BROOKINGS – Having made a career in leadership in one stripe or another, Keith Corbett is looking to serve in a new capacity: as mayor of Brookings, with an emphasis on thoughtful collaborative planning.

“I have a good grasp and understanding of the role of mayor, having been deputy mayor for five years,” Corbett said. “I understand the budget well and working with the city manager. I have a lot of years of leadership experience. As I tell people, leadership is an art and a science. You can study it, but you have to apply it. I’ve applied it in many different areas.”

And it started with the young man from Brandon joining the Army in 1976 in what would become a 34-year career in the military after graduating from South Dakota State University.

He was professor of military science at SDSU in 1999 until 2002. Then he went to the Army War College, one of the requirements to become a general. When his time there came to an end, he became assistant adjunct general. He then retired from the Army, becoming the assistant dean and eventually, the dean of University College at SDSU.

He’s also been on the Brookings City Council for seven years.

Through his work on the city council, he hears a lot from the public, and he’s noticed a lot of needless confusion.

Take questions regarding city policies, for example: “What’s the policy on land usage? We’re hearing that one now. What’s your policy on alcohol sales? … A big area for me is not only clarifying those policies so that I can put my finger on it and pull it out and say, ‘Here it is,’ but so the public can, too.”

Corbett isn’t afraid of details, and careful planning and communication have always been a part of his life. As Brookings works on its comprehensive master plan, he said it’s important to collaborate so a greater picture of Brookings’ direction in the future can be made.

Just as a city works with a variety of entities, so should the city council as they work on these plans.

“I’m a huge believer in collaborative strategic planning. I beat that to death on every campaign. We do a good job and we need to do a better job in Brookings of collaborative strategic planning between the city, the school, the county, SDSU,” Corbett said.

Collaborating means officials can better anticipate future infrastructure needs – the location of any future public school buildings could have a huge impact on local infrastructure, zoning and planning, as could expansions at SDSU. And they are looking far into the future to 2040.

“We know we’re going to keep growing. Are we doing a good job planning? To me, that’s the mayor’s job. There are seven people on the council, I understand, and it takes four of those seven to vote for something to happen, but the mayor’s the one that really can be helping to drive a lot of those issues and ensuring those are a high priority,” he said.

The mayor’s role is a figurehead one and is equal to the city council, but a mayor also needs to be in constant communication with council members in order to anticipate their questions and needs.

Economic development is another common concern, and one where public expectations are high.

Corbett said he knows well the demand for more retail options in Brookings, but he has a clear notion of the city’s role in drawing in businesses to Brookings.

“I think they need to ask themselves what’s the role of the city council? Is it our job to go out and solicit business, or is it to make sure that land is available for that business? Our Brookings Economic Development Corporation does a great job of bringing in business. We need to make sure we at city council are doing our part,” he said.

About all the city can reasonably do is to ensure a favorable business climate. It doesn’t help that big retail chains simply aren’t looking to expand these days, Corbett said.

“The thing I’ve heard from everybody is that we need a Target, we need a Shopko. They’re not going anywhere. Gordmans filed for bankruptcy (recently). Some of those companies that people would love to have here, I would, too. But look where we live. Too close to Sioux Falls. But they’re also not building those big buildings anymore,” he said.

And the city has plenty of other tasks to stay busy with at the moment.

Similar to collaborative planning, if elected, he’d work to make sure the different plans – from comprehensive bike plans to the work of a transportation steering committee – the city’s pursued work together in a cohesive manner.

Accessibility needs to be valued, too. It’s easy to forget about the cameras in place recording city council meetings and not think about them, but it can be intimidating for some to air a grievance on camera.

“A lot of well-meaning people are concerned about issues in the city of Brookings, but they won’t come to the meetings because of the cameras,” he said.

With a mind geared toward planning and collaboration, he said he’s ready to be Brookings’ next mayor: “I didn’t get to be a general because I was afraid of taking chances and being in charge.”

Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.