BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS — The next mayor of Keystone Heights said her top priority after taking office will be to improve communication and encourage unity within municipal government.
Nina Rodenroth was the only candidate to qualify for mayor. She will be sworn in later this year.
Rodenroth and her husband, Dave, moved to Keystone Heights five years ago after living in Jacksonville for 32 years.
They purchased the home of Keystone Heights founder John J. Lawrence on South Lawrence Boulevard.
“Dave wanted to retire, and we were looking for somewhere outside the city limits or Duval County, and he found this great little property,” she recalled. “We love this little town.”
Stepping into a Hallmark movie
Rodenroth said she and her husband faced some uncertainty before moving to the Lake Region. They both had corporate jobs which required them to travel around the country, and both were used to the conveniences and inconveniences of a large-city lifestyle.
“You kind of don’t know what to expect because we’ve lived in the fast track for so long, traveled all over the United States,” she recalled. “He and I both did our jobs, and had the traffic, and schedules, and this and that. Well, we moved here, and it’s just a quaint place, and everything’s so easy: just a couple red lights. Plus, it had additional things that we were just not expecting. It had more restaurants to go to. I mean, Keystone had pretty much everything we needed.”
Rodenroth said she is not alone in appreciating the qualities of the Lake Region. She said that after one of her neighbors from Jacksonville visited her a few times, the neighbor remarked that she felt like she was stepping into a Hallmark movie every time she visited Keystone.
“Well, they sold their house a year ago and moved out on Silver Lake,” Rodenroth said. “She’s four miles from us.”
Both Rodenroths recently turned 70, and the couple will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year.
A disconnect
Rodenroth has served on the city’s Heritage Commission for three years and took over as chair last year. She said that as she worked with the city council and observed the panel, she saw an opportunity to serve.
“Overall, I did sense a little bit of a disconnect,” she recalled. “There could probably be a little bit more team: how they work with the city manager and her team.”
“And I kind of felt like there might be a spot there for me to try to help to mend and to bring them all together because to me, anytime you have a group together like that, you’re certainly better as a team than you are as individuals,” she added.
Rodenroth said her 52-year healthcare career taught her to bring together people with different backgrounds and competing priorities.
She retired from Abbott Laboratories on Jan. 6. after a 26-year career with what she calls the world’s largest healthcare provider.
“I was part of the diagnostics division for most of that career in a variety of leadership roles,” she said.
Before working for Abbott, she spent another 26 years as a specialized lab technician and electron microscope technician at UF Health in Jacksonville, the University of Georgia and Mary Washington Healthcare in Virginia.
Rodenroth said one skill she developed during her career will come in handy as she works within Keystone Heights government. She calls it managing without authority.
“Because of my role with Abbott and the different positions I’ve had, many times, I was in a situation where people didn’t report to me, but I was involved in leading them and mentoring them and getting results with specific goals in mind,” she said. “So, I’m armed with some of that knowledge and capability. After 26 years, it kind of gets drilled into your body.”
Other priorities
Rodenroth said her second priority as mayor will be meeting with each business owner within the city, getting their priorities and concerns.
“I want to come back with input from them to the council and let us take those data points, siphon them down and finalize them,” she said.
Rodenroth added that she anticipates each business will have one top priority in addition to subordinate concerns.
“I’ll funnel those ideas, share them with the council, and see if there’s anything we can do to support those requests,” she said.
The future mayor added that she still wants to support the projects the Heritage Commission began while she chaired the panel, particularly the education initiatives, promoting the Lake Region’s history to students.
Rodenroth said she also plans to network with area nonprofits, other municipal leaders in the state, and other government leaders in the county and region.
However, her top priority will be to foster teamwork and cooperation at city hall and develop a healthy and positive relationship with City Manager Lynn Rutkowski.
“I think that is critical to the success of our town,” she said. “I feel like our community deserves that.”
