Catherine Cook Gives Kiwanis Program

The Hope Kiwanis Club heard a program from one of their own on Tuesday.  City Manager Catherine Cook, who is retiring at the end of the year, gave a program on her 32 years with the city of Hope.  Cook came to the city in 1990 from Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District.  She started as the personal assistant to City Manager David Merriweather and as a grant writer.  After several years she was elevated to Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director.  In 1996, when Merriweather left, Cook became Interim City Manager and hired her as City Manager two months later.  In introducing her, Dennis Ramsey noted she has been very active civically serving as a member of the Kiwanis Club, the Jr. Auxiliary, the Arts Council, and at First United Methodist Church.

Cook noted when she came, the one-way streets and fountain were still in place.  She said economic development efforts had just been underway for about five years and the airport was deteriorating.  Cook said even though the city had recently voted in a sales tax to fund street improvements but not many had been done at that time.  Also, Hope Water & Light and the Hope Police Department were both in City Hall.

The retiring City Manager said she is not a politician but an administrator.  She said she works for the City Board and the citizens of Hope.  Cook said she tries to keep projects moving and within budget.

Projects she has been most proud to work on include the Martindale Clinic/Christian Charitable Clinic, the AMTRAK stop and platform, the new Police Department, the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation, the Hope Downtown Network,  and the Southwest Arkansas Educational Coop Building.

In disappointments, Cook said she was disappointed voters didn’t vote for a community center but she said she understood that was the will of the voters.

Things Cook said she’s been quite interested in include wastewater, the landfill, and the improvement in the fire rating from class 4 to class 2.  She also talked about how much she appreciated the employees who were so dedicated that they would come in to work during natural disasters when they sometimes had damage at their own homes.

In the future, Cook said she looks forward to working with the Municipal League and doing some “lay speaking” for the Methodist churches.