County staff informed the Board of Commissioners that the extension office received two recent personnel notices: a retirement (Extension Office Manager Nadine Shearer, last date listed as February 20, 2025) and the resignation of the 4‑H coordinator (effective January 31, 2024, per the transcript excerpt). Staff said Shearer recommended combining the separate 4‑H coordinator duties and the extension manager duties into a single full‑time position because current coverage and duties make a combined position more feasible and attractive to prospective hires.

Staff said a combined, full‑time position would be more appealing to candidates and that the county already pays toward a regional agronomist position in coordination with neighboring counties. Commissioners and staff discussed office location, oversight and reporting; staff flagged that if the selected regional agronomist is housed in another county, Columbia County would still be required to provide office space for any local staff assigned here.

Next steps: staff will draft a combined job description and consult with neighboring counties to learn how similar positions are structured (for example, whether a single person covers 4‑H and extension manager duties on a 1.0 or 1.5 FTE basis). Staff requested commissioner participation on the hiring committee and indicated an accelerated timeline because of the retirement date. The board did not take a formal hiring vote at the meeting; staff will return with a proposed job description and recruitment plan.

Why it matters: the change affects local programming and staffing for extension services (4‑H and agronomy outreach), requires coordination with regional partners and requires posting and recruitment on a tight timeline to maintain continuity of services.