Made In Walker

Why Mayor Gary Carey Says Community Beats Personal Legacy

• City of Walker MI • Season 2 • Episode 2

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A clear plan, a steady hand, and a community-first mindset—Mayor Gary Carey opens up about how Walker stayed focused through change and turned long-term planning into everyday wins. We talk about the five pillars that guide our decisions, why public safety sits at the top, and how a once-sparse industrial park became the tax base that funds more officers, a full-time fire department, better parks, and stronger infrastructure.

We share the backstory behind those big moves: partnerships that made shovel-ready land possible, the FedEx facility that sparked momentum, and a pro-business stance that still screens for the right fit. Then we get into the hard parts—trade-offs of a full-time fire service, from staffing to facilities and long-term funding, and how shifting medical calls from police to fire unlocks capacity where it matters most. On housing, we break down the master plan’s push for balance, the financial realities of rental versus single-family in a city like ours, and why every approval must be weighed against ten-year consequences.

Looking ahead, we lay out the leadership transition in City Hall, from the city manager’s retirement to commission seats that need steady, policy-minded people. If you’ve served on a committee or want to learn, now is the time to step up. We also highlight regional wins—dedicated Rapid bus routes in Walker for the first time and Metro Council support that helped us build smarter. Through it all, we come back to civility: disagree without breaking trust, and keep the city pointed forward.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share with a neighbor, and leave a review to help others find the show. Ready to get involved or have a topic we should tackle next? Email us at podcast at walker.city and tell us what you want to hear.

If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Maiden Walker, a podcast that connects you to the people, the stories, and the ideas shaping our community. From local innovators to everyday change makers, we're diving deep into what makes Walker a great place to live, work, and grow. Here's your host, Nicole DiDonato.

SPEAKER_00:

Gary Carey entering his final year as mayor for the city of Walker. So we're looking back on what all he's accomplished during his tenure, but also what lies ahead for his final year in office. And regarding the final year in office, unlike your predecessors, Rob Verhulan and Mark Heisinger, you are not electing to seek higher office, correct? Nope.

SPEAKER_02:

Just kind of like the in-laws sometimes when they stay too long. We want to uh uh make sure I think there's a shelf life. And uh um quite frankly, the the privilege and honor it spent serving as mayor of the city is um i is without comparison. And um it's it's not to diminish the the need for, I think, good uh uh good leadership at the state and federal levels. It just it's not something that uh um is appealing at this time because it's gonna be hard to match what uh we've all been able to accomplish over these years. So uh plus I think I have a wife and family that wants their and a day job business career that wants their uh their their their person back.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, you fit a lot in. So you've been serving the city of Walker in some capacity since 2013, correct?

SPEAKER_02:

Um and actually, yes, even going back to 1999, I started on my first committee uh with the uh start on the historical committee and uh very grateful and I I probably don't give her enough credit. Uh uh we had her for a short time period uh as Mayor Barb Holt at the time as a city commissioner. She had uh uh champion appointed me to the historical commission, and uh um that really started things and was really passionate about the local history. And Walker is so rich in that area and the uh the families that are still there. Some of those are fourth, uh, you know, fourth generation, um uh going back that far. So it's been a been quite a journey and then taking the going from the appointed to the elected office in uh January 2013 when um then mayor Verheulen went to the State House and just been a domino uh series over the years of different events that uh uh keep moving you into a different role.

SPEAKER_00:

