Kim Arbuthnot, an employee of the Wright City Fire Protection District and former president of the local chamber of commerce, was appointed to serve on the Wright City Board of Aldermen on Jan. 26.

Arbuthnot replaces Nathan Rohr, who resigned in late December after choosing to move out of town. Arbuthnot is administrative assistant for the fire district and its board of directors, was a multiple-term president for the Wright City Area Chamber of Commerce, and also served on the city government’s planning and zoning commission prior to her appointment as alderman.

Arbuthnot is also running unopposed for a full two-year term as alderman in this April’s municipal elections. She joins the board several months early thanks to a nomination from Mayor Michelle Heiliger and unanimous approval from the city’s three other aldermen.

Heiliger later commented that in addition to Arbuthnot’s official titles, she has also had a hand in a number of other volunteer groups that work for the betterment of the community.

“Kim understands the importance of working with a team and being able to collaborate with many different personalities to achieve a common goal,” Heiliger noted. “Kim’s experience also shows that she is committed to Wright City and understands serving a community from many different seats.”

Arbuthnot told The Record that her priority as an alderman will be to manage positive growth in the city while also ensuring that older parts of town are being cared for. She said that means upholding high standards for all buildings, new and old.

“I want people to be proud to be here, and I want them to be proud to have their friends and family come here,” Arbuthnot noted.

She said the biggest challenge facing the city government is that infrastructure, such as streets, hasn’t kept up with recent growth in the city’s population and housing.

“Right now, we’re playing catch-up with all this growth coming our way. The roads are definitely an issue,” she continued. “We have to try to get ahead of it. And I’m excited about the challenge of how to navigate that.”

Arbuthnot added that in addition to bringing her own positive attributes to the board of aldermen, she hopes to emulate the commitment to transparency and community engagement that the current board members have shown. She said a good alderman is a frequent communicator and is active in visiting with community members to ask for their perspectives.

Arbuthnot has been a resident of Wright City since she and her husband moved to a newly built house there in 2007. She said initial uncertainty about the move quickly changed.

“I fell in love with the community. I fell in love with the sense of pride and ownership that everyone has in their town,” she recalled. She said that sense of community pride helped inspire her to get more involved, and now to become an alderman, so that she can help keep Wright City a place that people are proud to call home.