Off the table

On Monday evening the New Richland City Council accepted a “withdrawal” of city administrator Anthony Martens’ resignation. Martens had indicated to the council early in the month that he had accepted an offer to be chief deputy under Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas.

Martens told council members this week that Dulas had rescinded his offer for the chief deputy position; he later declined  comment.

Martens will continue in his role as New Richland City Administrator. Meanwhile, the chief deputy sheriff position remains unfilled. Dulas has not announced who he intends to hire and has yet to provide an explanation for his decision.

“We’re glad the issue is resolved,” chairman of the Waseca County Board of Commissioners, Blair Nelson, said about the uncertainty. Regarding the reasons behind the rescinding of the job offer, the county also offered no comment. 

Monday evening Martens presented the council with two options regarding the city administrator position:

1. Move forward with the hiring process among the three persons who had applied for the position since his resignation.

2. Allow Martens to continue.

The only dissenting voice regarding Martens’ return to the position came from council member Jody Wynnemer, who asked whether the council could look over the three applications before making a decision. Following the question, council member Loren Skelton made the motion to accept Martens' request.

No discussion took place aside from Wynnemer’s comments. On the decision, Wynnemer voted “no.” Mayor Chad Neitzel, council members Skelton and Jason Casey voted “yes.”

“I’d hate to start over again,” Wynnemer also said. His statement was met with head nods.

“I’m relieved,” council member Casey told the Pioneer regarding Martens' decision to continue as administrator. “I thought he was gone. He does a good job getting a consensus among issues which not everyone may agree on. His communication and administrative skills are strong. I’m glad he’s back.”