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MILAN, MO. -- The fairly new City Administrator of Milan Missouri is making moves.

In just eight months on the job, James Onello has helped the city work on its downtown improvement project and initiated a summit to get business leaders, residents, and city activists on the same page.

"I'm loving it," said Onello. "The opportunities are here. The people are super friendly. There are a lot of challenges and opportunities to do something really creative and help move the city of Milan forward. "

Onello has previously worked as an Assistant City Manager in Painesville, OH, a suburb of Cleveland. He has also worked as a Finance Director for 17 years. He  received his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. He also has a Master's degree in Public Administration.

He said he is looking forward to the challenge of making Milan a family-friendly place to live.

Besides downtown improvement, Onello is working with officials to make sure that the hospital and school system remain sustainable.

"Obviously, we do need new facilities for the school system, and we just got to develop the strategy and education program to convey that to our local residents and businesses. Same thing with the hospital. There's some expansion opportunities and we just want to make sure we take advantage of the opportunity."