City officials were left with a monumental task after the unexpected departure of Port Clinton Safety-Service Director Olen Martin in early January 2020.  With that vacancy, Mayor Snider formed a SSD Search Committee comprised of area business leaders, city department supervisors and community members to identify the next SSD for Port Clinton.

When talking about the process, Mayor Snider stated, “The fact that we had twenty-five applicants tells me people are looking at Port Clinton as a place of opportunity.  Each of the candidates we evaluated brought with them a very unique set of skills.  It was a real challenge determining which skill set best fit with what we believe the future of Port Clinton holds.”

Mayor Snider continued, “After the interview process, the committee was unanimous in the fact that any of the finalists would be a good fit for Port Clinton.  However, it was also agreed that making a change for the sake of change wasn’t going to place our community in a better position.  During that discussion, a comment was made to the effect that knowing the general community, the players in the community, and the needs of the community and the future vision of the community are at the top of the priority list for an SSD.  We all felt that Interim SSD Tracy Colston checked all of those boxes.  For that, and many reasons, earlier today I’ve asked Mr. Colston if he’d be interested in dropping the “interim” tag from his title.”  Smiling Mayor Snider continued, “I’m not even sure I had that sentence out of my mouth when Tracy replied YES!”

This is not the first time Tracy Colston has held the SSD position for the City of Port Clinton.  From 2009 to 2016 Mr. Colston held this post for former Mayors Tester, Leone and Wheeler. 

SSD Colston put it this way.  “It’s a different atmosphere around town today.  There’s a real energy, excitement and buzz just about everywhere I go around town.  I was surprised when Mayor Snider asked if I’d accept the “interim” title and now I’m ready to harness some of this community spirit for positive steps now that that tag has been removed.”

Prior to being given the Interim-SSD title in early January, Mr. Colston held the combined positions of City Cemetery Sextant, Parks & Recreation Director and Street Department Supervisor – positions Mr. Colston will relinquish once a successor has been identified.

Michael Snider, Mayor