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An Interesting Neighbor

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Though Adam Vossen’s office still looks new, the task board on the wall shows he’s got every facet of the Goldsby town administrator job well in hand.

You might say he hit the ground running, with scant time for a learning curve. Hired by the town’s board of trustees in September, Adam was dealing with a natural disaster in October.

That you will recall was the unseasonable ice storm, followed just four months later by Winter Storm Uri.

FEMA claims are pending in the aftermath of both destructive weather events.

And that is on top of the “normal” day-to-day duties of the job.

The Yukon native comes from a line of civic-minded citizens long known for taking an active role in the places they called home.

His Czechoslovakian ancestors came to Oklahoma in the late 1800s, settling around Yukon. Their names are found on the Settlers’ Stone there. A late uncle was a Yukon city councilman.

“I always felt so close to municipalities,” Adam said.

Adam has an older sister, Avy Redus, who works for the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

His father, Dan Vossen is outreach coordinator and physical education teacher at Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.

His mother, Debra Vossen, owns the classical ballet Duran-Vossen School of Dance in Yukon.

Adam, 30, attended the University of Central Oklahoma, earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration with emphasis on urban management. In May, he graduated with his master’s in public administration.

He was an unpaid intern for Piedmont, helping that town land a federal grant for $250,000 to pay for a trails project.

With that on his resume, Piedmont offered him a full time paid internship.

After working a few months in that role, Adam became assistant to the city manager, a post he held for two years.

That was followed by two years as public works director.

After the time he received  his master’s degree, Adam went to work for Oklahoma City.

It didn’t take him long, however, to realize “working for a large municipality was not for me.”

“I missed the people I worked with being like family,” he said.

When he saw a notice for the Goldsby opening, he applied.

He came to the job with goals that he’s now working to achieve.

Those start with “promoting smart growth that preserves the rural way of life.”

“People want space between themselves and their neighbors,” he said.

The town has a 2036 comprehensive plan that serves as a guide for community growth.

One of the biggest projects now is installing Goldsby’s first sewer system.

Adam is on the hunt for $1.85 million in grant monies to pay for that.

Other pending projects include traffic lights at Santa Fe Avenue and State Highway 9, as well as SH 74 and I-35 Exit 104.

“We’re trying to build a safe community and there have been a number of traffic incidents at both locations,” he said.

He also promotes commercial growth that targets very specific businesses.

“We’re working diligently to get a Braums in town,” he said, adding he’s encouraged by a “consistent line of communication” with the Tuttle-based dairy.

Goldsby is incorporated with a strong  mayor/board of trustees government.

“My job is to make it happen,” Adam said of their direction.

Work has already started on an economic development initiative for the town.

A website for Grow with Goldsby is being developed. Adam said it will feature “easily accessible” information on available land, utilities and demographics “so business owners and investors can understand the full potential for developing Goldsby.”

Growth is going to happen, Adam believes. The key to successful growth is never losing sight of quality of life and the reason people move to small, rural towns like Goldsby.

Done right, town administrator isn’t an 8 to 5 job.

“I take it home with me every night,” Adam said. “There’s lots of unpaid overtime.

“I’m learning the history of the town. You have to know your history of a town.”

Though it’s been just six months since he started, the citizens of Goldsby – and especially the town employees – are turning into family.

“It fuels me,” Adam said of that connection. “It makes me excited to come to work every day. I’m growing my roots in this community.”

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