Marshall County continues search for Plan Director

Friday, April 4, 2025 at 2:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Marshall County Plan Commission continues to look for a new Plan Director. During their last meeting, commission president Stan Klotz presented an option to temporarily hire a company to assist until a new director can be located and hired.

In November Ty Adley resigned from the position and became the first full-time planning director for the City of Plymouth.

The Plan Commission created a 4-member subcommittee (Stan Klotz, Deb Johnson, Craig Cultice, and Jeff Gustafson) to review applications and bring qualified candidates to the full commission.

In January, the County Plan Commission hired Lydia Dutton to replace Adley. She was only on the job for about a month. Since then, Lori Lowry, the Plan Director’s Administrative Assistant, has provided the majority of assistance along with County Building Inspector Chuck Garman and Code Enforcement Officer Phil Smith. County Attorney Sean Surrisi and Plan Commission Attorney Derek Jones have been assisting with case preparations for the public meeting.

Klotz presented a contract from an Indianapolis engineering firm that can provide temporary assistance for casework and meetings. The estimated cost for a 3-month agreement was $3,000 to $5,000, with a price tag that did not exceed $30,000. They would offer consulting services by phone and email with the option of in-person assistance at a higher cost.

Klotz also told the Plan Commission they had received a resume from an interested candidate for the director’s position. He told the commission the applicant has experience and a planning degree from Ball State.

With the possibility of a qualified candidate, the Plan Commission decided not to take action on the consulting contract and allow the office to continue operations as it has for another month, giving the subcommittee time to interview the candidate. If the applicant seems like a good fit for the county, a special meeting will be held to allow all members of the Plan Commission to participate in an interview. That would happen before their next meeting on April 24.