Surprise, AZ News blog

Mayor-elect Lyn Truitt is hoping to hold a special Surprise City Council meeting for Jan. 3, as a first step in creating two new staff positions.  

Truitt has already announced he wants to create the role of a mayor’s assistant. He said Wednesday that he also wants to create the position of a “cultural director” who would work on tourism and branding for the city as well as the possibility of creating a performing arts facility and “signature festivals.”

“What (the positions) are going to do is add polish to the council,” Truitt said. “But also we’re going to create excitement.”

 

On Jan. 3, Truitt hopes to bring in two people on interim consulting contracts while council establishes a formal job search. He has said he wants former Surprise intergovernmental programs director Miryam Gutier-Brown as his assistant and Marianne Archibald, a self-employed business consultant, as the cultural director.

Under the current schedule, the first meeting of the year isn’t set until Jan. 10.

Councilwoman Gwyn Foro said Truitt is moving too fast and should wait until he has at least one meeting under his belt before trying to create staff positions.

“Mr. Truitt ought to be coming into his position a little slower than gangbusters here,” said Foro, who is facing a recall election in March. “Right away taking an aggressive tactic and causing aggravation with staff, as well as the public, is not doing him any favors.”

Truitt has further plans to hire a council liaison to improve communication between staff and elected officials, but is not planning to begin that process for several weeks. In the meantime the mayor’s assistant can also serve the council, he said.

Possible salary ranges for the positions have not yet been determined.

Truitt is also touting a new concept for Surprise that he hopes can be applied to every facet of the city’s growth.

Dubbed “Creative Surprise,” Truitt’s initiative calls for the city to distinguish itself from others by offering “innovative and creative thinking” in areas that range from culture to industry. Truitt has yet to outline many details of achieving this vision, and Council members are waiting to hear more specifics after Truitt officially takes office Jan. 1.

Truitt unveiled Creative Surprise on Dec. 15 at a gala he hosted at the West Valley Art Museum titled “A New Day For Surprise”. Many city department heads and elected officials attended, as well as the outgoing city manager.

“Creative Surprise is intentionally developing a language and a community that invites the creative worker into our community,” Truitt said. “The creative worker is typically better educated, more appreciative of the arts and enjoys fine dining and boutique type shopping. Creative workers attract employers … it is very much an economic driver.” Incoming councilman Richard Alton said he supports Truitt’s concept, but is waiting for a clearer definition of what Creative Surprise is.

“I don’t think any council members are going to bend over backwards for this thing,” Alton said. “We just what to see how exactly he’s going to pursue it.”

Truitt said a primer on his vision could be held for the public in coming weeks. The event would take the tone of a casual discussion over coffee, he siad. Public meetings in a a relaxed, “chat show” type setting could become a regular event for Surprise and serve as an example of working creatively, Truitt said.

Another upcoming example of city innovation is the plan to stream council meetings live on the Internet and provide easy navigation of archived video, Truitt said.

Alton agreed Surprise is overdue for some creative thinking and that he also supported Truitt’s planned additions to staff.

Foro said Truitt should wait until next year’s budget to request the new positions to avoid funding conflicts. She added said she sees no need for a council liaison to act as a middleman between staff and council members. “My dialogue with staff has been very direct and I have a very good working relationship with them, and I don’t abuse my privileges,” Foro said.

As for the cultural director position, Foro said those duties are already spread out among other departments such as Community & Recreation Services and Community Initiatives.

But Truitt views the position working with all departments, as well as the public, to foster a culturally diverse city.

“Within Surprise we have some very interesting and unique people that are artists or CEOS that have extraordinary life experiences,” Truitt said. “We would love to begin to model in our community just who lives here and create a sense of place.”