BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- Problems continue to haunt city government, with the most experienced planning commissioner resigning last week because the board was going in a "different direction."
Seven-year veteran Jim Klei is the third person since May to step down from the five-member board.
"I was spinning my wheels trying to accomplish things," said Mr. Klei, declining to elaborate.
Mr. Klei's departure leaves a relatively inexperienced board to grapple with some of the city's most serious decisions. Essentially anything having to do with the physical growth of the city, such as zoning requests or subdivision approvals, goes before the commission. It's a blow to Lebanon to have such an experienced person resign, City Planner Marty Kohler said.
"You just hope you don't lose all your experience at one time," he said. "It's tough when you have people constantly coming and going. We need to get everyone in, their feet on the ground, and start setting the direction. That's tough to do when you have a vacancy." Still, he said, "These are very skilled people that we've got, and I think they'll catch on very quickly."
The members of the commission are: Mayor James Mills, Ed Groh, Sandra Reynolds and Deane Wiethe.
While Mr. Mills and Mr. Groh have served at least partial terms on the commission before, Ms. Reynolds and Mr. Wiethe are newcomers. Mr. Wiethe was elected chairman of the commission a month after council appointed him. Anyone who has been a resident of Lebanon for at least two years can apply to fill the vacancy. Send a letter of interest to City Manager Richard Hayward, 50 S. Broadway, Lebanon 45036.
