Rhoads to serve as part-time Blendon Township administrator
Blendon Township trustees added to Bryan Rhoads’ duties Feb. 1 by naming him the township’s first administrator.
Rhoads is already the township’s development director. He will now also work part-time as its administrator and will be paid an extra $25 per hour on an as-needed basis.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” he said. “Over the last few years, the trustees have given me the ability to implement new development programs and search for ways to better the community
“I’m thankful the trustees have confidence in the work and ideas I bring to them,” he added. “Over the next few months, I will focus on creating new relationships with surrounding communities and look for innovative ways to share services and enhance Blendon Township for our residents.
“During harsh economic times, it’s critical for us to look for creative ways to generate revenue and invest in our infrastructure.”
The trustees voted 2-1 on Jan. 18 to create the position of administrator. Trustee Jan Heichel cast the dissenting vote.
“Our fiscal officer, Mr. (Wade) Estep, was not comfortable at all with our budget, especially given the reduction in funds we’re receiving from the state,” Heichel said. “Wade has an excellent record of managing the township’s finances and if he’s not comfortable creating a new position, I felt it was up to us either to find a way to make him comfortable or to stand by him.”
Trustee chair Jim Welch voted in favor of creating the position.
“I would have preferred to make Bryan the full-time administrator, but we do have a tight budget,” he said. “We’re facing constraints, so hopefully, having him work part-time will still allow him to get things done and to raise revenue for the township.”
Establishing the township administrator post was necessary, according to the resolution, because “the responsibilities and operations of local government have grown in complexity, due not only to the challenges of economic development in the state but also due to the ever-increasing rules and regulations set forth by various state and federal agencies.”
Rhoads was hired to “provide assistance to elected officials in insuring the proper administration of the affairs of the township, as well as providing for the efficient and effective administration and management of the resources of Blendon Township.”
Heichel took issue with the need for an administrator as laid out in the resolution.
“One of the things that the trustees said was they didn’t have time to attend all the meetings that are required to pursue economic development,” she said. “But I think that’s my job, our job as trustees. I have the time. I would have liked to have tried to do things ourselves.”
As the development director, Rhoads has already been negotiating with the city of Westerville on a Joint Economic Development Zone (or JEDZ) that could, if agreed upon, generate tens of thousands of dollars for the township.
“There is just so much for Bryan to be working on now,” Welch said. “He’s already been in talks with Westerville about establishing a JEDZ. He is going to open talks with Columbus about the possibility of a Joint Economic Development District, or JEDD, in the Morse Road- state Route 3 corridor of the township.”
Welch said he had hoped the vote to establish an administrator would be unanimous.
“I thought if we gave it another couple of weeks, we might be able to get to three votes,” he said. “But we felt we needed to move on the issue.”
Heichel said she has a good working relationship with her colleagues on the board.
“In this instance, we just agreed to disagree,” she said. “We are not at all a divided board. We have no problem working together.”
Heichel said she’s now Rhoads’ biggest fan.
