Yates to start recruiting for county planner

PENN YAN - The Yates County Legislature on Nov. 14 voted to authorize county Administrator Robert Lawton to start the recruitment process to fill the county planner position.
Legislators also voted to authorize county Personnel Director Kerry Brennan to reclassify the full-time planning position as non-competitive under civil service rules.
"That means they don't need to go off a civil service list because that office does handle certain privileged information and supervises other people," said Timothy Dennis, legislature chairman. "In those situations, it's generally not considered a civil service position."
The goal is to have that position filled by Feb. 1, he said.
Timothy Cutler currently holds the position of interim planner. The previous county planner, Shawna Bonshak, resigned on Feb. 28, Dennis said.
During the hour-long meeting, the legislature:
• Voted to create a temporary full-time correction officer position for 45 days.
Legislator William Holgate said there is a vacancy they have been unable to fill. They do have a full-time person in training and part-time people in training, but in the meantime, they have a part-time officer who can work 40 hours a week to help reduce potential overtime. However, that part-time person is not eligible for full-time appointment, he said.
Legislator Elden Morrison asked why the part-time officer couldn't work full-time without creating this temporary position. "I don't understand why we even need this, I guess," he said.
The reason is a part-time officer cannot work 40 hours a week, and this officer is not eligible to be appointed as a regular full-time officer, Holgate explained. However, he is eligible to be appointed as a temporary full-time officer, he said.
• Approved an engineering study for the potential repair or replacement of the Valley View Bridge and authorizing Dennis to sign the agreement. "The bridge is closed right now, and we need to know what our options are and what they would cost," he said.
• Approved an intermunicipal agreement with Steuben and Schuyler Counties for a striping truck that paints traffic stripes on the road. "This just renews an existing agreement with those other two counties," Dennis said. "It's one of the first shared services that we have had, and it reflects just ongoing operations."
• Legislators welcomed Kamryn Moravec, 17, a senior at Penn Yan Academy, who was honored for receiving the Yates County Youth Bureau's Distinguished Youth Award for the third quarter of 2016.
The award recognizes youth who are positive role models, have performed outstanding service for their community and/or have assumed extraordinary roles within their families. In 2015, Moravec organized a fund-raiser that generated $6,500 to raise awareness of sexual assault.