Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By ZACHARY MARANO
Ironwood — City Manager Scott Erickson made plans for his final six weeks as city manager with the Ironwood City Commission Monday evening. He will end his 17-year run on June 6 but will stay on board as city engineer until a new manager is appointed.
“I’ve stepped out of the city manager role to allow that position to be filled,” Erickson told the Daily Globe. “I’ll still stay in the city engineering role for a period of time and that would ultimately be to the point that they appoint a city manager. That city manager will help the city commission determine how they want to move forward with the engineering services.”
Erickson explained that the city of Ironwood will either need to hire someone like him who has a background in both managerial and engineering roles or hire two separate people to fill the roles of city manager and city engineer.
After Erickson steps down as city manager on June 6, Andrew DiGiorgio, director of the Ironwood Public Safety Department, will serve as interim city manager until a permanent replacement for him is found. Erickson said that finding a new city manager can easily take four months or longer.
Once the city commission finds a new city manager and he steps down as city engineer, Erickson will start his retirement. He said that he and his wife, Elaine, are at the point in their lives where they’re ready to retire and spend more time with family and friends.
The Ericksons intend on staying in Ironwood during their retirement because they consider the city their home. The outgoing city manager explained that he has deep roots in the area, with his daughter being the fifth generation of the Erickson family to come from Ironwood.
Erickson said that his father grew up near the Norrie mine and his mother grew up in Erwin Township, but they moved away to Park Falls, Wisconsin, where he spent most of his childhood. After he graduated from Chequamegon School District in 1982, Erickson’s parents returned to Ironwood and he came back with them to continue pursuing his education.
Erickson enrolled at Gogebic Community College and lived in student housing for two years before he moved to Michigan Technological University in Houghton, where he earned his civil engineering degree. Erickson then moved to Los Angeles for work. He said the transition from a small town to the big city was an eye-opening experience for him. Erickson also met his wife during his stint in Los Angeles.
After several years in Los Angeles and almost 15 years in Minneapolis, Erickson and his wife decided to move back to Ironwood in early 2005. Soon after that, Erickson began the next chapter of his career as city manager and city engineer.
In his 17 years as city manager, Erickson supervised all departments of the city and helped the city commission implement its goals.
“I’ve been lucky to work with a lot of good people,” Erickson said. “There’s been multiple mayors and multiple commissioners, but they’ve all looked out for the best interests of the city, which allowed me to be successful. I’ve had commission support, I’ve had excellent staff support and also community support. A combination of all that has allowed us, as a community, to move forward.”
Erickson said that he thinks the city’s development is on a positive trajectory and they currently occupy a good position to enter the next phase of growth. However, he said that the new city manager will find there is still a plenty of room for improvements.
“I think we’re seeing a lot of interest in the community because a lot of things have been done over the years. From people moving back here to businesses looking at the area, I think we’ve been successful in setting it up to be an attractive place for people to live and locate their businesses,” Erickson said. “We had good days back in the time of the big boom of the mining industries, but we’re different now. I think we re-developed ourselves into an attractive place to live in today’s day and age.”
Erickson said that he and his wife plan to stay engaged with the community during retirement in different activities that they are passionate about. Erickson will continue working on the Michigan Western Gateway Authority and Gogebic Community Mental Health boards and as a volunteer.
Erickson also said that he will continue to take full advantage of the many natural resources in the area during his retirement, noting his interests in fishing, hiking and bird hunting.
