The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has authorized filling the shared grant writer position vacated recently by Marcia Saunders.
Action on the matter came Monday (May 2nd) in response to a memo from Cathy Knapp, Executive Director of the St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation (EDC). In making her request, Knapp said, “We anticipate the structure will continue as a partnership where both cities (Three Rivers and Sturgis) pay $10,000 per year, the County $30,000 per year and the EDC provides overhead costs through office space, equipment, travel expenditures, applicable seminars and potential salary balance not covered above. We propose the position be posted internally and externally to attract available candidates.”
Saunders resigned, effective April 26th, to accept a position with Sparta-based Building Science Academy.
In a related action, the board approved an agreement with Barbara Garlow of Portage to work as an independent contractor to handle ‘grant work in progress’ at a pay rate of $18 per hour. According to minutes of the County Board’s Executive Committee meeting on April 29th, Garlow, specifically, will “manage the ‘Better Buildings For Michigan’ energy grant recently awarded to Three Rivers and Sturgis for homeowners desiring to have a home energy audit completed. The work is beginning now in Three Rivers and a person is needed to manage the project.”
Finance Director Dan Carey presented the independent contractor agreement with Garlow for board approval and said the position will terminate when the new grant writer is in place.
In other business, the board approved:
• An employment agreement addendum with Eugene Alli
• A MERS service credit purchase
• A 2011 Remonumentation Fee Schedule
• Remonumentation contracts with Mostrom and Associates, Inc., Carr & Associates Land Surveying, David Gariepy, and Global Land Surveying, LLC
• A resolution to authorize submission of a 2011 Housing Resource Fund application
• And the Sheriff’s Department Annual Report presented by Sheriff Brad Balk.
