company actually closed its doors six months after I started,” he said. “I decided to move back to Roswell to save some money during my second go-round of unemployment. I saw the city planner position listed here, and I applied for that and ended up getting the job.
“It’s good to be back home,” he added.