No. 2 Planner Resigns; Fired Man Offered Job

Sat., July 15, 1995

By J. Todd Foster toddf@spokesman.com

Turmoil and uncertainty continued in the Spokane County planning department Friday when Assistant Director Gary Fergen resigned for the top planning job in Pend Oreille County.

Another jolt followed the resignation - longtime planner and growth management expert John Mercer, fired last month in an office downsizing, was offered Fergen’s job.

“I’m stunned,” Mercer said. “I feel like I’ve been hit in the stomach.”

Mercer doesn’t know whether he’ll take the job. He first wants to talk it over with his wife and Fergen, a good friend.

County Commissioner Phil Harris said Mercer is an outstanding planner who got caught in a budget-reduction program. When another job opened, Mercer was the first person considered, he said.

County commissioners eliminated the top three planning jobs on June 9, getting rid of Mercer, Planning Director Wally Hubbard and Steve Horobiowski. While observers note that Hubbard and Horobiowski had controversial pasts, Mercer was regarded as squeaky clean.

“I hope John takes it,” Harris said of Fergen’s job. “I’m enthused about the opportunity to bring him back. Them guys were not fired. It was a downsizing to save dollars.”

Fergen could not be reached for comment.

One planner who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity said Fergen was jumping before the ship completely sank. He said county managers are seizing on Mercer’s graciousness, likability and growth management knowledge to restore credibility and respectability to their recent planning purge.

“They’re patching things up. Morale’s bad. It’s hard to get any work done,” the planner said. “Even they were getting a sense that the wheels are about to fall off.”

Jim Manson, director of building and planning, said Mercer would share oversight of the planning department with Stacy Bjordahl.

Bjordahl, 25, shocked her colleagues by climbing into the top planning spot even though she’s only 25 and has three years experience. County officials note she’s a quick study.

County commissioners say that by getting rid of the top three planners, they saved nearly a quarter of a million dollars in annual salaries and benefits.

Critics charge they are trying to remove obstacles to runaway development, but Harris said it’s simply a matter of economics.

Manson agreed. “It was never personal.”

, DataTimes

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