Linn County hires Ashley Allen as part-time economic development director and directs staff to obtain appraisals for industrial parcels

The Linn County Board of Commissioners voted to hire Ashley Allen as the county's part-time economic development director following interviews held in executive session. The motion approved pay of $2,000 (with payment terms discussed as $1,000 on the next pay period and $1,000 on completion) and assigned staff to assist with onboarding and equipment setup.

Commissioners and a speaker from the economic development board, Jennifer Lee Charlo, described the need to post summer-job and grant information and to market county-owned industrial parcels in LaCygne and Pleasanton. Commissioners discussed how to handle incoming inquiries about parcel sales and agreed that, for the immediate term, calls should be routed to the clerk's office and emailed to the commissioners so interest can be tracked and placed on future agendas.

The board also directed staff to solicit bids from appraisers to obtain appraised values for fewer than 10 county parcels so the county can set listing prices consistent with a previous resolution requiring appraisal-based pricing. Commissioners asked staff to contact multiple appraisers and return with cost estimates; one commissioner indicated he was "fine with you going out for three appraisals" as a next step.

Why it matters: the appointment fills a part-time role intended to coordinate grant applications, workforce and land-sale outreach and to maintain economic-development information on county channels. The appraisal step is a procedural move intended to create transparent listing prices for county-owned industrial land and to streamline responses to prospective buyers.

Next steps: staff will obtain bids from appraisers, post appraised prices and centralize buyer inquiries through the clerk's office; Ashley Allen is expected to begin onboarding and to report back to the commission at a later meeting.