HRA entering time of leadership transition with the new year

At the Dec. 18 Cook County Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) meeting the board of commissioners discussed the upcoming time of leadership transition for the HRA. Executive Director Jason Hale will be leaving his role at the end of the year.

Hale has been in the role since April 2022, and was the HRA’s first executive director. He announced his resignation on Nov. 9. Since that time, Hale told WTIP that he has been working to ensure that HRA projects are in good shape for a hand-off to new leadership.

“There’s always things that, one, come up, and two, that you you can’t totally wrap up just because it’s timing,” Hale said. “But I feel pretty good that whomever comes after me is not going to be inundated with a bunch of spinning balls or plates that have dropped, and they’ll be able to kind of figure out where things are and keep things moving.”

During the committee updates HRA Board President Bill Gabler shared on behalf of the personnel committee that the job posting had already drawn four applications. He added that they expected to see some additional applications as the application window drew to a close. 

Hale will spend January acting as interim executive director, and will assist the personnel committee with the interview process. He said that the committee hopes to have a candidate selected by Jan. 15, 2025.

The board also discussed how to proceed if no candidate is selected before Hale completes his time as interim director. Former Board President Mary Somnis has offered to help fill a staffing gap if there will be an extended time between Hale’s departure and the start date for a new director. 

While he will be leaving his role with the HRA, Hale plans to continue to work in the housing development sector in northern Minnesota.

He told WTIP that he has appreciated his time working in Cook County. “I just want to say thank you to the community, for those of you who’ve been supportive and so encouraging. Like I’ve said on this station before, change is hard. We see some of it physically manifesting up at Gunflint, and there’s more to come. And I’m just really hopeful that it will help to at least relieve some pressure. And so people who genuinely want to invest in the community and live there and work there and be a part of part of that community can do so.”

Kirsten Wisniewski December 27, 2024