OUR TURN: For MFalls EDC’s Fath, the real trick will be a balancing act
Christy Fath is the new administrative assistant for the Marble Falls Economic Development Corp.
She also is a Burnet City Council member.
Her paid position with one city and her political position with the other is not lost on City Hall observers in Marble Falls.
Which means Fath is going to have to walk a fine line between loyalty to her new paid job for the city of Marble Falls and her obligations to the voters who elected her to serve Burnet.
Anyone who has lived in Central Texas for any appreciable length of time knows a strong high school sports rivalry has existed between Marble Falls and the nearby county seat of Burnet for decades.
The challenges of the recession and its aftermath also make both cities economic rivals in a very real sense, with each competing to attract new businesses and growth.
High unemployment and weak sales taxes still are factors to contend with in the Highland Lakes.
One of the jobs of the EDC is to attract new businesses to Marble Falls and keep existing ones from leaving.
Because of her unique position, Fath will have access to information about prospective businesses that might want to relocate to Marble Falls. She will have her finger on the pulse of local economic trends.
However, the same businesses that are good for Marble Falls also are good for Burnet. As a Burnet councilwoman, she is sworn to help improve the quality of life there.
The balancing act she must maintain is serving two communities, while putting both first depending on which hat she is wearing.
Fath is the former city secretary of both Burnet and Lakeway. She brings many skills to her new job — she knows her way around agendas, budgets and municipal government.
For many, that makes her a perfect fit for the position with the EDC.
But there is little doubt she also will face extra scrutiny, and many will be watching to make sure her loyalties aren’t divided.
Fath, who has a sunny temperament and a level head, has assured anyone who asks that she is committed to serving Marble Falls to her full extent.
She also cites the fact that many city business dealings are confidential, and she always will honor that stipulation.
The EDC has several projects under way: bringing new merchants to the city’s industrial and business park, sponsoring a cooking school and launching a vocational-technical facility.
The vo-tech school will serve a regional population, not just Marble Falls, and Fath has a broad perspective on the issue.
Fath, who grew up in Burnet and attended Burnet High School, has not publicly said whether she’ll run again for Burnet City Council.
She may want to think hard about that before May 14, as long as she is working for Marble Falls.
In the meantime, though, she is going to have to perform a delicate balancing act. Given her professionalism and dedication, she should be up to the task.