Orlando looks toward Bluffton's future as new town manager

Marc Orlando could only describe the moment as surreal.

Sitting on stage at the May River Theatre during a Bluffton Town Council meeting Sept. 9, with his family watching, Orlando was introduced as the new town manager for the first time.

Considered by many as the manager-in-waiting upon his promotion to deputy manager five years ago, it was a day Orlando had hoped would eventually come. Town Council appointed Orlando, formerly the deputy town manager and director of growth management, as Anthony Barrett's successor in July.

"It's a dream job," Orlando said Wednesday. "I'm very fortunate. Professionally, I've really grown up here."

Orlando was a finalist for the job when Barrett was hired five years ago. A Canadian native who has spent the last 10 years working in and for Bluffton, Orlando joined the town in 2004 as a planning director.

He was promoted to deputy manager in 2009 shortly after Barrett's arrival. Orlando had a background in urban planning and development, but working under Barrett helped him hone his management skills, he said.

"I realized I was learning the business from him," Orlando said. "I appreciated it."

Since taking over as town manager, Orlando has worked to acclimate himself to his new role, meeting with the town's many department heads.

"I'm not new to anyone," he said. "I've inherited a lot of amazing department heads and a great team. It doesn't feel like it's a job yet."

Much like Barrett before him, Orlando said his focus is continuing to implement the town's strategic plan, which sets up short- and long-term goals. Last updated by council in February, the plan outlines efforts to preserve the May River and the Calhoun Street historic district, and to provide a thriving economic base.

Orlando said many of the town's capital-improvement projects planned were key to preserving the river's water quality, like their aim to connect the homes closest to the river to water and sewer lines.

Few of the homes are currently linked into the system, including land on JC's Cove in a divisive annexation proposal. Opponents of the annexation expressed their concerns that the proposal may circumvent the May River Action Plan, but council members have advocated it as a way for sewer lines to reach the closest portions to the river. Orlando said town staff were working to ensure that the sewer plan was feasible.

Several projects are on tap on Calhoun Street. The town plans to study lighting, parking, landscaping and sign improvements in its historic district to make it safer and more accessible, Orlando said.

The police department will open a substation on May River Road near Wharf Street to position officers and patrol equipment, such as golf carts, closer to the bustling historic, commercial district. The substation will also be a nod to history, as it will be located in a building that originally housed the town's jail, Orlando said.

"This town does have a rich history," he said. "This is one of those times where we can celebrate that history."

Orlando hopes to make the town's permitting process for construction and development more efficient, during a period when such permits have skyrocketed. A software upgrade should reduce approval time, he said.

From January through September, the town issued 400 permits for homes -- equaling 2013's total already. Last month, the town issued 88 single-family home permits alone, he said.

"We've also had the Inn at Palmetto Bluff expansion and many other commercial developments," he said. "It's been a busy year."

And a year for notoriety.

In August, the town received the Best Community Revitalization Award from Southern Living Magazine for the Wharf Street Redevelopment Project, for which Orlando directed. The project involved building six affordable homes that were sold to residents.

Orlando will leave his role as director of the Bluffton Public Development Corp. -- a public sector effort to purchase land in Buckwalter Place to try to attract companies to the technology park -- but there is no timetable for his departure. The Town Council and the corporation board will begin discussing how best to move forward at meeting Oct. 16, Orlando said.

Orlando said he will spend the following three months gearing up for the council's next strategic planning session in February. He hopes to stay with Bluffton to see much of that plan implemented.

"I'll be the town manager for as long as the town will have me," he said.

Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.

Related content:

• Bluffton withdraws from Buckwalter Place land purchase plan, July 15, 2014
• Bluffton council approves up to $1M toward land purchase at Buckwalter Place, March 25, 2014
• Affordable housing project nearing completion, Dec. 19, 2011

This story was originally published October 12, 2014 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Orlando looks toward Bluffton's future as new town manager."