Members of the Cass County Historical Society's board of directors want more time before they decide how - and when - they'll search for the next executive director for Bonanzaville.
The historical board oversees Bonanzaville, which is West Fargo's historical museum.
Bonanzaville has been without an executive director since late January, when the board fired then-Director Steve Backsen. Board President Syl Melroe said at the time the dismissal was for financial reasons.
On Monday, Bonanzaville's curator, Andrew Nielson, was appointed interim director, Melroe said during the board's monthly meeting Tuesday night.
Melroe said there's no timeline as to when a permanent replacement might be found, but he told board members that he'd met recently with a consultant from Spherion Staffing Services, in order to gauge how costly a search by a professional recruiter might be.
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The ideal candidate would be more of a fundraiser than an administrator for the museum, Melroe said.
He said the cost to hire a professional recruiter would include $100 per board member surveyed about who they'd want to hire, $150 an hour for the consultant's services, and a one-time charge of 15 percent of the annual salary of the person that's hired.
Backsen's previous salary was about $50,000 a year.
Board members voiced concern that the price for a professional search might be too steep for the result, especially since money is already tight for Bonanzaville projects.
"I think we need some time to seriously think about this," said Barbara Witteman, the board's vice president.
"I didn't expect everyone to jump up and down," Melroe added. "I think it's the right way to do it, but when we do it is the next question, and there's no deadline on when we're going to start."
Meanwhile, the board appointed Joe Vasek to be Bonanzaville's new facilities and grounds manager, filling a vacancy left last month by Rich Asleson.
Asleson resigned his post four days after Backsen was terminated on Jan. 18. Asleson said he was unhappy with "board dysfunction" and its potentially unethical and illegal practices.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Kristen Daum at (701) 241-5541
