The Marshall County Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals held a joint work session on Wednesday to begin the process of finding a new Plan Director for the county.
Current Director Ty Adley submitted his resignation to the Plan Commission, effective at the end of November, in order to take the position of Plan Director for the City of Plymouth.
The joint work session was a public meeting, but no official action could be taken, it was to allow for the members of the boards to plan a course forward.
Attorney for the Plan Commission, Derek Jones, spelled out the legal issues, informing the Plan Commission that they have exclusive authority regarding the hiring of the new Plan Director.
Discussion began with members questioning whether or not Adley could be contracted to stay on, at least in the interim while the search for a new director took place, or even create a dual position with Adley working for both the county and the city.
Jones told the board that they could make the positions fluid or as “clean” a break as they wished, but that the salary for the position, in any case, would be decided by the County Council and stated he was not sure of what assistance the county human resources department could provide since there was not really a precedent for the situation. Previously Ralph Booker had held both positions but he was a county employee, contracted by the city of Plymouth. For Adley, it would be the opposite situation.
It was also uncertain how the job description would be defined since the new position would have to be considered “part-time,” so the position would require an entirely new job description.
In the instance of looking for a new applicant for the position, the role of the County Council again came into play since the Council has decreed that any further spending for the year in the Plan Department budget must be directly approved by Council President Jesse Bohannon.
Advertising for a new plan director would require funds to do so and those funds would have to be approved before any action took place. The timeline to approve funds for advertising the position and acquiring any applications is contingent on the meeting dates of the several government bodies involved and could push the process well past the Nov. 30 date of Adley’s resignation into December and possibly after the first of the year.
Jones told the boards that the responsibility for the work they do would have to continue by state ordinance, and they would not have a qualified employee in place to do that work.
The Boards decided to make several unanimous motions to keep the process moving forward. They authorized Plan Commission President Dave Hostetler to continue discussions with the city of Plymouth and Adley to explore the possibility of Adley’s assistance. They also put together a committee to screen applicants composed of Hostetler, Council Plan appointee Deb Johnson, BZA President Jeff Gustafson, and possibly Commissioner Stan Klotz if he agrees to the appointment.
While the Plan Commission meeting for the month of December was canceled for lack of petitions, the group voted to hold another special meeting on the Dec. 21 date to continue the process but no official action will be allowed to take place.
