News

Collis quits city Planning Board

Jeff Collis makes a point during a campaign forum in 2013.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 14, 2014

The Hendersonville City Council has two Planning Board appointments to make after the resignation of Jeff Collis and Fred Dutcher.

Collis's resignation ends a short tenure that started in controversy. Two days after Collis lost his council job last November, the City Council appointed him to the Planning Board in a split vote. Councilman Jerry Smith and Mayor Barbara Volk voted for Collis and Collis voted for himself in the last meeting before his council service ended. Council members Steve Caraker and Ron Stephens voted no. Caraker said then that the council's action "raises an ethical question" because Collis voted for himself.
Collis argued that his two terms on the council and his experience helping to shape the city's land development code qualified him for the job. Besides, he added, Stephens himself had been appointed to the Planning Board after he lost a mayoral race in 2005.
Fred DutcherCollis said his resignation had nothing to do with the dustup over his appointment. He is serving as the executor for a family friend who passed away.
"I've actually taken myself off several other boards," he said. "The only one I didn't want to leave was chairing the Medical Loan Closet board."
Dutcher, a retired Exxon marketing executive, is moving with his wife to Edisto Island, S.C., where their son and his family live.
"I really enjoyed my time on the Planning Board," he said.
The appointments that are now open because of the resignations expire on Dec. 1, 2016. To apply call City Clerk Tammie Drake at 697-3005 or visit cityofhendersonville.org and click on board information.