GALT, CA (MPG) - Two city of Galt officials overseeing the city’s public works and development projects recently announced their resignations.

Community Development director Craig Hoffman and Public Works director Mike Selling discussed their resignations at the May 9 meeting of the Galt Planning Commission.

“These last three-and-a-half years, I’ve had a blast,” said Hoffman, whose resignation became effective on May 15, after press time. He was appointed as community development director in late 2020. The role oversees zoning and land use, as well as building permits and city code compliance. Hoffman also served as the city’s liaison to the Planning Commission.

As the director, Hoffman repeatedly emphasized the importance of increasing the rate of housing construction, saying a steady growth rate would help the city keep up with inflation. The long-delayed Liberty Ranch housing development on Marengo Road broke ground last year.

In a statement about the resignations, the city of Galt also cited Hoffman’s work on updating the housing element of the city’s General Plan, a document that lays out the city’s plans to develop housing and meet state requirements. It also pointed to the planned Lippi Ranch development southeast of F and Third streets; the project required an uncommon process of evaluating potentially historic buildings on the property.

Speaking to the Planning Commission at his last meeting as director, Hoffman shared his ideas on how it can ensure effectiveness.

“Every single person brings something different to the table, there’s a diversity of vision and a diversity of ideas, but when you come together and the ultimate goal is doing what’s best for the community, those are the best Planning Commissions,” Hoffman said, later adding, “Stay true. Don’t backpedal. When I got here, there was so much concern from the community and whether or not the process was truly public, and it was hard under COVID.”

Hoffman said many of his choices as director were motivated by requests from City Council members and members of the public to make the planning process more transparent.

Selling joined the city in February 2019, and his resignation becomes official on May 24. He is leaving to become the deputy director of engineering at the city of Manteca. As head of the Public Works department, Selling supervised the city’s utilities, including water and wastewater, as well as roads and facilities maintenance.

The city of Galt cited Selling’s work negotiating the waste collection agreement with Cal-Waste Recovery Systems and managing water restrictions during the state’s drought.

“His contributions extend to securing grant funding for the C Street beautification project, initiating design work on the Hwy 99/Walnut Avenue Interchange project, and overseeing the development of Walker Park,” the city’s statement read.

“The City of Galt expresses its gratitude for Mike Selling and Craig Hoffman’s dedication and hard work and wishes them nothing but the best in their future endeavors,” the statement concluded.

Selling talked about his work in Galt during the Planning Commission meeting.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work here, and it’s near and dear,” Selling said. “So it’ll be tough but I’ll be watching from a distance and cheering it on, and hopefully come and visit from time to time, too.”

Selling praised the planning commissioners and city staff for their work.

“There is an extremely disproportionately high number of very high-performing folks here. As Craig said, they bleed for this town. … Galt is very fortunate in that respect,” Selling said.