The search for a new Plan Director for Marshall County took center stage at the Monday meeting of the Marshall County Commissioners as the effective date of current Director Ty Adley’s resignation to become the Plan Director for the city of Plymouth is Dec. 1.
There are several important issues before the Marshall County Plan Commission and the related Board of Zoning Appeals in the next month, which become even more complicated with no one in the Plan office qualified to take over many of Adley’s duties. The most pressing is the approval of claims and payroll for the office since, on Dec. 1, Adley will cease to be an employee of the county and can no longer approve either.
President of the Plan Commission, Dave Hostetler, came before the Commissioners seeking guidance on the situation and urging a quick solution as a major meeting of the BZA regarding a variance of use for the Tamarack Solar Farm in West and Union Townships is scheduled for Dec. 3 with no qualified Plan Director to lead that meeting.
Several options were discussed earlier in the month in a joint work session held by the Plan Commission and BZA for the purpose. One was pursuing an arrangement for Adley to stay on in an interim capacity until the beginning of the year, which would involve an agreement between the City of Plymouth and the county. A similar arrangement was reached in the opposite direction when then County Plan Director Ralph Booker wore both hats for a time.
Hostetler told the Commissioners that he had approached Adley before the meeting about his willingness to the arrangement and said, “To say he was excited about the opportunity would be false.”
Hostetler said there had been a few phone calls inquiring about the position since it became open but no actual candidates had presented themselves.
Hostetler’s immediate concerns were for the approval of claims and payroll for the office saying he felt that it was not his role to take those over and felt it was the Commissioners who should have that responsibility.
Later in the meeting, the Commissioners voted unanimously that President Stan Klotz should perform those duties pending a full-time Director.
For the short term, Hostetler presented the Commissioners with the option of an interim “consultant” type of fix. The option would be a contract with an individual who currently performs the same type of duties in Boone County for a company that performs just such a function for that county and others.
Hostetler suggested that in order to adequately approach the upcoming meetings someone with Adley’s qualifications was needed and the chance of screening and hiring such a candidate by Dec. 1 was “impossible”.
The price tag for the contract would be $150/hour.
The Commissioners left the discussion without a final decision on the direction for the coming weeks pending a discussion with Adley, the consensus being that if he was willing, his help in the interim would be the best solution.