Sure, sure. And 2019 came and that was when Mark Heisinger was elected into the State House, and that's when you officially took over as mayor.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. Yep. Definitely little did we know we had about a good year under our belt before the world got turned upside down that following year.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So what were you walking into at that time? It's probably hard for us to remember a life pre-COVID.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I think when you walk, think 2019, um, fabulous leadership, and I just you know, blessed with um when I look at what um, you know, if uh Rob for Healing did as mayor, there would not be a better mayor for the things that we went through. We went through some of the economic challenges, um, you know, the loss, um, the the darkest day in our city's history losing uh uh Trevor Slot um, you know, in the line of duty. Um when we think of the those years, I don't believe there's a better leader to see us through that because he kept us right down the middle of everything um and just was a very um um you know, just balancing uh leader for uh for the community. Um and then um we had parv in there for a little while, and then Mark came in, and that was a time that we were starting to come out of the economic doldrums, the recession had started to diminish. And Mark and I both had business uh backgrounds is more of that entrepreneurial background, and uh just a lot of those uh private sector traits and lessons learned were able to be applied to that. So he really got us started on the catapult thing. So, really what I inherited, and each one of the mayors will tell you the same thing, it was running great when we got here. Um, Rob went through some really challenging times in his 12 years serving as mayor, but when I look at that time, I inherited really something that wasn't broke. There wasn't a need to come in and fix things. We knew um we were gonna have to address some public safety things as we were evolving as a city. Um, we knew that we had shovel ready land um in a large part of the city on the north end, and we knew that that could be a um a really uh quantifiable ROI if we made some infrastructure investments up there. Um so I think it was it was broke, don't need to fix it, but there's some things that we could, you know, do from there. And then uh, you know, got through that first year and uh learned a lot, you know, learned uh that proverbial where the uh the bathroom was and the light switch was because uh you learned how to not do things. And uh um, you know, coming from a family and uh had some local government involvement over the decades, um, I thought I I knew a lot and I really didn't know as much as I thought when I got in there.

SPEAKER_00:

So it's probably something to say when a position or folks teach you more about that role as you're kind of going through it. You do learn a lot, bring a lot with you. Um, what about those um priorities? Uh kind of right from the start. You said public safety, we're looking at the infrastructure of our now industrial park. What were some of the things that, if any, had changed through your tenure?

SPEAKER_02:

You know, I I think when we look at the uh the priorities, when we do the state of the city every year, we stay to the the stick to the the the five pillars as I call them. Um they're really not just my priorities, they're the community's priorities. That it reflects um our job as elected officials is to represent our community. And um, one of the neat things is those five pillars really are going to be probably transferable from mayor to mayor, city manager to city manager. Um, public safety is at the very top. We want we're a safe, welcoming community. Um we don't put up with a whole lot of nonsense um um with uh um it's the it's sometimes it's small ticky-tac stuff that builds into bigger things. Um so we really don't um accept that very well as a community. Um we take a very proactive and very um community uh presence on the police side of things. And you see our officers out in the neighborhoods, not just stopping by the lemonade stand, but actually talking with the kids, asking about their school stuff and things like that. People know each other. And I think the fire has just become that same way. And since we've gone to that full-time model, um it allows them to be able to make more connections with the community. And that just that just strengthens strength strengthens us all throughout uh that process.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. And um, you were mentioning just how important also uh building out that industrial park. I mean, that is something a part of our city that when you came into office, it was still pretty vacant land and now it is almost built out six years later.

SPEAKER_02:

It's crazy, but that it really it started um that that started well over a decade ago. And uh it you know, at one point in time, what what is now Rivertown Mall could have ended up where um um up where the state police uh post is in the FedEx building. And um, you know, the the FedEx building really, I think, was that catalyst to start things uh um and it was a great uh partnership. Not many people know that there's a uh uh we leveraged the city of Grand Rapids in a what's called a 425 district up there that allowed us to build out the infrastructure and make it shovel ready for businesses organizations to come in there. But that that FedEx, so going back to, I'd even say Mayor Virhulin uh and Holt and Heisenka, I mean that it's these things have built over time. Um so really walking in and making sure that we maintained a focus of pro-business. Um, I love I you know I feel like the mayor has to be that chief sales officer of the city and the chief cheerleader. Um, so I love getting involved when we have prospective businesses looking to come into the community and they ask about things like crime, uh the crime rates and the school uh relationships, they ask about housing, and those are things that that you're dealing with on a daily basis to be able to have those conversations. You you're able to sell the city, you know, and tell them really it it really this is um why you want to come here. Um and not every business is gonna be the right fit for us either.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, yeah. Well, how do you translate to the growth up there into just the everyday lives of families here? You know, how do you kind of bring it down to that level, why it's important that we did develop that area?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I when when I think of the development up there, probably the best analogy I could give is um we have a car that we're all riding in together, a bus we're all riding in together. The gas that's gone into that bus for us to be able to drive, to ride together has been that growth up there. That tax base um impacts us in so many ways. It's allowed us to hire more officers. It's allowed us to go to a full-time fire department, kind of made us, pushed us over that ledge that needing to do that. Um, it's allowed us to make investments into our parks and trails. Um, quite frankly, it's also allowed us to build out infrastructure and make connections where there weren't those before. And um, so there's it just it's um grateful to my predecessors, really grateful to city staff, really grateful to our planning commission at times, zoning board of appeals. Everybody's had a hand in this process um in really bringing this all together. But uh that has been one of our greater success stories, I think, over the last few decades.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it certainly has. A lot of partnerships there. Um and now a lot of discussion, uh, you had mentioned just uh briefly about housing, a lot of discussion over housing as our master plan kind of unfolds, looking for places to put more people as folks want to move to Walker, West Michigan in general. It's not a Walker issue. But um how have the commission and you have been kind of balancing what's appropriate for the area?

