To call Sid Fleming’s first two weeks on the job as a whirlwind is an understatement.
“It’s still going pretty fast,” Fleming said Friday after introducing himself to the community as Iola’s new city administrator via the monthly “See, Hear Iola” session at Riverside Park. His first day on the job was Aug. 15.
“I’m still trying to meet everybody and get names with faces,” he said, “to get an idea of what each department does.”
And then, as his wife jokes, Fleming must let this new knowledge “marinate” in order to fully grasp Iola’s strengths and challenges as a city.
But for now, each day remains something of a blur for Fleming, who grew up not even considering a job in city governance.
“I have to laugh to myself,” he said. “I’d just never thought I’d work in a local government.”
But in retrospect, such a career was never far away.
Fleming’s mother was city clerk in his native Coldwater for more than 20 years. His father served a couple of terms on the Coldwater City Council. His brother is EMS director of Hoisington (and served a stint on Allen County’s ambulance crew) and his sister works for Kiowa County.
“Maybe it’s a family thing,” he joked.
FLEMING, 42, grew up in Coldwater, a small speck on the map in south-central Kansas, 23 miles south of Greensburg.
He graduated from Southwestern College in Winfield and then took on with the City of Wichita.
Fleming said after a few years he learned that he liked the work — but all along thought it might be more preferable on a smaller scale.
The experience prompted Fleming to return to school, where he earned a master’s degree in public administration from Wichita State University.
His first job as a city manager was in Yuma, a small farming community in northeast Colorado.
Yuma’s city structure is similar to Iola’s, Fleming noted.
“About the only difference in Yuma was that we did not have a gas distribution utility,” he said.
He worked in Yuma for three years, and got along well enough, before a recent round of elections changed the Yuma City Council’s makeup.
With new council members, and a different philosophy on a host of issues, Fleming could see the writing on the wall, and he was let go earlier this year after three years on the job.
Suddenly, Fleming and his family was looking for a new place to settle.
IN IOLA, Fleming sees a community with potential.
He is eager to work closely with the City Council as well as with others in the community.
Fleming describes his administrative style as “analytical,” and he bristles at the notion of “because it’s always been done that way.”
“I look at a problem, and I look at all the different aspects of what solutions are available,” he said. “I believe in collaboration, getting different ideas, working with other people, to find those solutions.”
Fleming avoids “micro-managing,” and prefers to work in league with department heads — the “technical experts” — to adhere to the Council’s wishes.
“That’s what my role should be,” he said. “Likewise, my role also is to help the Council decide what things they can do. If they want to do ‘X’ then here’s what has to happen.
“My approach has always been, let’s look at where we are now and where we want to go,” he continued. “From where we are today, that may be too expensive, but are there ways we can work toward that solution. We have to have balance.”
But for now, Fleming’s first task is to continue getting to know Iola’s 100-plus city employees.
“I’m not a ‘whoo-hoo’ type of person, but I am very happy to be here,” he said.
Fleming points to other civic groups like Thrive Allen County or Iola’s Community Involvement Task Force/PRIDE Committee that work closely with the city on a number of projects. “When I learned about those groups, that’s what makes me excited,” he said. “I’m eager to see how things work and how they fit.”
Fleming is married with three children, in eighth and fourth grades and kindergarten.
