Middletown's New Economic Development Director
Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: Economic Development
Forum Description: Local government efforts to develop the local Middletown area economy.
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=882
Printed Date: Oct 05 2025 at 5:53pm
Topic: Middletown's New Economic Development Director
Posted By: Middletown News
Subject: Middletown's New Economic Development Director
Date Posted: Jan 19 2009 at 3:35pm
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From City Managers Report: "Mike Robinette has accepted the offer for the Economic Development Director position. This item will be on the Council agenda for confirmation on Jan. 20. I know that he will make a positive and dynamic impact on the community. He has a great deal of experience and enthusiasm!
We will try to find out more information regarding the job and the man. ------------- Please like our http://www.facebook.com/middletownusa" rel="nofollow - Middletown USA Facebook Page |
Replies:
Posted By: kingair
Date Posted: Jan 19 2009 at 5:15pm
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He and his wife are old friends of the city manager. They have been associated through Kettering and Centerville. He worked with the MCD with mixed results. ------------- Kigair200 |
Posted By: Pacman
Date Posted: Jan 19 2009 at 6:16pm
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Posted By: mwa19
Date Posted: Jan 30 2009 at 6:52pm
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Heres what I found.
WHEN WILL MVRPC BE ALL IT CAN BE? DATE: August 2, 2006 PUBLICATION: Dayton Daily News (OH) SECTION: Opinions PAGE: A16 Mike Robinette, who abruptly left last week as head of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, is walking away with a golden parachute that will — and should — offend taxpayers. After not quite four years, he's quitting at a cost to the agency of about $200,000, an expense that is publicly being buried because MVRPC is spinning its early retirement offer to seven eligible employees as a cost-savings. That's putting a happy face on an expensive bungle, at least as it relates to Mr. Robinette. The savings is dependent upon eliminating or consolidating jobs in the future, or hiring replacements at a lesser cost. But, of course, the job Mr. Robinette held won't be cut, or the salary for it substantially reduced. So his leaving isn't really a cost-reduction. If money ultimately is saved because other people leave, it will be because the agency has been effectively downsized. Meanwhile, Mr. Robinette's going-away package was supersized. Mr. Robinette came to the MVRPC with a glowing reputation, especially from his time as Kettering's finance director. But before long, his relationship with his bosses soured. He hired a woman, dodged rumors that he was having a relationship with her, then she quit and they got married. The episode was not pretty. There were other disagreements, too. His 84-member board, which is made up of elected officials and private-sector people from five counties, has been all over the map about its priorities. Some board members just show up, but don't give a fig about accomplishing anything. This leadership drift gave the energetic Mr. Robinette the latitude to do what he wanted, but then people got mad at him for making decisions, some of which were right, some of which were not. Had the board just cut Mr. Robinette loose — without cause — he would have been owed six months of his $120,000-plus salary. With his early retirement, MVRPC will pay out $200,000 because effectively it will be reimbursing the state pension system for Mr. Robinette's retirement check that he's going to receive for the next three years; the cost of his insurance he'll receive as a premature retiree; and what he would have been paying into the retirement system if he were still on the payroll. Early-retirement programs inevitably are expensive upfront. But what smells about this arrangement is that when the board was asked to approve this offer for employees to leave, Mr. Robinette, 52, didn't disclose he was eligible for the incentive. The executive committee should be embarrassed for not asking for specifics, but by not putting his cards on the table, now he's opened himself to the charge that he was trying to pull something over on unsuspecting people. Now the question arises about what MVRPC should do next. The local mayors and managers association wants a national search and, before that, a discussion of what local governments and business people on the MVRPC board want the agency to be. To his credit, Mr. Robinette had tried to force that debate using the superb technical analyses on the region's problems that his staff turned out. But he never got consensus. There was too much bickering, too much focus on turf, too many people who were content to have an organization that didn't rock boats. No one of any caliber is going to want Mr. Robinette's old job unless there's some agreement about the director's latitude, the board's commitment to actually doing things and some acknowledgment that MVRPC can't make all the people happy all the time. So many local government leaders are eager to talk about cooperating and acting in the best interest of the region, but that's all they do is talk. MVRPC is the forum where good ideas could actually be translated into action if the right person were at the helm and supported by enlightened, courageous and public-spirited political and business leaders. In the wake of this debacle with Mr. Robinette, MVRPC needs to redeem itself. MVRPC DIRECTOR SURPRISES BOARD WITH RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT BYLINE: Steve Bennish Staff Writer DATE: July 22, 2006 PUBLICATION: Dayton Daily News (OH) SECTION: Local PAGE: A4 DAYTON — Mike Robinette, executive director of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, announced his retirement late Friday, saying he would leave the post he has occupied since November 2002 within the week. The MVRPC's executive board met Thursday, but Robinette didn't announce the resignation at that time, so when the announcement was made it came as a surprise, said the agency's chairwoman, Marilyn Reid. "He did not share it with any of us there," she said. In a short e-mail sent at 3:51 p.m. to local officials, Robinette apologized for the late notification but said that after a meeting with representatives from the Public Employees Retirement System, and based on their advice, "it became apparent to me that it is better to retire on July 28, 2006, than to wait until some later date." He added: "It has been a pleasure working with all of you, and the other member jurisdictions and I wish the best for each of you and for the region." Robinette, 52, was traveling Friday and couldn't be reached for