COOK—Jenny Bourbonais has accepted the administrator-clerk/treasurer position for the city of Cook.
Bourbonais is leaving her position as Virginia’s community development director.
Bourbonais spent nearly 27 years working for St. Louis County, where she advanced from a planning technician position to planner, senior planner, and land-use manager.
During her interview for the position in Cook, Bourbonais said one of her strengths was the connections she had built while working across departments with the county.
“I think having that very background and being able to maybe not always know the specific answer to something, but know who to go to to get that answer and to move a project forward is a big strength that I have,” Bourbonais said.
One of the projects she said she was particularly proud of was the county’s comprehensive plan, which brought together previously separate township plans into a unified document.
“I really got to see a lot of St. Louis County during that time,” Bourbonais said.
After her time with the county, Bourbonais joined Virginia’s Community Development Permitting and Planning Department in 2023. She initially served as a community development planner before advancing to community development coordinator and, eventually, director.
Now she will bring her talents to Cook. During her interview, Bourbonais praised Cook’s recent housing development and said she was excited by the city’s opportunities to grow.
“That’s a huge opportunity in and of itself. So again, kudos to everybody who worked on accomplishing that,” Bourbonais said.
According to Cook Mayor Dan Manick, Bourbonais will start on Jan. 4 and is currently wrapping up multiple economic development authority projects in Virginia.
Manick said he was surprised by the quality of the applicants for the position.
“It was unbelievable the quality of the applications we received,” Manick said.