Schenkel named Marietta development director
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Fourth Ward Councilman Geoff Schenkel will become Development Director of the City of Marietta Nov. 13.
Mayor Joshua Schlicher made Schenkel's new city position publicly known at the beginning of Thursday's Marietta City Council meeting.
For the Fourth Ward, it means the Washington County Democratic Central Committee will meet and approve someone from the Fourth Ward for the remainder of this council term and the term beginning the first of the year. The political party's nomination is the procedure that was followed to fill the At-Large Council spot vacated earlier by Democrat Susan Boyer and filled by Harley Noland.
Employee Relations Committee Chair Cassidi Shoaf said the Employee Relations Committee had been meeting in executive sessions for about a month to find a suitable contractor who would administer the city's development program, rather than having to hire an employee.
"Multiple organizations were interested, but not at the level we felt was needed," Shoaf said.
Once the need to hire someone was determined, it was the mayor's job to make the choice.
"Council does not have hiring authority, and it's even less so with appointment authority," she said.
Schenkel's name wasn't discussed in the executive sessions. Council members were notified in an email from Human Resource Director Theresa Taylor.
"We do have a job description," Shoaf said. "The development director's position is mentioned in an array of functions in our Big Green Book," which is a reference to the city's codified ordinances. "We're going to clean that up and put more focus on collaborating with community and economic development, such as the Port Authority collaboration we're doing."
As far as salary, Shoaf said there definitely wouldn't be any increase in the starting figure, but there may be some decreases in the steps after Year One. That will be evaluated.
"From my time on council, Geoff has contributed an immense amount to planning and development in Marietta, and that was when he wasn't getting paid for it and obviously didn't have the time to devote himself to it completely. With this change, I anticipate his contributions being even more significant."
Schenkel says coordinating partnerships with community groups and other entities is where he sees himself hitting the ground running.
"There's momentum there already from my time on council, and now I've been authorized to take more of a leadership role on that."
Cross-referencing, coordinating and consolidating existing planning documents with the development office's annual plans is another area he sees as vital. The Enrich Marietta and Reimagine Marietta plans, for example, have valuable insights and citizen input that can be used.
"Ideally, we will be making them more actionable by cutting down on confusion," Schenkel said. "Like Josh (Mayor Josh Schlicher) tells me, I help him see the point. As Wetz (Safety Service Director Steve Wetz) tells me, I cut through distractions for him and create focus.
"As I understand it, this is what I've been hired for and what I believe myself to be good at."
Nancy Taylor can be reached at ntaylor@newsandsentinel.com