Since Utah Lake Authority Executive Director Eric Ellis resigned to take a new job as Vineyard’s city manager, the agency has been searching for its next leader.

The job posting is currently listed on multiple hiring platforms, and the ULA intends to hire someone by Jan. 17, but that could change depending on the pool of candidates received.

Over the next three weeks, ULA staff will be reviewing candidates to be presented to the ULA board. That process is expected to last until at least Dec. 8 but could be extended if the pool of applicants isn’t deemed suitable. At that point, one option could be to hire a headhunter.

A headhunter, who would find a qualified candidate for the position, would cost the ULA between $11,000 and $30,000. Such a step wouldn’t trigger a public hearing to discuss the spending of the money as it is already in the budget under the consulting services account, said Sam Braegger, ULA programs manager and interim executive director.

During the ULA board meeting last Friday, several board members expressed their concerns about hiring a headhunter, so the decision was tabled until they see the pool of candidates ULA receives without a headhunter.

Until the official executive director is hired, Braegger was appointed to the position in the interim at the ULA board meeting last Friday, though he will continue his current position as programs manager. He said he has not yet decided if he will apply to become the next executive director.

“Part of why we needed to have an interim executive director while our board and our staff are going through the hiring process of a new director is our director handles a variety of duties, including things as basic as payroll for our agency,” Braegger said.

In addition, the executive director helps to “guide the agency as a whole,” including seeking funding opportunities and working with state legislators and state agencies during the legislative session. Braegger will take over these duties until an official executive director is hired.

“As far as my objectives serving as interim executive director, my goal is to continue a smooth operation so that our staff and volunteers and partners can continue to operate over the holiday season. … I don’t have plans to introduce anything new or radical but continue to keep the ship steady as we bring on a new director and be able to provide direction and guidance and smooth that transition so that the agency can continue to grow and develop its resources, its partnerships and the lake as a wonderful public asset.”

In the midst of Ellis’ resignation, The Salt Lake Tribune published a story outlining two letters of support for a now-failed attempt to create artificial islands in the lake that he previously wrote and sent. The letters “showed he declared the Utah Lake Commission would provide millions of dollars to help Lake Restorations Solutions, or LRS, secure a federal loan for their project,” the Tribune reported.

This reportedly happened while he was operating the Utah Lake Commission, which was dissolved when the Utah Lake Authority was created in 2022. The change also resulted in turnover of many board members and a new statute written for the agency, Braegger explained.

Braegger said that writing letters of support is a common thing for an executive director of an agency to do. To his knowledge, Braegger said, “There was no established process that Eric violated in doing so. There was no clear bylaw or policy that was violated when he wrote those letters of support.”

However, the Tribune reported that many board members were not aware of the letters being sent and the financial commitment attached to them.

When the Utah Lake Commission was dissolved, Ellis transferred to the ULA as its executive director. Braegger said there are similarities between the two agencies, but they are also different, and with the hiring of the new executive director for ULA, “I think the board is very aware of the importance of providing good direction to the executive director. And I am sure that they will continue to provide oversight, as is their purpose in having those elected and appointed officials providing guidance to the agency moving forward,” he said.

Ellis notified the board of his resignation on Oct. 25 and his last day was Nov. 9.

Braegger added that before Ellis left, “We were able to discuss and make sure to hand over any duties that were existing, any outstanding projects that we have going on. We worked with our chair as well to ensure that there’s little to no effect on continuing work at the agency besides needing to appoint an interim (director) in order to function for the basic needs of payroll and such and fulfilling those roles.”

So I think the agency will continue to move forward,” he added. “There’s an optimistic future for it. I think this is a good opportunity for us to bring in someone with a lot of great potential and be able to help the lake.”

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