A sad farewell
LISA HOBBS
News Editor
“There are so many good things about McMinnville and everything we have going on there on many levels, so it was hard to leave. I’m going to miss it. This opportunity was pretty exciting. In the end, I just couldn’t pass it up,” said McMinnville City Administrator Nolan Ming, who announced his resignation this week.
Ming has served as city administrator since April of 2019. Prior to that, he was director of Planning and Zoning, which he renamed to Community Development with board approval.
When asked about his time as city administrator, Ming stated, “Honestly, I’ve absolutely loved it. Every day it brought different challenges and different opportunities. We identified so many ways in which we could do things better. Not all of those have worked, but my approach has always been to continue looking for ways to do better. If you don’t, things become stagnant. By taking that approach, every day brought something new. I think we’ve done some positive things for the community during my time.”
Leaving the city better than when he found it was a team effort, says Ming.
“I feel like it has required everyone to work together – the board, the community, staff. Everyone had to have buy-in, give their opinions respectfully and get on the same page to move forward and agree that these are the things we are going to do. If something doesn’t work, back up and try something different. As a team, we worked together to make things happen.”
Ming recommended McMinnville Parks and Recreation Director Justin Scott as interim, which the Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved Tuesday night.
“I think he’s going to do a really good job. When I first spoke to Justin, I wanted to make sure this was something he wanted. I also wanted to make sure he had a succession plan in place, if he were to move onto something else. He said that he felt the department absolutely did. He’ll do a great job in the interim, and I hope the board finds the right person onboard to continue keeping things moving forward.”
Ming ended the interview with Warren County Way with a heartfelt farewell.
“I will always be part of McMinnville. I felt like this was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity in a place where I’m close to my hometown. I wanted to give it a shot, but I will always be part of McMinnville.”