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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad February 25, 2005 City could soon replace AFN director By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings City of Ashland officials are considering staffing changes that could include hiring a new person to head the Ashland Fiber Network. Dick Wanderscheid, director of the electric and telecommunications department since 2002, said it may be too much for one person to be in charge of the city's electric utility along with the cable television and high-speed Internet services provided by AFN. The electric department alone is planning a number of time-intensive projects within the next two years, he said. "If I'm going to devote full effort to those things, I'm not going to have time to do AFN justice. Also, if you look at the things AFN has to do, it's overwhelming." Potential staffing changes at AFN are part of a larger effort to examine the workload across several city departments, according to Wanderscheid and Ashland City Administrator Gino Grimaldi. Grimaldi said he is examining whether additional staffing is needed in the human resources and finance departments as well. He said any proposed changes will come before the Citizens' Budget Committee. That panel, which includes the mayor and city council, reviews the city budget. Wanderscheid served as administrative services director before being named head of the electric department and AFN following a nation-wide search. The administrative services director position has remained empty. Additionally, the assistant city administrator post was not filled after former Assistant City Manager Greg Scoles was chosen to be the city manager. Scoles has since left for a position in another city and was replaced by Grimaldi. "We're doing more work with two people as opposed to when we had four people," Wanderscheid said. Mayor John Morrison said now that AFN's infrastructure has been built out except for some remaining pockets and new development, it may be time to find a new director with different strengths. "I would want someone who is very strong in sales and marketing," he said. AFN has implemented a number of marketing efforts, including offering a free pay-per-view movie to each customer, promoting premium cable television packages and offering a discount to buyers of both television and Internet services. Results have been mixed. The city refinanced $15 million of AFN debt in 2004 and must make a debt payment of $802,021 this summer. Wanderscheid said AFN may fall short of earning that amount and may need a 10 to 12 percent subsidy from the city. Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 482-3456 x 3016 or [email protected]. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.