SPEAKER_02:

Um it's a delicate balance. Um, you know, we're we're um you you have a lot, um we don't have as much of the not in my backyard, the NIMBY movement that uh you'll hear the term used at times. We don't have as much of that because I think people do realize the houses that they live in at some point in time were new to an area and there was older houses there that they didn't want them going in there. So it's kind of this domino effect over time that uh we we all see it at some point in time in our um in our lifetimes in um that that balance is we have to stay true to our master plan. And really we've with our recent updates to the master plan, we have focused on balanced growth, um, a balance of um, you know, uh single home ownership versus rental as well. For a city made up the way we are financially, there is an impact when we when we start to tip too much on a rental side of things, so that um there's there's a that financial impact is something we're hyper aware of uh from a city perspective. It's not that we don't want it, we've encouraged it um and we've approved them where it's aligned with the master plan and it it it's keeps that community character. Um, we'll do that, but we're really those single family homes from a tax base perspective for again for our city that might not apply to other municipalities, is um we have to be very strategic and how we approach that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it is a delicate balance as you had mentioned.

SPEAKER_02:

And there's always trade-offs with those too, because it's um when you approve one thing, there's there's there's always gonna be that counter effect. And it could be a number of different things, you just don't know what that is, and you have to think strategically what is this gonna happen what's that counter effect gonna be one year, five years, ten years from now? And we have to think of those things because once you start, you really can't undo that.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. And that's kind of what you've always uh been talking about as we speak is just the street strategically playing chess, not checkers, really having to think so far in advance. Yeah. Um yeah, kicking off the final year of your term, um, kind of probably surreal to be here already. Um, what are you excited about into 2026?

SPEAKER_02:

Right now, I think the top of the list is the um really focus. It it's the priority is to stay, you know, stay the course. The ship's sailing in the right direction. I think we're going at the right pace. Um, believe, you know, we we um we're gonna have some some leadership, some succession planning at the city this year. Um, you know, we just the recent announcement of our city manager retiring at the end of February. Uh Daryl's been a uh stabilizing forest for us, been a fantastic city manager. Um, that's a key role because really that's the day-to-day operations of the city. That's who's leading the city. They set the culture within City Hall. Um, they're the ones that really um um act as the uh um the voice of the commission. And the commission really doesn't need to be in there during the day, or the mayor for that matter, that this is really that's the person leading it. So that's a critical. So succession planning is gonna be a big, and we have some other department heads that will see retirements this year that are um longtime members of the city and have played critical roles. They're they're gonna be impossible shoes to fill, but we have to find a way to fill them the best we can. Um, and then I I think the other thing too is we have a lot of turnovers at our city commission this year. And we're really looking for the people that maybe are in committees already and have had some semblance of serving and know what policy and good governance looks like, um, that uh um maybe that they step into those roles. Um so that has me actually excited, has me a little worried too, make sure we get uh, you know, the the people coming out to the right priorities um and wanting to serve the community. But then I think too this year, you're gonna hear a lot about public safety as we get into the the course of this year. Um, you know, there's a number of things, but I think at the top of the list, uh the first of October, we converted to a uh made that transition to a full-time fire department. We've wanted to do this for a period of time. We hit that breaking point, we needed to do it. We have a tremendous lead in bringing uh Chief uh Schultz up here uh into West Michigan, and he has exceeded expectations at every every uh um uh corner we've turned. And um in going to that full-time department, you know, it's like we we talk about those trade-offs. Okay, our our residents and businesses have wanted full-time fire, they've asked for it for a long, long time. We finally have it, okay. Where do they sleep? What happens when we have different genders? And we do, you know, so there's so there's these these these trade-offs that there comes with expenses there. Um, that um you just don't put you know beds and room dividers. We have temporary sleeping quarters right now because we're figuring out what does this look like and how are we gonna pay for all this? But the key thing is we have the bodies in there to do that. And uh our fire department started to take more medicals um and take that over from the police. That frees the police department to up to do other things um that are mission critical to their uh um um to their focus. So um I'm excited about that piece, but probably get arms around what's it gonna look like to how do we pay for this um long term and how do we put something in place that's sustainable that allows us to be able to flex with the growth of the community over time and uh really uh uh solve the problems and challenges that come up as well.

