Greenfield city manager Ron Coffey to retire at end of 2017
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
Ron Coffey has announced that he plans to step down as Greenfield city manager at the end of 2017.
Coffey was approved as the successor to retiring city manager Betty Bishop by Greenfield Village Council on Jan. 2, 2013 and started working in that position on Jan. 27, 2013.
This year will mark Coffey’s 20th year in public service, following his work as a court administrator in the Highland County courts from 1997 through 2013. He also worked in the private sector for over 25 years.
Coffey told The Highland County Press that he intends to complete his one-year contract, “unless council has other plans.”
“There was discussion of another of two-year contract, and I said one year was all I was seeking,” Coffey said. “I’d like to get my 20 years of public service in, and we’ve got some other issues to deal with. We’ll never be completely caught up, but I feel like we made some progress in the last four years.”
Coffey said he wanted to allow the village council to have ample time to “find whomever they think is the best person to keep things moving forward.”
“Moving forward” has been a theme of Coffey’s tenure as city manager, both literally and figuratively, as the Greenfield Rail Line Improvement Project, begun under Bishop’s term in office, was brought to fruition under Coffey.
“When I started in 2013, I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I thought we’d finish that year and be done with it,” Coffey said. “There were lots of delays and things that we still needed to do.”
Along with ensuring that the project would not adversely affect local wildlife or water, a title search had to be completed on the entire 29.5 miles of railroad, and bids on the project were over a million dollars over their initial budget. Although Coffey said “everything took longer than expected,” work began on the project in 2015, and it has helped support about 1,000 jobs.
“It supports Johnson Controls – now Adient – in Greenfield, Candle-lite in Leesburg and Huhtamaki in New Vienna,” Coffey said. “Other associated jobs are also affected, like Greenfield Research. So supporting these thousand jobs has been important to the region.”
Additionally, the village of Greenfield has seen new jobs added to the area, after a major employer shut down early in Coffey’s tenure.
“Within a month or two of my becoming city manager, we got the notice that RR Donnelley was going to close,” Coffey said. “Greenfield lost 166 jobs with that closure. It was a real relief to have the announcement that Corvac Composites had purchased the building and was coming in there to manufacture automotive parts.
“They’re still ramping up, but they will be providing 175 jobs. It’s nice to see more jobs coming in than the ones that left.”
Coffey said that he also hopes that Corvac can eventually use the Greenfield railroad.
Improvements have also been made to the infrastructure in the village of Greenfield over the past several years, including switching to a bubble diffusion system at the wastewater treatment plant.
“It seems to be working pretty well and has saved us on electricity,” Coffey said. “We’ve also paved some streets and done all the infrastructure things, like patching potholes and maintenance, that people aren’t usually aware of. We’ve just been doing business as usual, basically, to keep people safe and things operating smoothly.”
“Hopefully, when I step down, if things aren’t done there will be a smooth transition,” Coffey said. “I hope they find someone who will love Greenfield and work hard to make it better, too. I want to cooperate with them with the time comes.”
Coffey said that he has appreciated the opportunity to work with other elected officials in the area, including the Greenfield village council as well as county and state officials.
“One of the really good things has been working with the people out there working to improve not only Greenfield, but the whole region,” Coffey said. “It’s been a treat to meet people like Brad Wenstrup and get to know him, as well as our state, local, county and regional officials. There are a lot of really committed people.
“It’s been a joy to get to know them better and to see that I’m not just out there beating my head against the wall trying to accomplish things. There is a lot of help, with people trying to collaborate and make things happen.”
Coffey also thanked the village of Greenfield for their support over the years.
“I want to thank the people of Greenfield for their support through the years, members of council and all the people I’ve worked with,” Coffey said. “I haven’t made everybody happy, but I knew that going in. It just isn’t possible. But I think people will acknowledge I’ve done the best I can and will continue to do that. I was born and raised here, and I love Greenfield, so the one thing I want to continue to see is better times for Greenfield.”
Although he said that he hasn’t made any plans for his retirement yet as it’s still nearly a year away, Coffey said that he and his wife look forward to doing “Nana and Papaw” activities with their three grandchildren. He also said that he will continue to perform with his band, Dumbfounded.
“As far as a work standpoint, I’ll try to be open to opportunities, but I just want to step back and gather myself a little bit and see what the next chapter brings,” Coffey said. “One thing I don’t want is a farewell tour. I want to do my job, finish my job and hand over the reins to someone else and see things continue to grow and prosper.”
