An incoming Master Gardener coordinator for Blue Earth and Le Sueur counties is expected to start in February and will serve a quarter time in each county for a total of a half-time position.
The counties approved a memorandum of agreement with the University of Minnesota Extension Office to hire the new Master Gardener coordinator during a negotiation year for Extension.
Also in the fall came the departure of Shane Bugeja, who for seven years was an Extension educator serving the two counties and, in part, focused on their Master Gardener programs.
Now the Master Gardeners will be the new hire’s sole focus, said Christy Kallevig, Extension’s regional director. She said the job will be posted in January and hopefully filled in February.
An interim coordinator has filled Bugeja’s position since mid-September, she said.
Some Master Gardeners were upset when Bugeja left, thinking they’d lose Extension office support. But the new half-time hire will focus all of their time on Master Gardeners, compared with Bugeja dividing his time between varying agriculture and natural resources demands.
“We’re in a wait-and-see mode,” said Master Gardener Joyce Wilcox, of North Mankato, “to see who is hired and what kind of direction they’re going to offer us.”
“I’m feeling good,” Kallevig said. “We’ll be able to continue supporting the excellent volunteers in each county. Their Master Gardener programs are robust and I’m glad we’ll be able to provide support.”
There was a kerfuffle when Bugeja left, with him emailing Master Gardeners that he was leaving for a new job at a time when Blue Earth and Le Sueur counties were eliminating his position. County staffers and Kallevig said his position hadn’t been eliminated but, in the meantime, some Master Gardeners in the area were upset about Bugeja’s news.
In the end, Bugeja departed Extension for a new job, and an interim person took his role.