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Ex-city planner back for new job

Returning from a county job, Mark Ely will fill the new post of Seminole's community development director.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published October 1, 2006

SEMINOLE - Mark Ely will return to Seminole on Monday, barely eight months after he left his job as Seminole's city planner to work for the county.

When he returns, he'll be in a newly created job of community development director, where he'll oversee the planning and building departments, as well as code enforcement.

"It's just an opportunity that's presented itself," Ely said. "It's just a logical progression of my career path."

Ely said he sees Seminole's challenges as similar to those in the rest of Pinellas: lack of vacant, developable land; congested roadways; and quality of life issues that are "out of control." Those include hurricanes and the cost of insurance, he said.

The goal is to find a way to redevelop what already exists in Seminole, he said, and to help give residents an enjoyable, pleasant place to live.

Ely's new job was created earlier this year after City Manager Frank Edmunds revamped Seminole's organizational structure. He eliminated the job of general services director, held by Ely's boss Mitch Bobowski, and split the duties into two departments, community development and public works.

Bobowski was given the option of applying for the job, but opted to leave the city.

Ely said he decided to take on the challenge in part because many of the projects the county had given him in his position as planning administrator were finished, like the ambitious Pinellas by Design plan.

Ely said he could not say enough good things about his tenure with the county. The change back to Seminole, he said, is all about "an opportunity to come back to a good community and get some supervisory experience."

[Last modified September 30, 2006, 22:35:04]