The new Jerome Township Administrator is off to a running start after the Board of Trustees shared their priorities for him in his new role.
Former Bellefontaine Police Department Chief Brandon Standley began as the township administrator on April 10 after a months-long search for the right candidate.
Standley said he is looking forward to overseeing the township’s departments and taking on the role trustees were playing as “liaisons” in the absence of an administrator.
“This position will allow me to dig into the issues deeper for you,” he told the board.
Between the three trustees, they communicated a number of shared priorities for Standley, while Wezlynn Davis, Megan Sloat and Barry Adler each had a few individual focuses.
Every trustee emphasized work toward updating the township’s Comprehensive Plan.
At the recommendation of the Zoning Commission, the trustees recently contracted with consulting firm MKSK to lead an update of the plan. Davis asked Standley to connect with officials from the firm as the project begins to move forward.
Adler also said a master plan for parks in Jerome Township, as well as a landscape maintenance plan, could be completed in conjunction with work on the Comprehensive Plan.
Likewise, Davis and Adler asked Standley to research upgrades to the playground equipment at Harry Wolfe Park, which they said is outdated to the point it is unsafe for children to use.
The board also urged Standley to look into temporary office space, as multiple township employees already share the available offices within the Township Hall.
Sloat noted that the township is growing and she anticipates staff will need to grow accordingly. Along with temporary space, she asked Standley to look into the viability of renovations and expansions to the Township Hall.
Adler also asked him to consider how federal COVID funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) could be used, as the trustees have previously discussed using it for building renovations.
The township has a total of $524,101.01 in ARPA dollars that must be committed by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
Along the lines of staff expansion, both Sloat and Adler asked Standley to prioritize filling the assistant zoning inspector position that has been vacant since August. Sloat noted that the entire zoning department has been run largely by Zoning Inspector Eric Snowden since then.
Adler also asked Standley to take up a responsibility that was tabled due to the absence of a township administrator: livestreaming meetings.
Also in the realm of technology, Adler said he feels the township needs to step up its cybersecurity measures.
Standley agreed, adding that he had already met with the township’s IT consultant, Dustin Newland of eGreen Computers.
Along those lines, Sloat tasked Standley with spearheading a rebranding project for Jerome Township.
She said it could follow the launch of the new website, and should include things like logo recommendations and color schemes. Sloat noted that the 2023 budget includes funding for a rebranding project.
Sloat is also part of the wayfinding committee organized by Union County Tourism (formerly the Convention and Visitors Bureau), which is part of a county-wide initiative to improve its signage and branding.
Sloat said she foresees Standley stepping into that role.
Also among Davis’ priorities were improving the agenda structure for township meetings to make them “more clear and concise” and revising the personnel handbook and employee evaluations.
She also asked Standley to organize a meet and greet with the firefighter’s union.
The trustees acknowledged that their list of priorities and tasks for Standley was thorough, but he said he is confident in taking them on.
He told them that, in just over a week of being with the township, he feels “we’ve been able to accomplish a ton already.”
Standley added that he gets along well with the township employees and feels the staff members that will be under his leadership are “phenomenal.”
He said he is eager to continue working on the trustees’ tasks.
“I don’t like to sit on a topic very long,” Standley said.