Officials with the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) say plans are under way to begin the search for a new executive director.Steve Etcher, who was led the multi-jurisdictional agency since 1992, recently announced he was leaving the organization after 24 years to become the vice president of CommunityEDGE, a private consulting firm based out of St. Charles that specializes in economic development.Etcher’s last day with the BRPC will be July 31.The BRPC Board of Directors met July 1 to talk about how to proceed with regard to filling Etcher’s position.“We discussed what we will do as far as starting the ball rolling,” commented Murray Bruer, Truesdale mayor and chairman of the BRPC board of directors.He added that proposals for consulting services were sought, and two submissions were presented.The candidates to assist the BRPC with its search are Jim Youngquist from the University of Arkansas and CommunityEDGE. Bruer said the board will announce its selection at a meeting July 18.The consultant will assist the BRPC board as it establishes guidelines for the executive director search and what qualifications the board will be seeking from candidates. Additionally, a time line for the search also will be set.“We anticipate it will take three to six months to accomplish the search,” Bruer stated.“We could be surprised and fill the position sooner, but we’re going at it in a pretty good fashion,” he added. “We just want to be sure we don’t rush into anything.“Steve has set a foundation and built a company of fantastic people doing an outstanding job,” Bruer said. “We want to continue that, so we have to make sure we can find somebody who can handle that.”Bruer added that the entire executive committee is “on the same page. Everybody is really serious about this. We’re not rushing into anything.”In the interim, BRPC Program Coordinator Chuck Eichmeyer will serve as executive director while the search for Etcher’s replacement is conducted.Budget SetDuring the meeting, the board also discussed the BRPC’s budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.“We had to get that done, because the fiscal year was about to begin, and with Steve’s input, we accomplished that,” Bruer remarked.