CLAYTON — Rodney Crim has two offices, one in each of the two buildings that divide his staff of about 60 people at the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Economic Development Partnership.
It’s a legacy left over from his scandal-scarred predecessor, Sheila Sweeney, who was ousted from the partnership in January and later pleaded guilty as part of former ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Steve Stenger’s corruption scheme.
Staff noticed the divide. Sweeney kept allies with her at the Pierre Laclede Building. She left the others at the PNC Bank building.
Crim hopes to find a space where the whole staff can work together.
Bringing organizations together is, after all, what the partnership was created to do, Crim said.
“The staff is just so pumped when they’re all together,†he said during a recent interview.
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He’ll have the chance to bring the staff under one roof again. The board of the partnership voted unanimously Wednesday to remove the “interim†from his title and make him permanent CEO of the organization created in 2013 to merge some of the economic development functions of ºüÀêÊÓƵ and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
He will make $260,000 a year in total compensation. Sweeney made $500,000, though how her pay was set was never clear.
Board members and staff applauded when the announcement was made following a closed session.
“He’s begun implementing some critical culture changes at the partnership, and he will continue to do so,†ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page said in a statement. “His ability to collaborate with those within the organization, as well as those external partners, is critical to the growth of our region.â€
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Lyda Krewson, too, touted Crim’s team approach, economic development expertise and “commitment to operating in an ethical and transparent manner.â€
When Crim took the helm almost a year ago, there was some discussion of hiring a search firm to find a permanent CEO. But Partnership Chairman Karlos Ramirez said Crim has provided “stability†to a staff that needed it.
“We have a strong leader with a proven record in economic development,†Ramirez said in an interview. “It made sense for us to have that continuity.â€
Crim spent 16 years in the private sector in Minneapolis and Chicago before he was asked to help work on an economic development initiative in north Minneapolis. He soon caught the bug.
He came to ºüÀêÊÓƵ in 2002 to lead the city’s economic development agency, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Development Corp.
He held that position until 2013, when he left downtown for Clayton to help former ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Economic Council director Denny Coleman form the partnership.
Stenger, elected in 2014, engineered the installation of Sweeney. And that sidelined Crim, keeping him away from much of the organization’s decision-making.
When Sweeney left, Crim was the obvious choice to lead an organization in crisis. Staff were leaving fast. Some were asked to leave.
The partnership is now about 20 people leaner than it was two years ago. But morale has improved, Crim said. He holds regular staff meetings to communicate with employees and also regularly briefs the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Council, which provides the bulk of the organization’s public funding.
Crim is also leaning more on the partnership board for expertise, forming subcommittees so board members can stay engaged in the day-to-day. He hopes to focus partnership resources around its network of business incubators, using those as anchors to spur community development and build new companies.
He also hopes to focus on Wellston, a low-income community on the city’s border where the Partnership-staffed ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority owns a significant amount of real estate.
Crim points to Alliance STL, the new initiative from three private business groups, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Regional Chamber, the Regional Business Council and Civic Progress. It will “play point†in terms of marketing the region and attracting business. Regional development agencies will help with incentives and other support.
“I think this is kind of a unique point in time,†Crim said.
“We are all working together as one overall regional economic development team, with each organization playing specific roles,†Crim said. “I think that is new.â€