Interim Morrow County administrator quits

In the days leading up to and following hiring Sweek, county commissioners praised him for his professionalism, his knowledge of the area and his familiarity with county staff. As Sweek was the county assessor for more than three decades before retiring, commissioners said they viewed him as a person who would bring stability to the position.

Sweek, himself, said he would be the interim county administrator for the three months it would take to hire a permanent one.

This was not to be, as Sweek handed a short letter to Sykes the morning of Jan. 13.

In the letter, according to Sykes, Sweek stated he could not continue this work because it requires “more time than I can devote.” Sweek’s letter included gratitude for the commissioners’ confidence in him and expressed regret about not being able to continue.

Sykes said he, too, was disappointed. Sykes was, he said, the person who approached Sweek for the job, and hiring Sweek seemed like a good idea because of the man’s many years working for the county.

Sweek gave a report at the Wednesday, Jan. 11, commissioners’ meeting. During the report, according to the commissioners, Sweek did not hint at wanting to quit. In addition, Sykes and Commissioner Jeff Wenholz said Sweek hadn’t spoken of planning to leave before he actually did.

Sykes said, “Life throws you some curveballs sometimes,” and indicated the county would move forward. Already, he said, the county is looking for a replacement to be the interim until the county can find a permanent administrator.

This leaves the county at different stages in hiring people to work in the top spot of county administration. For the permanent job, the county is looking for a finder company to obtain candidates. For the interim position, commissioners are thinking about how they want to go about filling that role, according to Sykes.

Commissioners said they were not yet sure about the process of finding their interim administrator.