Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 24	June 11, 2008

Tony Coletta – Meade County’s new Planning and Zoning administrator

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

A man who was “just interested” in working for Meade County has been hired as the new county Planning and Zoning director.

Tony Coletta was named the director in a unanimous vote of the Fiscal Court recently.

“I was just interested in working here,” he said. “I wanted to do something interesting at the same time and I also thought it was time to display my talents in my own backyard.”

Coletta, who previously was a capital projects analyst for Hanson Building Materials, represented the firm in a seven-state area, ranging from Michigan to South Carolina.

“I just thought it was time to bring myself back home,” he said.

Hanson, an international mining corporation, boasts 77,000 employees, Coletta said.

In this position, Coletta was in charge of analyzing the fees of large-scale buildings.

“The projects totalled well over $2 million dollars,” he said. “It was a lot of travel. It was interesting work, but it was a lot of travel.”

“This opportunity presented itself,” he continued. “I decided I would like to make a difference locally.”

Coletta also served as a code enforcement officer in Irvington for a year and a half, prior to his stint with Hanson.

“When I went to Hanson I was at the other end of the track,” he said. “I was working to get county governments to rezone the property so we could mine them.”

Before he sets goals for his department (Coletta and administrative assistant Laura Haney), Coletta wanted to reach a clearer understanding of where the county is going.

“Right now I need a lot clearer understanding of the goals and objectives of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Fiscal Court,” Coletta said. “To that end I see my responsiblity is to align my goals with the goals of the county. I need to understand the county goals clearly before I set out to make sure they match.”

Coletta didn’t single out one particular aspect of zoning, but opted instead to provide a well-rounded answer.

“I would have to say that (zoning) would be to protect the rights of the people who have invested their money in the county. We are responsible to make sure their long-term plan (is correct) and to protect their property interest. We also need to be willing to provide for the growth of the county,” he said.

Several projects, including the buffer zone language in the county’s comprehensive plan, were left in limbo prior to his arrival, but Coletta is closer to achieving completion on it.

“That’s one of the things I’m working on right now,” Coletta said, pointing to his computer screen.

“I’m working on the wording of the resolution which I intend to present to Fiscal Court to allow us to get past the buffer zone issue,” he said.

Coletta acknowledged the county is close to determining acceptable wording, adding after approval it is time to move forward.

“This is the key document to all of our other plans,” he said. “This is the blueprint. That’s essentially what it (the comprehensive plan) is. It is the blueprint for the future,”

Not only does Coletta embrace an open door policy, county residents might see him out and about in the community.

Admitting he needed to get out as much as possible, Coletta said that can’t be done by sitting in his office.

“You don’t notice all of the problems and concerns unless you get out and take a look at them,” he said.

“I’m here to work for the residents of Meade County and the door is always open. It’s their door, I’m just using it,” he said.

His family consists of his wife, Anita, who owns an Internet company in Irvington, and a grown son, Nick, who lives with his family in Bowling Green.

“This is going to be a challenge,” Coletta said, adding it would be so due to the large amount of growth in the area.

“There is going to be a lot of development and a lot of potential for change around here,” Coletta summarized. “I’m looking forward to being a part of it.”

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