A new executive director has been hired for the Metropolitan Council of Governments.
Robert Bright, from Soldotna, Alaska, will fill the vacancy left by Brian Shorten, who left MetroCOG at the end of May, said executive secretary Joan Geyer.
Bright, formerly the director of planning for the Kenai Peninsula Borough in Alaska, will receive a salary of $79,773, slightly less than what Shorten was earning, Geyer said. Bright's first day will be July 8.
The hiring process for the position went smoothly, despite difficulties the federally funded planning agency has had in filling other positions, said Rich Mattern, chairman of MetroCOG.
