Just What Exactly is Elk Grove's Economic Development Director, City Council Doing?


March 13, 2016 |

An inside contact associated with the City of Elk Grove from time to time sends us links to news stories about the successes of nearby municipalities in recruiting employers to their respective jurisdictions. Our contact, with a distinct hint of gallows humor, usually titles the emails as "Doan loses another one."

The Doan, of course, is Elk Grove's Economic Development Director Darrel Doan. As a $146,000 annual salaried city employee, Doan is charged with recruiting major employers and their high-paying jobs to Elk Grove.

The keywords in Doan's mission are "major" organizations and "high-paying jobs."

Sorry Doan but jobs at Gil Moore's five-star gas station, trendy fast food joints, smoke shops, deprivation tank salons, retailers or existing employers like Apple can't be counted towards your success. We are looking for, demanding, jobs that you recruited along with Mayor Gary Davis and Vice Mayor Steve Ly, all on your own.

What got us thinking about Doan, his boss Elk Grove City Manager Laura Gill and, of course, the Elk Grove City Council was another email from our city employee contact titled, what else, but "Doan loses another one."

The newest missed opportunity, as reported in the Sacramento Bee, was United Bakery, who, with the help of the City of West Sacramento, just upgraded to a 65,000 square-foot facility in that city. Elk Grove loses again.

So that invariably led to the question - just what is Doan doing? What are the city manager and the city council doing aside from jacking up Mello Roos fees and planning for more rooftops to bring these long desired high-paying jobs to Elk Grove?

From what we can see, nothing.

Before he was canned, former Elk Grove Economic Development Director Randy Starbuck was scheduled seemingly on a quarterly basis to provide updates at council meetings. While Starbuck's reports were usually nothing more than a regurgitation of new fast food joint openings and his activities to recruit tenants on behalf of the Howard Hughes Corporation for the still-unfinished Elk Grove Promenade, now known as the Outlet Collection at Elk Grove, at booze-soaked conventions in Las Vegas on the taxpayers dime, we at least heard something.

Since Doan has taken the helm, barely a whisper has been heard from him.

Why? Could it be there is nothing worth reporting?

It is the duty and responsibility of the City Manager Gill and city council members to monitor Doan's sales activities, track any significant successes he might have and regularly report to the public just exactly what this discretionary employee is doing to recruit high-paying employers to Elk Grove. It's time for the public to have a full accounting of his activities and hold his feet to the fire.

If we don't hear a report soon, for all we know he could be sitting in his Elk Grove City Hall office reminiscing about his days in Baltimore and watching episodes of The Wire on his city provided iPhone. The public is entitled to know.    



    


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3 comments

Proud to be led said...

You're being unfair. Doan got us a mascot, Grover the Elk!

Anonymous said...

Hey we got more fast food and liquor store jobs.

Elk Grove Thriving!

Anonymous said...

Maybe along with the dedicated space for Steve Ly's time clock you could include a running spot of Doan's Missed Opportunities.

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