SPEAKER_00:

And it could be an exciting time for folks maybe who are listening um that want to step up into this role. What types of people are you looking for uh as leaders, commissioners, things like that?

SPEAKER_02:

Anybody. It could be it could be a business person, it could be a CEO of a company. We have those living in our community. It could be um, you know, a person that's a stay-at-home parent, um, uh male from it doesn't matter. I mean, that there there's so many traits that they can bring, but but I I I believe that learning the walker way has been getting onto a committee, um, learning how to um set governance, policy making, understand the implications like that that if we do this, this is what could happen down the road. Understanding that, not just knee-jerk reactioning and and uh um getting behind a fad, a trend, or some social issue. We we stay out of that stuff because we understand those long-term implications could could be very troubling down the road. So getting people involved so they can understand that and understand what it's like to collaborate, problem solve together, and uh uh go through that. So we're looking for people to get involved with those committees and commissions. Um, we will find a spot for you if at all possible on most committees um uh right now. So um raise your hand. I want it to be heard. The city website's got all the links on there. You've got all your elected official cell phone numbers around there, reach out to them and ask them, hey, I'd be interested in doing this, they'll help make the connection for you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. We know a lot of people, you know, may voice concerns and such, and this is a great way to do it is to make change. Um, and you were speaking of partnerships and boards. Uh, you sit on quite a few: the Rapid, um, the Zoo Borge on Balzoo. So we have a lot of partnerships, Grand Valley Metro Council, all of these regional partners. How important was that um in your tenure?

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely critical. Uh it it it's one of the things I learned from Mayor Verhuulin and from Mayor Heisinger as well, for their time that had be involved, be present. Um, you learn to collaborate and really I would say biasedly, I think we have some of the strongest partnerships that we do in the area because of that, because we're that involved with things. Um, it allows us to see not just the microclimate of Walker, but that macro climate of West Michigan and beyond, and we can all help one another with things. And uh so I I think that's mission critical. I'm very proud of the success we've had with um, you know, the Metro Council's been gr, you know, great and all their support that they've had with our infrastructure projects, amongst other things. But then also um, I think of the rapid, you know, for the first time the last uh year or so we have the first time ever we've had dedicated routes for the rapid in the city of Walker, not just to pass-throughs, but dedicated to the city. Um that's a pretty cool story as well.

unknown:

Great.

SPEAKER_00:

And uh talking about your legacy, you know, again, I'm going back to that final year. What is it that you want to to really leave people, the businesses, the um the partnerships, the residents, our city departments? What what are you kind of thinking?

SPEAKER_02:

Um I I I look at it not as a personal legacy, it's a community legacy. Yeah um, not about uh any one individual. Just it's this this is about walkers, about community. Uh we're the the the civility we have with one another, the ability to work together, the ability to have a discussion when we disagree on things. It could be, you know, who's got a better basketball team this winter, Michigan or Michigan State? And right now I think Michigan's leaning there a little bit, but but but we can have these discussions and not get bent out of shape about things. And um so I think about legacy, we've been through the pandemic, we've been through some of the social justice challenges that uh that have impacted other communities. Um, we have stayed right down the middle. That ability to be civil with one another. We don't always have to agree that that's okay. I kind of like it that way because we do learn to conflict, uh, you know, resolve things uh as needed. Um, but um yeah, I think that the legacy is one more about community until the next person is that baton gets past uh next fall, is um they'll do fine, they won't mess it up, they'll be fine because it's about the community as a whole, it's not about one individual.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I love that. Uh just knowing that we can all reach common ground. You've always kind of preached about that, whether you're up at the commission, we'll all get to a final consensus. Well, we still have plenty of months with you still in 2026. We look forward to all that is coming, and we appreciate your insight into what we can expect. So, here Carrie, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. And we appreciate you joining us as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Maiden Walker Podcast. If you have comments or questions about this podcast, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us an email at podcast at walker.city. Maiden Walker is the official podcast of the city of Walker, Michigan. You can find Maiden Walker wherever you get your podcasts.

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Nicole DiDonato

Host