Interim City Administrator Michael Mathias, introduced at the July 7 meeting of the College Place Economic Development, Tourism and Events Commission, said economic development is his primary background and that his immediate priorities include learning city operations and advancing lakeside development in coordination with outstanding tax increment financing obligations.

Mathias told the commission he has been in the job about three weeks and praised the city staff. He said his approach will focus on identifying how the city can act as a catalyst to attract additional investment and ensure lakeside development moves forward “successfully and timely,” noting Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds are outstanding against the potential project.

Mathias said he does not yet have many specifics and is in a learning phase; he told commissioners to expect more detail in coming months and suggested more substantive updates could appear in October. Commissioners acknowledged his economic development background and welcomed him.

The commission received Mathias’s introduction and his preliminary priorities; no formal direction or action was taken during the July 7 meeting.