‘A perfect fit for St. George’: City welcomes new community development director

ST. GEORGE — The city of St. George welcomed its new community development director last week with the appointment of Jim Bolser.

Jim Bolser, the city of St. George’s new community development director, speaks to the St. George City Council, St. George, Utah, April 6, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Bolser, who worked for Tooele City as its community development director for over a decade, was appointed to the position Wednesday and was formally introduced to the city at large during the City Council meeting held the following day. Bolser fills the position vacated by John Willis who became the city manager earlier this year.

“Here in St. George, we’re going to keep Jim very busy,” St. George Mayor Michele Randall said, adding that he rose above the rest of the applicants for the job during his interview with city officials. “Jim, we found, was outstanding and to be a perfect fit for St. George.”

During his time as Tooele’s community development director, Bolser was tasked with the oversight, supervision and management of the department’s planning, code enforcement, building, inspections, business licensing and engineering divisions. He also served a significant amount of time as the city’s public works director and emergency management officer.

Prior to that, Bolser was the senior planner and zoning administrator of Draper City Corporation and spent five years as the regional and community planner at the Mountainland Association of Governments in Orem.

St. George News spoke with Bolser following the City Council meeting and asked what drew him to St. George.

Jim Bolser community development director of the city of St. George, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News

“St. George is a destination,” he said. “It’s a community that has all the amenities someone is looking for. It’s a larger city that’s growing rapidly, and it has all the challenges and opportunities that anyone in local government would look for.”

Speaking about the job he will be performing as the new community development director, he said it is to oversee and coordinate what makes a city physically develop.

“It’s aside from water and sewer and the public services that you see day to day like the police department, fire department,” he said. “We do all the building, we do all the business licensing, code enforcement, all the planning, we get all the projects where people live and work in play. We are the ones that plan those out and get them approved.”

Bolser joins a busy department, according to a press release for the city of St. George. In 2022, the city issued 2,872 permits with a total valuation of approximately $426.2 million.

“I’m really excited to get started,” Bolser said.

Bolser attended the University of Utah where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geography, with an emphasis on urban planning.

“He’s going to make a great addition,” City Manager John Willis said during the council meeting. “We’re excited to have him.”

Bolser starts the new job on April 17.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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