Peters Township planning director retiring after 33 years
As Ed Zuk prepares to end a more than three-decade career with the Peters Township planning department, he feels grateful that he was able to serve his community for so long.
Zuk came on as the township’s assistant planning director in September 1990, and was promoted to the head role five years later. His last day is Tuesday, and his successor will be Seth Koons, who worked as Zuk’s assistant for five years.
“Peters Township has always been committed to good planning, zoning and code enforcement, and the community realizes the importance of that. It was a pleasure to work here that reason,” Zuk said. “I can’t express how appreciative I am of the opportunity Peters Township gave me.”
Frank Kosir Jr., chair of Peters Township Council, paid tribute to Zuk at the March 28 meeting, calling him an asset to the community and commending his cool demeanor.
“Quite honestly, some of the people you’ve had to deal with over the years, I’m amazed that you’ve kept an even keel,” Kosir said.
Kosir added that he and Zuk did not always see eye to eye when Kosir would attend meetings as a resident, prior to getting elected to council.
“No one will ever convince me you did not always have this township’s best interests at heart. When you look around at the development that went on in this township, if we didn’t have someone like you stewarding the ship, we wouldn’t be where we are today. And I mean that from my heart, Ed,” Kosir said.
Zuk does not have an issue with people disagreeing with him. He knows that when it comes to new development, not everyone will be happy.
“Peters is a growing community. There are a lot of growing pains, and when new developments are happening in certain areas, people who live there are going to be concerned. We try to work with them,” Zuk said.
While Zuk is quick to give most of the credit to his employees in the planning department, he is proud of helping usher through multiple reforms to make the department more efficient and better funded.
The planning department was still using paper maps when Zuk came on board, rather than geographic information systems, or GIS.
“Now we have a wonderful GIS system, and that has really brought Peters into the 21st century. It makes all of us more efficient in our day-to-day jobs,” Zuk said.
Peters Township also did not impose traffic impact fees on developers until 2006, which Zuk says has helped to fund traffic improvement projects throughout the township.
“That was a big accomplishment for the planning department, community and council,” Zuk said.
Zuk is confident that he is leaving the position in good hands with Koons, saying he believes Koons can do an even better job.
“He has a good understanding of what this community is all about. He has the energy and knowledge to make Peters better. He has the right demeanor for the job. He is patient with people. He explains things. I couldn’t be more happy that Seth is going to be the planning director. I have the utmost confidence he is the right person for this community,” Zuk said.
Koons described Zuk as a mentor. Though he had municipal planning experience prior to coming to Peters Township, Koons said working under Zuk has only improved those skills.
“He always has the right perspective on how to handle contentious situations. He knows the township like the back of his hand. We could not have asked for a better resource,” Koons said.
Koons notes that while there are always ideas for potential grants, he sees smaller, more tangible improvements he hopes to make as a director. One way he hopes to do that is by modernizing the technology they use.
“I can’t take away from what Ed has done. I hope to carry it on and make some improvements in the way I do things,” Koons said.