Coffey was approved as the successor to retiring city manager Betty Bishop by Greenfield Village Council on Jan. 2, 2013 and started working in that position on Jan. 27, 2013.
This year will mark Coffey’s 20th year in public service, following his work as a court administrator in the Highland County courts from 1997 through 2013. He also worked in the private sector for over 25 years.
Coffey told The Highland County Press that he intends to complete his one-year contract, “unless council has other plans.”
“There was discussion of another of two-year contract, and I said one year was all I was seeking,” Coffey said. “I’d like to get my 20 years of public service in, and we’ve got some other issues to deal with. We’ll never be completely caught up, but I feel like we made some progress in the last four years.”
Coffey said he wanted to allow the village council to have ample time to “find whomever they think is the best person to keep things moving forward.”
“Moving forward” has been a theme of Coffey’s tenure as city manager, both literally and figuratively, as the Greenfield Rail Line Improvement Project, begun under Bishop’s term in office, was brought to fruition under Coffey.
“When I started in 2013, I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I thought we’d finish that year and be done with it,” Coffey said. “There were lots of delays and things that we still needed to do.”
Along with ensuring that the project would not adversely affect local wildlife or water, a title search had to be completed on the entire 29.5 miles of railroad, and bids on the project were over a million dollars over their initial budget. Although Coffey said “everything took longer than expected,” work began on the project in 2015, and it has helped support about 1,000 jobs.
“It supports Johnson Controls – now Adient – in Greenfield, Candle-lite in Leesburg and Huhtamaki in New Vienna,” Coffey said. “Other associated jobs are also affected, like Greenfield Research. So supporting these thousand jobs has been important to the region.”
Additionally, the village of Greenfield has seen new jobs added to the area, after a major employer shut down early in Coffey’s tenure.
“Within a month or two of my becoming city manager, we got the notice that RR Donnelley was going to close,” Coffey said. “Greenfield lost 166 jobs with that closure. It was a real relief to have the announcement that Corvac Composites had purchased the building and was coming in there to manufacture automotive parts.
“They’re still ramping up, but they will be providing 175 jobs. It’s nice to see more jobs coming in than the ones that left.”
Coffey said that he also hopes that Corvac can eventually use the Greenfield railroad.
Improvements have also been made to the infrastructure in the village of Greenfield over the past several years, including switching to a bubble diffusion system at the wastewater treatment plant.
“It seems to be working pretty well and has saved us on electricity,” Coffey said. “We’ve also paved some streets and done all the infrastructure things, like patching potholes and maintenance, that people aren’t usually aware of. We’ve just been doing business as usual, basically, to keep people safe and things operating smoothly.”
“Hopefully, when I step down, if things aren’t done there will be a smooth transition,” Coffey said. “I hope they find someone who will love Greenfield and work hard to make it better, too. I want to cooperate with them with the time comes.”
Coffey said that he has appreciated the opportunity to work with other elected officials in the area, including the Greenfield village council as well as county and state officials.
“One of the really good things has been working with the people out there working to improve not only Greenfield, but the whole region,” Coffey said. “It’s been a treat to meet people like Brad Wenstrup and get to know him, as well as our state, local, county and regional officials. There are a lot of really committed people.
“It’s been a joy to get to know them better and to see that I’m not just out there beating my head against the wall trying to accomplish things. There is a lot of help, with people trying to collaborate and make things happen.”
Coffey also thanked the village of Greenfield for their support over the years.
“I want to thank the people of Greenfield for their support through the years, members of council and all the people I’ve worked with,” Coffey said. “I haven’t made everybody happy, but I knew that going in. It just isn’t possible. But I think people will acknowledge I’ve done the best I can and will continue to do that. I was born and raised here, and I love Greenfield, so the one thing I want to continue to see is better times for Greenfield.”
Although he said that he hasn’t made any plans for his retirement yet as it’s still nearly a year away, Coffey said that he and his wife look forward to doing “Nana and Papaw” activities with their three grandchildren. He also said that he will continue to perform with his band, Dumbfounded.
“As far as a work standpoint, I’ll try to be open to opportunities, but I just want to step back and gather myself a little bit and see what the next chapter brings,” Coffey said. “One thing I don’t want is a farewell tour. I want to do my job, finish my job and hand over the reins to someone else and see things continue to grow and prosper.”