County begins administrator transition, mulls over logo makeover

Commissioners agreed Monday to hire an independent recruiting firm to carry out the search — the same avenue that lead them to pick Meriwether in 2001.

By unanimous vote, the board authorized staff to develop a request for proposal (RFP) and solicitation, which will likely be published by the end of the week. The action will allow potential recruiting firms to submit their business proposals to the county for consideration.

Commission Chair Ron Rivers said it’s time to “get the ball rolling” on the new search process, which he said could take several months.

Rivers suggested going through Waldron & Company executive recruiting firm, the same business the county used to hire Meriwether. “I was really pleased with Waldron,” Rivers said.

Logo on last leg

Commissioners decided to retire a different face of the county: their circular logo.

The logo, a black Mount Hood pasted on a white background, with the words “recreation-fruit-industry” underneath, adorns county documents and webpages as an official brand, but county leaders feel it has overstayed its welcome.

Commissioners and staff poked fun at the sparse design and its collection of words, which seem to meld together into one awkward phrase, “recreation fruit industry.”

The logo has remained unchanged for the last 30 years. Before the current design, it bore an illustration of the Hood River County Courthouse on State Street.

Heidi Ochsner, county administrative assistant, has been working on a new preliminary design, which she hopes to “take to a designer to refine it and make it so it looks good in black and white.”

She asked commissioners for input on what they’d like to see in a new logo.

Commissioner Bob Benton said he’d like for a new logo to still include Mount Hood, but he’d like a touch of realism to remain intact.

“I like the mountain … it’s iconic. I would like the spur on it,” said Commissioner Bob Benton.

Commissioners agreed to leave details up to a professional designer, and directed staff to enter the search process.

In other county news:

Dallas Fridley, regional economist from the Oregon Employment Department, gave a report on the state of employment in Hood River County. Unemployment is not as low as it was in the summer — it creeped from 4.3 percent to 4.7 percent — but the economy is “chugging along” overall.

“We seem to be sitting in a pretty good position,” said Fridley.

He predicted Hood River County will surpass Wasco’s population within the next 10-12 years.

Commissioner Maui Meyer reported that Mid-Columbia Council of Governments has hired Bob Francis as its new executive director. Francis is a former Hood River city manager and most recently worked for Ryan’s Juice.

Commissioner Karen Joplin reported that she has been appointed to the Oregon Health Policy Board.