New Berkley city manager ready to get started

BERKLEY — Berkley’s next city manager is excited to get started in her new role next month.

On Dec. 2, Crystal VanVleck will begin her tenure as Berkley’s city manager. She officially was selected by the City Council on Oct. 7, and her contract was approved later that month.

VanVleck, a resident of Berkley, said that even prior to moving to the city, she thought it was a place that she’d be interested in applying for a job if the opportunity arose.

“I’ve always thought it had a really close community feel,” she said. “It’s always been just the kind of community that I’ve been drawn to. So it was just kind of something that I knew if this job came up at the right time in my career, I would be interested in it. And then I think that only expanded in working for a community that’s adjacent to Berkley for so long, and so doing some things together and being in proximity to it and working within proximity, I think just furthered that for me.”

VanVleck will be coming to Berkley from Oak Park, where she was the city’s deputy city manager of community services.

Though now she will be working in the city she lives in, VanVleck doesn’t feel that will add any pressure to her new job.

“I believe that most people who work in public service are just very passionate about what they do, and so no matter where we live, we’re going to be passionate about the community that we work for,” she said. “I never lived in Oak Park, but I was always very passionate about doing right by the city and making decisions that I would want people that, if I lived there, I’d want people to be making. So that I think would be true no matter where I worked and lived, but that said, there’s still an added element of living in the community and just feeling a little bit closer to the needs and wants of that community because you’re a part of it, and knowing that every decision that you make affects you as well.”

Mayor Bridget Dean was delighted to be able to bring on VanVleck as city manager.

“Her excitement and enthusiasm for the position is palpable,” she stated. “She brings solid municipal government experience, leadership skills and a deep understanding of our community to the position. I look forward to working with her and continuing to move Berkley forward.”

Dean said VanVleck’s experience in municipal government is strong, and Berkley will be able to benefit from it.

“She said the words ‘we’ and ‘team’ often in the interview process, as well as in the fire hall when we had community engagement with her. I heard those words over and over. And not only do I believe in that approach, I also know that Ms. VanVleck understands that she is the leader of the team and so she’s passionate about what she does,” she said. “She’s got a very positive attitude and I think that Berkley can only benefit from those qualities and others that she brings to the table.”

VanVleck will be succeeding interim City Manager Nate Geinzer, who has been working in the role since April after Matt Baumgarten’s resignation.

VanVleck wants to be able to come into her new job with an understanding of everything before she decides what she wants to focus on first.

“I think it’s going to take getting to gain a better understanding of what the priorities are,” she said. “But that said, one of the things that I want to do right off the gate — and we’re already talking about doing — is just further digging into the strategic priorities of council. And I think that kind of leads into it. So I think that’s the first step to really gaining an understanding of what is needed and what the priorities are going forward. And so I would say that’s the thing I’m most excited about getting done.”