To offer contract

Jay County Development Corporation hopes to have a new executive director in place soon.

The organization’s board of directors voted Tuesday to make a job offer to a candidate after discussing its options during an executive session.

The vote authorized board president Angela Paxson to extend the offer. She planned to do so on Wednesday and said after the meeting that she hopes an agreement can be reached with the candidate quickly. Paxson said she believes that if the candidate is hired, they will be able to start in their new role relatively quickly.

Jay County Development Corporation has been without an executive director since Travis Richards resigned in mid-November. He had served in the role for seven years.

Paxson said there were 26 applicants for the position, with the search committee narrowing the field to four. Two candidates were brought in for interviews.

She said no changes were made to the job description but that the search committee emphasized working with local government officials.

Jay County Development Corporation and Jay County Commissioners reached a contract agreement early in 2025 — it runs through June 30 — after they had been at odds for more than two years. The rift started when county and municipal government officials began pushing for more control of the organization’s executive committee beginning in fall 2022. Commissioners at one point called for Richards’ removal from the executive director role before pulling back on that demand days later. 

JCDC and the county failed to reach a contract agreement for 2024, leaving the organization without the bulk of its projected funding.

Also Tuesday, the board elected members to new terms. 

Newly elected to the board were Carolyn Carducci, Adolfo Solis and Josh Stewart. Re-elected were Dunkirk Mayor Jack Robbins, Portland Mayor Jeff Westlake, Jay County Council member Cindy Bracy, Chad Towell, Barb Street, Trent Paxson and Pete Byrum. Filling vacated board seats will be Aaron Clark in place of Matt Minnich and Josh Miller in place of Alicia Corwin. Street and Paxson were retained for one-year terms as secretary and treasurer, respectively.

All of those were approved unanimously.

JCDC administrative assistant Jodi Hayes provided an update on the organization’s recent efforts, noting that 517 locations were identified as eligible for potential funding through the Broadband Equity and Access and Deployment program. Local officials attended a “listening session” regarding the program. Street pointed out that Jay County was recognized there for its efforts to identify gaps in high-speed internet availability.

“We owe some debts of gratitude there,” said Street, noting Hayes, Richards, Bracy and others who were part of the effort.

Hayes also mentioned work on various projects for the City of Dunkirk, including improvements for downtown buildings and a planned housing development on the south side of the city. She added that former Portland Police Chief Nathan Springer has purchased a downtown building in Pennville and is in the process of restoring it.

Angela Paxson and many other board members thanked Hayes, JCDC’s only employee for the last four and a half months, for her efforts in keeping the organization going.

In updates provided by board members:

•Mark Leavell noted that Redkey Volunteer Fire Department will host an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the fire station.

•Mary Adair of Jay County Visitors and Tourism Bureau said plans are in the works for activities for the National Day of Prayer on May 1. She also offered a reminder regarding Jay County Cancer Society’s Dueling Pianos event scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 12 at Jay County Fairgrounds.

•Trent Paxson, assistant superintendent of Jay School Corporation, encouraged participation in a public input survey — it is available at jayschoolcorp.org/page/school-board — regarding a potential capital improvement project at Jay County Junior-Senior High School.