By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
On Monday evening the New Richland City Council accepted a “withdrawal” of city administrator Anthony Martens’ resignation. Martens tendered his resignation early in the month after announcing he had accepted an offer to be chief deputy under Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas.
Martens announced Sheriff Dulas rescinded the offer of the chief deputy position and declined to comment further on the matter.
Martens presented the council with two options regarding the city administrator position:
1. Move forward with the hiring process among the three persons who applied for the position.
2. Accept Martens’ withdrawal of resignation and allow him to continue in his position.
The only discussion regarding Martens request to accept his withdrawal of resignation came from councilperson Jody Wynnemer, who asked if the council could look over the three applications before making a decision. Following the question, councilperson 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, councilpersons Skelton and Jason Casey voted “yes.”
“I’d hate to start over again,” Wynnemer also stated during the meeting. His statement was met with head nods.
“I’m relieved,” councilperson Casey told the Star Eagle regarding Martens' decision to continue as administrator. “I thought he was gone. It’s nice to see that he’s back.
“His organization skills are good,” Casey continued. “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.”
Martens will continue in his role as New Richland City Administrator. Meanwhile, the chief deputy sheriff position remains unfilled. Sheriff Dulas has not announced who he intends to hire and has yet to provide an explanation for his decision.