The Riley County Commission has started the process to find a new planning and development director, after learning Monday that current director Monty Wedel plans to retire in September.
Human Resources Manager Cindy Volanti says a summary was used in the past for previous department head hiring processes. They will advertise the position on various websites, which Volanti says won’t cost too much. The price ranges from around $1,000 to $1,500.
As for the timeline to fill the position, Volanti says the job posting will be online for a whole month from April 1 to May 1, conducting primary interviews in May before moving onto secondary interviews. If those candidates do not meet their requirements, they will post the listing again for another month.
Volanti says they anticipate a hire date around August 17. Wedel will be involved in the hiring process.
Commissioners also conducted their reorganization. The position of chairman, which was held by Commissioner Ron Wells, will now go to Commissioner Marvin Rodriguez. Commissioner John Ford will now be the vice chair as well.
Commissioners aslo approved the purchase of a new tank for one of the Riley County Fire Distrct’s trucks on Monday.
Emergency Management Director Pat Collins says the tank is for their 18 wheel Hemtt, which gives this apparatus both a wildfire and a structural fire capability. The department conducted a dump and fill test on the current take, which failed drastically. The tank takes around 10 to 12 minutes to drain and fill, which is not optimal for their operations. Collins says their goal is to put a new tank on that drain more quickly.
The cost for the new tank and the installation is around $60,168. Collins also brought a recommendation to purchase two skid units for approval, which were also approved as well.
