When Sharron Catallo decided to step down after 23 years as mayor, Stephen Arkwright was ready to take on the job.
‘I’ve always been interested, I’ve always been involved,? said the newly elected mayor. ‘But I never would have run against Sharron.?
Arkwright says he always had great respect both for Catallo and Art Pappas, former city manager, treasurer and clerk.
‘The things she and Art did were really amazing from the standpoint of the whole cityhood issue, which was a huge task,? he said.
‘It was an unbelievable job to water, to starting up the police department, running the DPW, doing all the roads, cleaning up the park. What they were able to do was a pretty big list of accomplishments.?
Arkwright didn’t hesitate in starting his own list of accomplishments. In his first week as mayor, he asked council members, department heads, and city hall staff to write down five goals or objectives most important to them.
‘We are going to put them out on a spread sheet and say these are the items we are going to address, these are the priorities we have,? he said. ‘And then my vision is assigning committees to those things and having them work on those and report back to the council, so we can attack on several different fronts.?
One of his major concerns is the financial difficulties the city is currently experiencing, but also what future troubles could come due to neighbors losing jobs and not being able to pay their bills.
‘I’m not sure what the city can do or should do, but it’s a concern. It’s a concern of what’s going to happen to the revenues of this city and how are we going to manage that,? said Arkwright. ‘It’s an issue we need to watch and monitor very closely.?
With a 25 year financial background he hopes he has some ‘expertise to offer.?
Other concerns include the police department and the Department of Public Works.
‘I think that everything no matter what is rather is police, fire, library, the beach, the DPW,? he said. ‘Everything needs to continually be reviewed and that’s for its deficiency or its effectiveness. I think we need to continually ask ‘are we getting the most we can and are we giving the services that are needed, required and desired by the citizens???
Arkwright along with his wife Jennifer moved to Clarkston in 1986. His city experiences include service on both Village and City Planning Commissions, several years as chairman. After becoming a city, he served several city council terms, including service on the Finance Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals, and as the city’s first Police Liaison.
He and his family were transferred to Texas for work in 1997, but returned two years later.
‘Clarkston is a great place to raise a family,? Arkwright said. But what he really loves about this community of less then 1,000 people is that more than 15 percent of the citizens have given back to the city through donated time and service.
‘You got a huge percentage of the people who are really giving back to the community,? he said. ‘And those are the type of people I want to live by.?
Since returning to Clarkston, he has served on the Police Services Committee, Police Chief Search Committee and the Water Exploratory Committee.
‘We got work to do, I’m ready to do it and I look forward to it,? he said. ‘I want us to make some progress and I want us to build on what a lot of people before us have done.?