29 August 2024
DULUTH — Two key staff members in the city’s planning and economic development division left in August to pursue jobs in neighboring communities.
Chad Ronchetti’s last day as the city’s division director was Wednesday, Aug. 28, as he prepares to head Hermantown’s economic development efforts. Community Development Manager Ryan Pervenanze departed earlier in August to lead Carlton County’s economic development team.
Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert said the leadership change will present a challenge and an opportunity.
He noted a “hyper-competitive” market for individuals with economic development skills and said the city must “gear ourselves up to compete for talent.”
Reinert said he will be looking at how a new director of planning and economic development can delegate more duties to staff members to help keep the individual workload manageable and build an effective team.
City Administrator David Montgomery said that with the city’s proposed new structure for its planning and economic development division, “it’s going to take a little bit of the total pressure off the director because it’s going to spread it across the whole organization more, rather than it all going right to the top.
“So, I actually think once we get this thing properly staffed,” Montgomery said, “it’s going to alleviate some of that intensity but not all of it. This is still a big job.”
Reinert suspects the job will attract plenty of interest.
“I think there are good candidates out there who might be in the metro area or at another regional center who are drawn to Duluth for quality-of-life reasons,” Reinert said. “We will definitely in our search not just be looking locally in our immediate region. We will cast a little wider net.”
Reinert said several entities in the region have been working collaboratively to bring economic growth to Duluth and the Northland.
He suspects the jobs will appeal to people eager to be a part of that effort and the opportunities it presents.
“We have a really diverse and solid economic base, between medical and higher ed and transportation and tourism,” Reinert said.
Reinert said he also takes comfort in knowing Ronchetti and Pervenanze will remain in the region.
“These folks who know us well and who we think highly of are now working with our neighbors,” he said. “And we have to be more regional in our approach. So, we all sit at the table and all think about how we can make investments and continue to grow our tax base and grow businesses that help the entire region thrive.
“Duluth cannot be a regional center disconnected from its region,” Reinert said, “because business largely doesn’t care about arbitrary geopolitical divisions on Boundary Avenue or Haines Road.”
Ronchetti said he was drawn to the opportunity to serve his hometown after working in Duluth for the past year.
“Hermantown has seen the most growth out of any municipality in the Northland in recent years,” he said. “And I’m excited to help accelerate the business opportunities associated with that growth.”
Ronchetti acknowledged that he is leaving Duluth at a busy time, with several high-profile projects in the works: Sofidel’s proposed expansion of its local paper mill, the Incline Village development to be built on the former site of Duluth Central High School, the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront Lot D property and a project to bring housing to the former Lester Park municipal golf course property.
“I feel a mix of emotions,” Ronchetti said. “I feel above and beyond excitement at the opportunity to serve Hermantown. But I also feel a sense of commitment to the city of Duluth, and there are a significant number of large projects that are proposed and on the horizon.”
Ronchetti said he has “full faith and confidence in the ability of the remaining staff to carry those projects to fruition. … I’m going to watch with wonder and will be cheering from Haines for the city of Duluth to continue its success.”
Montgomery suggested the large number of projects on the city’s plate likely bodes well for Duluth’s future.
“Projects often spawn projects,” he said.
He, too, expressed confidence staff will keep those developments in motion.
“I think we have people with a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge,” Montgomery said, “and we’ve got a lot of people who have been working with Chad and Ryan on these projects.”
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