cityprofile: Scott Fulton - Pickerington City Planner

Several years ago, Scott Fulton saw an attractive lady approaching.

“I need a line, quickly,” he thought to himself. The normally conversational Fulton ran out of time, however, and had to say something.

When she was in front of him, he blurted out,

Her response was “And…?”

“That’s all I’ve got,” he admitted sheepishly. Today, that lady is his wife, Amy.

The incident is not typical of Fulton. The young man recently was hired by City Council as the new Pickerington City Planner from a field of a dozen applicants, due to his personality, job-related acumen and affinity for customer service.

A graduate of Grove City High School, he earned a degree from Miami University and then a graduate degree from the University of Toledo. Several circumstances conspired to lead him into government work.

“My father was a Grove City councilman, and the plat plans he brought home fascinated me. At Miami, I wasn’t clear about a direction until my sophomore year, when I took a geography class. I’ve always had a desire to help people, and city planning promised that opportunity,” he said.

He has helping people in his genes. His grandfather was a doctor in Grove City in the 1940s. His office was in his home, well outside the city limits. His philosophy was to charge people only what they could afford, which according to his grandson, was often a meager amount.

Fulton’s daily routine involves processing zoning certificates and working with developers. A longerrange assignment is working with residents, businesses and the Olde Pickerington Village Business Association to revitalize the historical area of the City, and to create a strong village center. His broad involvements include, in his words, “making something out of something less” throughout the city, which often translates to advising on transitions from bare land to appropriate structures.

One of his non job-related pursuits is golf. He played with relatives when he was young and hated it.

“I couldn’t stand having to dress up and having to be quiet. It wasn’t my kind of sport,” he joked. A few years ago, a friend found a partial set of golf clubs in a dumpster, and gave them to Fulton. Thus supplied, he tried the sport again. Now it is a passion. That and yard work, again “making something out of something less,” consume his time away from city duties.

He and Amy have an interesting family tradition. She is a graduate of Ohio University, he from Miami University. The Bobcats and the RedHawks are intense rivals. In any given year, the graduate from the school that wins the annual football game earns the right to fly his/her college flag for the rest of the season.

“I’m in a run of bad luck. I haven’t gotten to fly mine yet. Miami can have a great season, but still lose to OU,” he said.

When the couple vacations, the trip usually involves a notable city, so that he can assess the city’s composition and history, and gather ideas. He is profoundly interested in how that community went to “something from something less.”