HOPE – Main Street of Hope Executive Director Susan Thayer Fye is stepping down from the post.
When the first president of the organization, the late chiropractor Dr. Gregory Sweet, asked Thayer Fye to become executive director, she promised to stay for two years.
“It’s now four years,” Thayer Fye said.
But Fye said she will wait until her organization’s board of directors find a suitable successor before she leaves the job.
Thayer Fye was hoping that the Hope Town Council would combine the position of Main Street executive director with the position of town manager that is now being considered.
After going over two years without a town manager, the council has set a deadline to receive applications from candidates until the March 16th council meeting.
But town council president Jerry Bragg said he believes when a new town manager is hired, that person will already have enough work on their plate.
“I think Susan has talked about all the paperwork she has to do in order to write the grants,” council member Ed Johnson said. “That’s going to take away hours from the town manager when he should be out talking with people and businesses about their needs.”
Another concern was that if the two positions are combined, Hope residents might get the misunderstanding that Main Street of Hope is a municipal organization. In reality, it’s part of a state program administered by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural affairs.
No vote was taken at Tuesday’s work session, but Bragg said he will not support having the two positions combined.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
