ASHLAND — Members of the Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation board reached a consensus Wednesday to stop employing its director. 

Hal Sheaffer had been serving under a verbal agreement as the new land bank’s director for about four months and was being paid $1,000 monthly. Prior to the land bank’s official formation, Sheaffer volunteered in a lead role in the formation of the quasi-governmental agency. 

The board members considered offering Sheaffer a contract to continue in the role at the $1,000 per month rate, but they opted not to proceed with that contract, citing financial reasons.  

Wednesday’s decision did not permanently eliminate the director position but vacated the role indefinitely. 

“There seems to be concern from this board that we can’t continue the director’s position financially,” said board president and county commissioner Denny Bittle. “After much discussion in executive session and a very strong look at the finances, the board has decided at this point we are not in a position to continue with the contract for a director.”

Bittle asked for a motion to eliminate the position, but no motion was made. Instead, land bank board member and Ashland Mayor Matt Miller suggested the board simply not vote on Sheaffer’s contract rather than eliminating the position. 

“Down the road, once we get familiar with the process, work through the first couple of acquisitions and start bringing in an income, then it might make sense to revisit the idea of having an executive director.”

Miller said while he believes Sheaffer has done a good job getting the land bank off the ground, he feels board members have the time and expertise to navigate the land bank’s first few property acquisitions on their own. They also have administrative support from Ashland Area Economic Development project coordinator Erin Collins, he said.

County commissioner and land bank board member Jim Justice emphasized his appreciation for Sheaffer’s work but said he had concerns about the public perception of paying a director so early in the life of the land bank. 

“I think in a lot of startup corporations and non-profits, when you start using money not for projects it becomes kind of a bureaucracy,” Justice said. “Whether it is or it isn’t people start to say, ‘That’s not what we gave the money for.'”

Miller said Wednesday’s decision will not slow the land bank’s progress on existing and future projects. 

“We’re still moving forward with the Walnut Street property, and we will plan to move forward with the Pump House property when the time comes,” Miller said. 

Bittle said the city will be “taking the lead” on the community’s efforts to get the recently-foreclosed portion of the former Pump House property cleaned up. He said the land bank will “sit back and watch” for a while. 

“By taking the lead, that means reaching out to the EPA to figure out what the next steps are to expedite the process of determining what type of remediation must take place in order to begin clearing the property,” Miller clarified. 

Miller said while his staff will take the lead on the research and planning, he thinks he thinks the land bank will soon be faced with the decision of whether to take over ownership of the property. 

The property has been put up for Sheriff’s sale twice and did not sell.