By HOLLY GASKILL
Wells County officials expect to extend an offer to an economic development director in September.
County Commissioner Jeff Stringer stated Monday that 20 candidates have applied for the position, roughly half of which he believed to have the credentials and experience.
Stringer said the county and city of Bluffton hope to interview candidates the first week of August and offer the position by mid-September. A job offer was previously extended, but not accepted, at least once.
Earlier this month, the Bluffton Common Council approved an additional appropriation to support economic development, with $147,311 out of the CEDIT fund. Of this total, they stated $4,700 would be for salaries, $11,310 for medical insurance, $2,776 for FICA/medicare, $3,231 for personal services, $16,200 for office supplies and technology, $59,094 for business supplies and other developments, and $10,000 for professional meetings and training.
Council member Scott Mentzer advised a “big” portion of this would be reimbursed by the county and the town of Ossian. The town of Markle, however, will not be joining the agreement as it had with the previous arrangement through the Wells County Chamber of Commerce.
On Monday, Stringer stated it is still not yet determined if these costs will be shared through an interlocal agreement, where one party would technically hire and fund the position and invoice the other parties, or the creation of a new nonprofit organization.
Officials have previously stated that the entities may also temporarily engage in an interlocal agreement as they prepare the extensive documents needed for a new nonprofit. A nonprofit organization would also require creating a board with representation from each entity.
“Some entities create a not-for-profit business association, and then the government entities who are members of have board seats — and will always have board seats — on that particular unit, and that creates the ability of that organization to work with other private entities,” County Attorney Ted Storer advised. “So a lot of it’s just going to depend on what the size of the organization, the ability to pay and compensate the person, how commissioners would understand that particular position.”
Stringer stated that the county, Bluffton and Ossian were not currently leaning toward one option.
“It’s been (the candidate) search part first, get description down, (and) trying to re-flush out what exactly we want out of that role,” Stringer said.
Wells County has not had a director of economic development since Chad Kline stepped down in April and the Chamber board decided to dissolve their economic branch amidst tumultuous negotiations about board representation and government oversight.
Cheryl Morphew of Johnson County has solely handled economic development activities in this transition. During negotiations with the Chamber, the county and city each contracted Morphew for economic development consulting for up to 10 hours a month for $150 per hour.
holly@news-banner.com
