Alpena County administrator candidate declines job
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ALPENA -- Alpena County will have to pivot and resume its search for a new county administrator.
The candidate the board of commissioners voted to hire Wednesday, has declined the job for family reasons.
A special meeting is set for 8 a.m. today to discuss the county's course to fill the position.
Commissioner John Kozlowski said Jeff Knoop sent the county a letter removing himself from consideration from the position.
In his letter to the county, Knoop explained that a death in the family and the need to help care for another family member made it clear that taking the job and moving to Alpena was not the best decision at this time.
"As I have always had a family first policy in my life, I am unable to leave Indianapolis at this time," Knoop said in his letter. "After prayerful consideration, I must decline the amazing opportunity currently available in Michigan. It is my true hope that the next administrator of Alpena County will be able to lead the area into great prosperity."
Knoop was selected from four finalists of the pool of 48 applicants who applied for the job. During the meeting the board didn't vote to have an alternate candidate named as its second choice to fill the position in case contract negotiations went poorly or Knoop changed his mind.
Knoop is currently the assistant executive director, deputy prosecuting attorney for the Marion County prosecutor's office, child advocacy center in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has been in that role since 2010. He also served as the vice-chair of the Community Emergency Response Team in Indianapolis.
Kozlowski said as of now, there is no Plan B for how the process will proceed and he hopes reasonable options are presented Tuesday.
"We don't even know if our second choice will accept the job if we offer her it now," he said. "We didn't have a Plan B and now I want to know what Plan C is going to be."
It is always possible the commissioners offer the job to one of the other finalists, that chairman Bob Adrian described as "high quality" after the interviews.
The three other finalists include Adam Poll, who is currently the President and CEO of the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce and worked prior to that as the Planning and Development Director of the City of Alpena for seven years.
Janet Koch is the only candidate that is currently working as an administrator, as she has served in that role for Wexford County since 2019.
Prior to that, she was the Community Development Director of the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance in Boyne City. From 2013-2017, she was the deputy county administrator and associate planner for Antrim County.
Mary Catherine Hannah currently is on the executive committee and is a founding member of Little Traverse Bay Housing Partnership. Prior to that, she was the executive director of the regional development office of the Presbyterian Villages of Michigan.
Commissioner Dave Karschnick said it is possible the board could vote to offer the job to another of the finalists, or move in a different direction entirely. He said because the county is on a tight timeline to fill the position, he anticipates action will be taken at the meeting.
"Something's going to happen tomorrow," he said. "I can tell you that for sure."