EMA transitions to Ver Meer

Following the approval of Creston Police Chief Paul Ver Meer’s hiring as EMA coordinator, the Emergency Management Commission met July 16 to discuss the transition timeline.

The new coordinator will officially start the role on Aug. 29. This will follow Ver Meer’s departure as police chief on Aug. 15 and a two-week break. With 32 hours a week, Ver Meer will receive a salary of $51,201.28.

In regards to scheduled hours, Ver Meer committed to working longer than the scheduled hours in the case of a disaster. He gave an example of a tornado hitting, and would work through extra hours and would makeup the overtime by working less hours later.

Ver Meer served 17 years as police chief to Creston, and will continue to serve the area as coordinator. He served in the police department in Carroll for an additional 17 years.

When describing his choice to leave his position as chief, Ver Meer said he understands his own age and is hoping to hire a chief which would match the Creston Police Department’s younger generation.

“I can’t run with my young guys like I used to,” Ver Meer said. “They need somebody young to lead from the front.”

As a coordinator, Ver Meer is confident he’ll be able to administer the department while continuing to serve Union County. In a promise to cities outside of Creston, Ver Meer said he’d be visiting city councils in Union County to work on issues cities might have.

While Ver Meer transitions into the coordinator role, he’ll receive assistance from Clarke County EMA Coordinator Byron Jimmerson as a mentor, who had once offered to run both Clarke and Union counties’ EMA departments in a dual partnership. Jimmerson is also working with Madison County on their transition.

Additionally, for more Union County-specific scenarios, Ver Meer will look to Jo Duckworth, the previous EMA coordinator. Assistance from other departments of Union County will be easy for Ver Meer, saying his experience has given him “a deep phone book.”

Ver Meer asks for patience during the transition as he is brought up to speed on operations. Before Ver Meer will serve as coordinator, Union County Sheriff Brian Bolton will function as a point of contact for the county’s EMA. Ver Meer will assist Bolton when necessary.

Union County Auditor Sandy Hysell will take over the management of EMA’s website and social media. Hysell says she’s planning to make agendas and minutes for meeting more accessible and clean up EMA’s website to be user-friendly.

Meeting times for the Emergency Management Commission will also change for future meetings. EMC meetings will begin 4:35 p.m., with the same plan for every third Wednesday.

EMA’s next meeting will take place Aug. 20 at 4:35 p.m.

In other EMA news...

Tower maintenance on EMA’s radio tower in Lenox has begun. Ver Meer said he was interested in having Creston’s radio tower painted, and offered suggestions on how to accomplish it cheaply.