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Zoning inspector appointed in special session
(by Joan Demirjian - January 28, 2010)
Zoning inspector appointed in special session
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Bainbridge Township Trustees met in special session Jan. 23 to officially appoint acting zoning inspector Shane Wrench to the position of permanent zoning inspector.
Mr. Wrench, who formerly served as assistant zoning inspector, had been placed in the temporary position after Trustees Jeff Markley and Lorrie Benza voted Jan. 4 not to reappoint Michael Joyce as zoning inspector. They also did not reappoint Mr. Joyce as township administrator.
Trustee Matt Lynch did not support the action against reappointing Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Markley said, while serving as assistant, Mr. Wrench was being groomed to be full-time zoning inspector as Mr. Joyce took on more township administrator duties.
However, when Mr. Joyce was not reappointed as township administrator, the trustees had to take action to make Mr. Shane permanent zoning inspector sooner than originally planned, Mr. Markley said.
Mr. Wrench has been the township's full-time assistant zoning inspector for about three years. He was hired when former zoning inspector Frank McIntyre left the township.
Trustees set Mr. Wrench's annual salary at $46,000. He was being paid $40,000 as assistant. Mr. McIntyre had made $65,000 in the position of full-time zoning inspector.
Mr. Markley said the decision not to have two full-time zoning inspectors and to not reappoint a township administrator was a budgetary decision, so it is not likely that trustees will hire another full-time person in the zoning department.
Mr. Wrench has experience in other fields, including building, asbestos and water testing, Mr. Markley said.
"Shane is dedicated to any project he gets involved in," he said. "He follows it through to completion and takes the initiative to pursue things to benefit the township, such as grant funding in Chagrin Falls Park for removal of vacant buildings," Mr. Markley said
"We'll follow up on the township administrator position," he said. As chairman of the trustees board, Mr. Markley serves as administrator and in that position has been able to distribute tasks to department heads, he said.
He said it's too early to tell if an administrator will be hired. "I have never seen the need for a full-time township administrator," he said.
Mrs. Benza said the special meeting was held, because Mr. Markley could not be at Monday's meeting.
There was a lot of speculation and a lot of rumors that she and Mr. Markley were going to appoint someone to the position other than Mr. Wrench, Mrs. Benza said. "We needed to get everyone, the public and township personnel, comfortable with a permanent zoning inspector," she said. "So, knowing Mr. Markley would be absent Monday, we called a special meeting Saturday, when everyone was available."
Mr. Wrench studied under Mr. McIntyre and Mr. Joyce. He has attended Bainbridge zoning commission and board of zoning appeals meetings over the years, she said. "He stands ready and capable of assuming this obligation."
The position of township administrator has not been abolished. However, Township Trustees are working as liaisons to the township departments and in those roles can do some of the things that the township administrator was responsible for, Mrs. Benza said.
Mr. Lynch said he had assumed Mr. Wrench would become the permanent zoning inspector as Mr. Joyce took on more township administration duties. "However, I didn't expect it as a result of the firing of Mike Joyce," he said.
"I'm hopeful we will soon appoint a township administrator so Township Trustees can stop micro-managing the day-to-day operations of the township," Mr. Lynch said.
Former Trustee Linda White said she checked records, and they show Mr. Wrench was given a $2,500 raise in 2007 and a $5,000 raise in June 2008. With the raise given last week, he was given $13,500 worth of raises, she said. "That's a lot of money for someone.
"I don't think it's going to make other employees happy," she said. "They have not received raises in a year and a half."
Mrs. Benza said Mr. Wrench is assuming the jobs of two people and is a department head as well. "We previously had two full-time zoning inspectors and we don't have that anymore, and we have cut the zoning salaries from $100,000 to $46,000," she said.
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