By Sarah Kirchner,staff writer

The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners announced Tuesday that the new county administrator will be John Kluever of Laramie County, Wyo. Kluever will start June 7.

&8220;It was a tough decision,&8221; said Board Chairman Glen Mathiason. &8220;We had four pretty good candidates.&8221;

The announcement came after a closed session following the board&8217;s regular meeting Tuesday. The vote was unanimous to accept the employment terms and hire Kluever as county administrator.

Mathiason said Kluever stood out because he was short, to the point, answered questions directly and &8220;didn&8217;t try to make things flowery.&8221;

Commissioner Mark Behrends agreed, saying he seemed very responsible and straightforward.

&8220;I&8217;m looking forward to him coming here and being here, and I am certain he will do an excellent job for Freeborn County,&8221; he said.

Kluever was in Freeborn County in early April to tour the county and its facilities. While here, he said if he is hired he would work to bring more economic development to the county.

&8220;He brings exciting possibilities to the job with his background,&8221; said Commissioner Chris Shoff. He said with Kluever&8217;s experience in grant writing he has helped bring $36 million to his county over six years and worked with all facets of the county.

When the choice was announced all commissioners thanked and commended Interim Administrator Kelly Callahan, the county recorder, for his time and work during the last few months and for applying for the position himself.

&8220;The county board made the decision they felt was right for the county,&8221; Callahan said. &8220;I am not going to second guess that.&8221;

He said he told the commissioners from the beginning that if they are looking for a candidate with prior administrator experience, he&8217;s not the man for the job.

Kluever does not have any county administrator experience, either. He is currently the grants manager in Laramie County, where he has worked since July 2001. Previously he worked at Frontier Correctional Systems, a program that offers educational programs to court ordered offenders, as the director of education.

Callahan said he applied for the position full time because he still felt he had something to offer the county. He said he had strong support from the community and county employees, hoping he would get the position.

&8220;It&8217;s been a real positive experience for me,&8221; he said. &8220;I certainly don&8217;t regret serving as interim administrator.&8221;

Upon May 7, Callahan will return to his position as county recorder, a job which he has had for seven years and one he&8217;s &8220;grown to really love,&8221; he said.

Kluever&8217;s starting salary will be $76,327, and after his six-month probation period it can be adjusted to $79,381. He is given a moving allowance of up to $4,000 with up to $500 in fuel costs. From May 7 to Dec. 31 of this year he has 10 days unpaid leave.

He received his bachelor&8217;s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and his master&8217;s degree from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Kluever could not be reached Tuesday following the announcement.

Former administrator Ron Gabrielsen &8212; who often found himself embroiled in controveries &8212; resigned from the position on March 1.

In other business, the County Board of Commissioners:

– Approved a no-parking ordinance along Bridge Avenue &8212; which for most of its length is also County Road 22 &8212; to go into effect as soon as the County Engineer&8217;s Office can order and install signs. This usually takes two to three weeks, said County Engineer Sue Miller. This was a motion resurrected from Sept. 5, 2006. The signs would be placed from Marshall Street to Interstate 90 on Bridge Avenue. This is a cost to the county but not to the city.

Shoff attended an April 20 meeting with new elected officials from the county and city to discuss short term, immediate fixes that can be done to Bridge Avenue, as presented by Miller at the Tuesday meeting.

Options included consolidation of access to Albert Lea High School. There are two exits currently from ALHS and consolidation would create one singular point off Hammer Road for all event access. This needs cooperation with the Albert Lea School District and the city to create a wide access point.

An alternative to complete removal of the two driveways on Bridge Avenue would be to make the northernmost driveway a right turn only, but Miller said that may be difficult to enforce without creating a median.

Another option would be eliminating driveways on Bridge Avenue to properties that have multiple access, one being on a side street. Properties with two access points will be contacted about eliminating one.

The county could also eliminate the west side driveway at Calvary Baptist Church on Bridge Avenue, to leave access strictly from Hammer Road.

Lighting at Interstate 90 off ramps could also be an option to improve the traffic problems on Bridge Avenue. The no-parking ordinance was suggested by Miller, too.

Miller said Freeborn County was selected for a $50,000 grant to do road audits, and the county can select 10 sites to be looked at. Bridge Avenue is on that list, she said. A completely independent team will come through and look at these sites to tell the county what needs to be done at intersections and roads to create safer traffic. This audit has no cost to the county.

– Voted to wait with the other Bridge Avenue options presented until the audit is completed, which is anticipated this summer.

– Reappointed Miller as county engineer. Her term was up for reappointment this month and the motion carried unanimously.

– Voted to allow repairs on many ditches within the county.

– Acknowledged a noise agreement between Harmony Park and Freeborn County.

– Approved a liquor license for Harmony Park.

– Accepted a retention deputy resignation and Harig was given permission to fill the position.