Development post finalists down to four
POST FALLS – The city of Post Falls is nearing the end of its search for a community development director.
The city has narrowed the list to four finalists, who will go through a series of interviews today with panels of city staff members, elected officials, community leaders and local youths. The City Council is expected to make a decision May 15.
The community development position has been vacant since December, when the city fired Gary Young, who had worked with Post Falls for nearly 15 years. City officials have declined to give a reason for Young’s dismissal.
Post Falls launched a nationwide search this spring for a replacement, who will earn between $85,000 and $95,000 a year, city officials said. Nearly two dozen people applied for the job.
The four finalists represent four states and have diverse experience with community planning.
Mary Ausburn, of Lake Tapps, Wash., has served for the past four months as interim community development director for Black Diamond, Wash., a city of 4,000 southeast of Seattle.
Before that, she served in a variety of civic positions, including senior planner for Pierce County Public Works, planning and community development manager for Normandy Park, Wash., and municipal liaison manager for Puget Sound Energy.
She has a bachelor’s degree in planning from Eastern Washington University.
Alexander Ikefuna, of Salt Lake City, has worked for six months as a principal for ACI International.
Before that, he worked as planning and zoning director for the Salt Lake City Corp., community planning administrator for Savannah, Ga., and regional planner for the Southeast Georgia Regional Development Center.
He has a bachelor’s degree in geography and sociology from Marshall University in West Virginia, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Akron in Ohio and a certificate of public management from the University of Georgia.
Joel Plaskon, of Moscow, Idaho, has been community development director for five years for Moscow, which has a population of 22,000.
Before that, he served as interim community development director, assistant community development director and assistant city planner for Moscow. He also has been a housing specialist and junior planner for San Diego County in California.
He has a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from the University of California, San Diego.
Steven Sokolowski, of Sheboygan, Wis., has served for five years as manager of planning and zoning for Sheboygan, which has a population of 51,000.
Before that, he was city planner for Hermiston, Ore., and a zoning and land-use specialist for Independent Inspections, Ltd., in Wisconsin.
He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.