Madison Township trustees appoint interim leader for Zoning Department
Jun. 18—Madison Township trustees have selected Max Ungers to serve as the community's interim zoning inspector.
Ungers, who was hired as Madison Township's assistant zoning inspector in March 2021, has taken over the Zoning Department's top job on a temporary basis, following Michele Howell's resignation.
Township trustees, during their June 14 meeting, voted unanimously to reassign Ungers from assistant zoning inspector to interim zoning inspector. He will fill that leadership role until a new zoning inspector is hired by the trustee board.
Howell, who served as zoning inspector for about 1 1/2 years, submitted her resignation letter on May 13 to township Administrator Tim Brown.
"This letter is to serve as my notice that my last day of employment with Madison Township will be June 12. Thank you for the opportunity," Howell wrote.
Trustees, during their May 24 meeting, unanimously approved a resolution accepting Howell's resignation.
However, for a three-week stretch leading up to June 12, Howell wrapped up her tenure in Madison Township by zeroing out her leave time.
"Max was taking on both roles (assistant and inspector) during Michele's final weeks," said Brown.
With Ungers carrying out additional responsibilities during that span, trustees decided that his appointment as zoning inspector would be retroactive, and commence May 23.
In addition, trustees set Ungers' pay rate as interim zoning inspector, starting May 23, at $23.27 per hour. He previously earned $20.89 per hour as assistant zoning inspector.
"We felt it appropriate to compensate him for taking on the extra duties," Brown said.
Although Howell's resignation letter didn't mention specific reasons for stepping down, Gauntner said during a May 24 meeting that Howell recently endured harsh and unfair criticism during a public hearing on zoning-text amendments sought by C4 Shooting & Training Center, located at 6347 E. Loveland Road.
Those proposed amendments ultimately were rejected by township trustees at their June 14 meeting.
The public hearing, conducted by the Zoning Commission, was a lengthy affair that spanned three separate sessions between March and May. During the course of the hearing segments, several township residents who live near C4 veered off the intended subject and began criticizing Howell's job performance.
"Michele took a beating from people that was undeserved," Gauntner said. "She was being accused of not doing her job. People are saying 'She's not doing this, she's not doing that.' But I talk to Michele every day. She did her job."
At those points in the public hearing when residents wanted to complain about Howell or Ungers, commission Chairman Jeff Hyrne told the people to either limit their comments to the proposed zoning amendments or return to their seats.
Gauntner, who previously served as township zoning inspector for seven years, said it's "a tough, tough job."
"People don't understand what the zoning inspector goes through," he said. "(Zoning inspectors) are not the police department. They don't go out there and write tickets. And if the Ohio Revised Code doesn't give the zoning department the authority to enforce something, they can't enforce it."
Before Howell resigned, she had chalked up nine years experience in the township Zoning Department as an administrative assistant, assistant zoning inspector and interim zoning inspector, before being named zoning inspector on Nov. 30, 2020.
At the June 14 trustee board meeting, Trustee Max Anderson Jr. said Ungers has undertaken a challenging assignment as interim zoning inspector.
"He's got a lot of work ahead of him," Anderson said.
Gauntner told Ungers that trustees and other township administrators will be supportive.
"We'll do the best we can to help you out," he said.
