Jeff Lang

By the end of this week officials of a non-profit development group could very well hire a director.

Jeff Lang, board member of the Faribault County Regional Development Corporation, says a total of six candidates will be interviewed today and Tuesday.

“We did receive some strong applicants. We have very, very qualified people,” says Lang.

In July, search for a director began. Ads were placed in newspapers and on the website of the League of Minnesota Cities.

During the limited time the opening was posted, Lang says, 12 people inquired about the position.

“We are going to move rather quickly from this point forward. I think we’re right on target where we want to be” says Lang.

Last week, boardmembers Bill Eckles, John Rivisto and Keith Kor and Lang were putting the finishing touches on questions that will be posed to the applicants.

“We’ve done enough interviews. I don’t think coming up with a list is going to be hard,” says Eckles.

About two hours has been set aside for each interview.

Eckles says one of the finalists is from Wisconsin, while the rest are from Minnesota.

Lang says the group hasn’t stopped taking applications, however, “we’re definitely in the interview process.”

In addition to the four board directors, Peter Malecha of Blue Earth’s EDA board and county EDA boardmember Jake Anderson will help evaluate the six candidates.

Neil Eckles, chairman of the county EDA board, says the person hired will have to “pull together” smaller communities in the county to attract businesses.

“They’ll have to take us to another step to combine our resources. To make us a viable entity,” Neil Eckles says.

If someone is hired, how much they are paid will depend on prior experience. The salary range has been advertised between $65,000 and $90,000.

The operating budget for FCRDC in the first year has been set at $200,000.

Neil Eckles says they haven’t started looking at office space for the new director. But, an option could be the former county EDA director’s office located in the Ag Center.

“If the county could use that space, I don’t know why it wouldn’t work for us,” says Bill Eckles.