A Connecticut native with experience as an economic development director and commercial real estate broker will begin work as Ansonia’s economic development director next month.
Mayor James Della Volpe announced last week that the city hired Peter Kelly, currently a real estate broker in New Mexico, as economic development director.
Kelly will start Sept. 3 and be paid $58,000 per year.
Those who selected him for the job from an original applicant pool of about 40 said he was the best candidate.
“The people we interviewed, if I had to go from a 1 to a 10, the majority was around a 3 to 5, and he was a 9,” said Charles Stowe, a Republican Alderman and member of a committee who interviewed candidates. “When we interviewed him the difference (between him and the other candidates) was outstanding.”
“I think he has the credentials and the experience to take Ansonia in the direction that it’s needed to go in for quite some time,” Stowe added, thanking Mayor James Della Volpe for naming him to the committee that interviewed applicants.
Article continues after Kelly’s resume.
Della Volpe said he’s looking forward to working with Kelly because of his “vast experience in the field.”
Most recently a principal/associate broker at Roger Cox & Associates, an Albuquerque-based commercial real estate firm, Kelly was the executive director for the City of Gallup, New Mexico from 2009 to 2011, according to his resume.
He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and is seeking his master’s in public policy and administration from Northwestern University.
Della Volpe said Kelly’s experience, and a report the city paid a Hartford consulting firm $25,000 to deliver regarding potential business growth in town, means he’ll be ready on day one.
“We’re looking forward to him just jumping right in and knowing what to do right away to get us moving forward, plus to take advantage of our consultant’s report,” Della Volpe said.
Article continues after the report. Click here for a previous story detailing the document.
Ansonia-Strategic Economic Development Plan2013 by ValleyIndyDotOrg
“He’ll be reporting to me, and I’ll be working with him very closely,” Della Volpe said. “I’ll give him a feel for what the city’s like and what our needs are right away and hopefully he’ll hit the ground running.”
The mayor thanked the interviewing committee, whose membership included Stowe, Tara Kolakowski, government liaison in the mayor’s office and the city’s acting personnel director, Corporation Counsel Kevin Blake, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Bart Flaherty, and Shelton Economic Development Corporation President James Ryan.
Stowe said the interviewing committee had its final three candidates for the job review the consultant’s report, as well as other planning documents produced by the city over the years.
“We had him look at all of those and he actually made a projection, a plan of where he projected to be in six months, a year, 18 months,” Stowe said. “We asked if these were realistic goals and he felt they were very realistic.”
Vinnie Scarlata, the chairman of the city’s Economic Development Commission, said he hasn’t touched base with Kelly yet but hopes to soon.
“From what I’ve been told, I’m looking forward to having him onboard with us,” Scarlata said.
