Eastpointe, MI - New City Manager at Work

New manager ready to pound the pavement.
He will tour local businesses, neighborhoods.

Published: August 9, 2006
By Mitch Hotts Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Eastpointe Mayor Dave Austin had a word of advice for new City Manager Darwin Parks, who begins work today -- put on your tennis shoes and get out on the streets to learn about the community.
"I'd like to see him out there walking and driving around Eastpointe so he can see our business corridors and learn about our neighborhoods and get to work," Austin said.

The Eastpointe City Council on Tuesday afternoon formally approved a 1-year contract for Parks, who will earn a $94,000 salary along with four weeks of vacation and a $500 monthly automobile allowance.
Parks, 40, had been employed as administrator for Highland Park for the past two years as that Wayne County community worked its way out of state receivership due to chronic financial problems.
He's familiar with Macomb County after formerly working as city manager in Richmond, where city officials were reluctant to see him leave.
Parks said he's eager to come up with new ideas for development in Eastpointe, which is an older, inner-ring city bordering Eight Mile and the Detroit border.
"I believe Eastpointe has its best days ahead of us," Parks said immediately after his appointedment as manager. "Many communities have financial problems, but this city has become very proactive in identifying and addressing its problems. We have a lot of work to do, but there are many opportunities here."
Parks was one of 16 applicants to express an interest in Eastpointe after the council fired former City Manager Wayne O'Neal, who left in June.
Council members said O'Neal did not reach out to the business community and had poor relations with the economic development and building departments. The council expects Parks will have better communication with those departments in order to attract new development to Eastpointe. He's been a proponent of supporting Detroit and inner-ring communities in order to make the entire tri-county region more economically viable.
"I've had state representatives from Macomb and Oakland counties tell me 'We have the money we need, why should we help Detroit?' and that made me realize there are people in Lansing who don't understand how the region depends on a vital Detroit and inner-suburban cities. We are a reflection of the state of Michigan," Parks said.
His top priority is watching public spending after voters last year approved a 7 mill increase and there is talk of building a new City Hall.
"We have to be very responsible to make sure we are spending the taxpayer's money effectively and efficiently," he said.
Parks, a 1984 Oxford High School graduate, earned a bachelor's degree with cum laude honors in human services with a concentration in public administration from Siena Heights College and has a master of public administration degree with high honors from Golden Gate University. He is certified with the International City/County Management Association.