County holds off on filling zoning job

Could revisit issue in the future

Gordon Woods
Posted 11/23/21

The county’s administrative assistant will continue to perform zoning permit duties for the foreseeable future.

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County holds off on filling zoning job

Could revisit issue in the future

Posted

CLINTON — The county’s administrative assistant will continue to perform zoning permit duties for the foreseeable future.

Board chairman Terry Ferguson was asked about the status of the vacant zoning administrator position during the board’s regular meeting on Nov. 18.

Ferguson said the finance committee’s consensus was to “leave it as-is for now,” he said.

The position is budgeted at two-thirds the amount the county would normally pay a zoning officer.  County administrative assistant Dee Rentmeister has been performing zoning administrator duties since the county’s most recent zoning administrator resigned earlier this year.

“I truly believe that county zoning, for no more permits than we issue, it’s really hard for us to justify a full time zoning job,” Ferguson said.  “Unless we figure out other duties to make it a full time position, six or seven permits a month doesn’t take a lot of time.”

Ferguson acknowledged the heavier workload while permits were being issued for the Alta Farms II wind energy project.  Most of those permits have now been issued.

“We do need a plan for where we want to go in the future,” Ferguson said.

He added the topic was always open for discussion.

“There’s always room to make changes,” he said.

County road work

The board approved $30,275.90 for an engineering proposal from Cummins Engineering Corp.

Road and bridge committee chairman Travis Houser said Enel Green Energy/Alta Farms II was responsible for resurfacing a section of county road near Waynesville. 

“They’ll be a couple of miles left over, so we’re just going to go ahead and finish it off and make the whole road brand new,” Houser said.

The Cummins proposal was for the remaining two miles of road not including the portion for which Enel was responsible, reported county engineer Mark Mathon.

“It will be from Thorp’s Road on up into Waynesville,” Mathon said.

   • See the complete story in the Friday, Nov. 26, print edition of the Clinton Journal or now in the Journal E-Edition for subscribers.