Albany City Manger speaks at town hall meeting

ALBANY — Residents got a chance to meet new City Manager Sharon Subadan up close and personal Saturday, and ask about her take on Albany’s future.

With just 32 days as the city’s manager, Subadan spoke at City Commissioner Jon Howard’s Town Hall Meeting at the East Albany Community Center, first filling in the citizens on her previous position as assistant administrator for Hillsborough County in the Tampa, Fla., as well as other experiences which have formed her management philosophy.

“I understand the struggle,” Subadan said. “I hear people say ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps.’ Well sometimes you need somebody to help you, and not give you a handout, but a help up. It’s my goal that we don’t leave individuals in this community behind.”

Subadan’s outlined her philosophy in the acronym TERRIFIC, or Trust by residents she’ll do what she says, Effectiveness of her actions, Respect for the taxpayers, Responsiveness to calls and messages, Integrity, Fun (no day is complete without laughter), Innovation and Customer satisfaction.

According to Subadan, as city manager she’ll focus hard on development and revitalization of Albany’s downtown area.

“One of the reasons I came to Albany is the tremendous potential here,” Subadan said. “But it made me a little sad to see how dead things were downtown.”

The Albany City Commission may soon make available a $5 million fund, which could help downtown look a little less “dead.” But Subadan is tight-lipped, so far, as to possible plans for the money.

“First we need to get confirmation (of the funding) at the Tuesday (commission) meeting,” Subadan said, “And make it clear this is a loan against the job investment fund, and that the goal is for downtown development, acquisition and improvement of property and other activities that generate and inspire the building of our downtown.”

Subadan intends to push “maximization,” in a number of the city’s assets, she said, including the Flint River, industry and Albany State University, which she envisions as one of several ways to grow Albany downtown and in other areas.

“We need to leverage these (ASU) kids, bring them across the bridge and help them to see the potential here,” Subadan said.

The new manager said she visited the Turtle Park area of downtown on a recent Sunday afternoon and was struck by the hundreds of kids with nothing to do. The next week at her office she asked the Parks and Recreation director to also visit on a Sunday, talk to the kids and ask what could be done to engage them in downtown.

“They’re (the kids) part of our community,” Subadan said. “They’re our future and it’s important for us to engage with them and provide something productive for them to do. If we don’t, they’ll find something non-productive.”

While in Tampa, Subadan learned the power of multi-sector collaboration, she said, where city and county commissioners and agencies work together and also with businesses, non-profit and faith-based organizations.

“I believe strongly that the biggest challenges in any community can never be solved by government alone,” Subadan said. “Part of my goal in Albany is to engage with all the sectors, including the Economic Development Commission and the Chamber of Commerce.”

While the Town Hall meeting is a first step in communicating with Albany residents, Subadan said her office is working toward the establishment of a public forum, where citizens can easily ask questions and find the answers they need.

“I’ve told people I’m kind of drinking from a fire hose now, and working 16 hours a day,” Subadan said. “But what I’d like to do at some point is to establish regular meetings and a routine for a forum.”