The Heber City Council voted on June 20 to create a new Community Development Director position. Tony Kohler, previously the city’s planning director, will fill the role.
Kohler will oversee the city’s building inspection, planning and economic development departments.
In an email to KPCW, city spokesperson Ryan Bunnell said the move will give the city manager a single point of contact for all development-related matters. He said it’s part of the city’s efforts to make operations more flexible and efficient, and better able to handle the "pressures of the community’s growth."
Bunnell also said Kohler's appointment is the first step towards consolidating the building inspection and planning departments into a new "Planning Division." He said Kohler intends to cross-train staff of the two departments to become more familiar with each other’s responsibilities, which will help Heber City maintain operations if staff changes.
Bunnell said Wes Greenhalgh will continue to manage the permitting and the building department, while Senior Planner Jamie Baron will have increased responsibilities in the planning department.
