Marine City names former St. Clair administrator as new manager

It hadn’t been in Scott Adkins’ plans to go for the role of Marine City’s chief administrator when he approached community leaders about lending a hand amid their search for a new manager.

But a couple of months into a part-time consulting role, he said some of those puzzle pieces started to fit.

“It was really coming to help them out, take care of some business that was pressing at the moment,” Adkins said Friday morning. “(Then, I) really started to get a connection with the staff, with the community, and it was just one of those things that seemed to kind of morph, migrate in that direction. So, again, I said I don’t want to be here on a long-term basis, but there seems to be enough that I feel I can provide some type of guidance and benefit to the community.”

Marine City commissioners approved an at-will contract with an annual salary of $105,000 for Adkins, a former official in St. Clair and more recently retired city manager for Roseville, during their meeting late Thursday.

He replaces Holly Tatman, who was ousted by commissioners in January — a decision that upset some residents at the time.

Since then, Police Chief Jim Heaslip had served as interim manager, working to bring in Adkins initially in February after he contacted Mayor Jennifer Vandenbossche about helping them through a host of priorities and day-to-day challenges.

Those had included untangling the city from a list of audit snafus weeks ahead of budget discussions that were held this week, filling other open personnel positions, and reviewing grant pursuits, among others.

Officials reflect positively on transition, new manager relationship

Commissioner Brian Ross, who served on a city manager search committee along with Commissioner Jacob Bryson, said on Thursday that they’d gone through the hoop-jumping process, taking applications for the role when they began to hear from city employees that “they really kind of liked” Adkins.

And in addition to his experience, he said Adkins’ existing connections to the area ended up being a key asset in offering him an at-will agreement, meaning his employment has no contracted term.

Previously, Adkins, who still resides in St. Clair, served as superintendent in the city from 2006 to 2012, and then, in Roseville for more than a decade afterward.

“He really likes this place, and he is from around here. He gets the local politics. He knows the local people in St. Clair County to call,” Ross said. “… He knows this area like the back of his hand.”

Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Hendrick said something similar, adding it was “refreshing to talk to a guy that’s got the knowledge he has.”

“You couldn’t ask for anybody better. He just kind of fell into our lap,” she said. “It’s a good thing. I think it’s going to be great working with him.”

Multiple other officials shared in the sentiment, also thanking Heaslip for taking the interim role.

“I’ve got to know some people on deeper levels through different board meetings and such,” Heaslip said during his final city manager’s report Thursday. “I know there were a lot of rumors when I first took over. I hope that I’ve proved those rumors wrong. I had no ill intentions by coming here. I’m an ethical guy. I preach doing the right thing. And that’s what I’m about. … If anybody ever needs anything, please find me at the police department.”

Adkins wasn’t present at Thursday’s meeting, later adding that he hoped to help “hit a restart button administratively” for Marine City, elevating its progress and getting “the city on a much stronger footing.”

He said the timeframe they were looking at for his position was 18 to 24 months. And on Thursday, officials said they hoped that'd also allow them time to find a longer-term administrator.

“It’s one of those things that we’re going to continually monitor and work (on) together as a team,” Adkins said.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.