comment. His new cell phone number had not been left with MVRPC staff members, said Gretchen B. Brafford, director of administrative and support services. Reid said the agency will move quickly to replace Robinette. "I'll meet with my officers Monday and discuss it," she said. "I wish him luck in what his future endeavors are. Now we'll do what we have to do." Robinette served as general manager of the Miami Conservancy District for six years before taking the MVRPC job. The MVRPC is the designated organization responsible for transportation planing in Greene, Miami and Montgomery counties and parts of Warren County. MVRPC BOARD GIVES CHIEF LOW MARKS Robinette not given raise, told to improve BYLINE: Dale Dempsey ddempsey@DaytonDailyNews.com DATE: January 13, 2004 PUBLICATION: Dayton Daily News (OH) EDITION: CITY SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 DAYTON - Michael Robinette, who was hired just more than a year ago to make the region's planning organization more effective, was given no pay increase and a highly critical evaluation this month by directors of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission. While it appears Robinette will keep his job, the board says he must raise his performance within six months. Robinette was given low marks for his communication with the board, decision-making and his ethical conduct. "You have achieved some significant accomplishments in 2003," board member Ron Widener wrote in a cover letter to the evaluation. "But the board also believes that there are areas in which you can improve your performance in 2004." Two of the areas cited in the evaluation included a chaotic reorganization effort and a personal relationship with a female former subordinate. MVRPC develops public policy in the areas of transportation, economic development, water and air quality. Major transportation projects in the region cannot move forward without MVRPC approval. Robinette, who was evaluated by a five-member committee headed by Widener, a Miami County commissioner, received an overall rating of 2.2 out of a possible 4 on a list of 10 performance criteria. A score of 2.5 or higher is needed to be classified as meeting expectations. The evaluation lists Robinette as "needs improvement." In addition to no pay increase, the committee instructed Robinette to file a corrective action plan no later than Feb. 1, make "significant" progress toward achieving his action plan by his midyear evaluation, raise his evaluation score to 2.5 or higher by the end of 2004 and submit a list of his key objectives by Feb. 16. The MVRPC trustees approved the evaluation after a nearly three-hour meeting in executive session. "I think it was a wake-up call for him," said former Vandalia councilman Jack Shirley, a member of the evaluating committee. The evaluation said Robinette had positive accomplishments in four areas: * Maximizing federal and state funding for transportation. All of the major projects recommended by MVRPC will receive money in the next three years. * Starting a visioning process for the organization, which has 77 members representing all of the governmental bodies in the Miami Valley. * Offering a series of regional issues forums. * Providing commission members with updates on state and federal legislation relating to the region. "It was not all bad," Shirley said. "I think he is going to do all right. We, the board, were also at fault for not getting together earlier to talk to him." Robinette was not among the five finalists initially identified as potential replacements for former executive director Nora Lake. However, he emerged as a candidate after the board was criticized for not having any strong local candidates. Robinette at the time was general manager of the Miami Conservancy District. His first major initiative, a proposed reorganization of the sometimes contentious body, ran into an immediate snag. The evaluation said that Robinette mishandled the proposal, which called for eliminating longstanding committees - the transportation committee, for example, which has handled controversial issues such as the Ohio 892 proposed western beltway - by merging them into the larger, full commission. The evaluation calls Robinette's goals and objectives "contentious, divisive and unrealistic." Montgomery County Commissioner Chuck Curran, a member of the evaluation committee, wrote: "Given the divisions that already existed within the organization and the region, Mike's decision to push a controversial bylaws revision plan was not in the best interest of the region or MVRPC and has undermined his effectiveness." Robinette also was faulted for a personal relationship with a former member of his staff. "As a board member, I am very concerned about the relationship between Mike and one of his former subordinates," wrote Brad Tidwell, president of Bank One and a member of the evaluation committee. "Mike did little to acknowledge this potential impropriety or address it in a positive way." |
Posted By: Paul Nagy
Date Posted: Jan 31 2009 at 6:53am
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I was very interested in the published update on January 25th about the city administrations requests for funds from the stimulus package. So, I called downtown and had a very positive conversation with Dave Duerstch. The bottom line is that my concerns and those of others about the city applying for stimulus funds were very adequately addressed. Although the city (like other cities) did not request funds through the Mayor's conference they have done so independently.
Not only have they requested funds but they have requested them for all of the right projects (in my opinion). 60 Million dollars for resurfacing, $5 million for Brownfields, $18 million dollars for the Towne Mall. I was told about the options of the $18 million dollars for the Towne Mall. Further, they have also put in request for other funds for other project such as water and sewer.
This is all very positve and absolutely moving the city in the right direction. So, I hope everyone will hope and pray that those requests come to fruition and Middletown will be well on the way to recovery. In this effort our city manager and administration is right on target. My hat is of to them.
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Posted By: Pacman
Date Posted: Jan 31 2009 at 7:50am
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I agree Mr Nagy this is great news and I hope Middletown gets a significant portion of the funds they requested. Where did they apply for the funds through the Feds or the State? An what are the options for Towne Mall?
Maybe the City Manager should change her weekly report to "A Report to The Citizens of Middletown".
 It sure seems at times like pulling teeth to get anything from Downtown to the masses. |