The Innsbrook Board of Trustees has hired Karen Denson as the new village clerk, following a months long search for a full time replacement.
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The Innsbrook Board of Trustees has hired Karen Denson as the new village clerk, following a months long search for a full time replacement.
Denson was officially sworn in to the position at the Jan. 14 meeting although she has been serving in the role on a trial basis since Dec. 10.
“In my opinion, and the opinion of others I’ve talked to, she has fit in quite well and she seems to be very interested in learning more about the clerk position and what those duties are,” said Board Chairman Dan Reuter.
Denson steps in to replace former clerk Jackie Kemp, who had been serving in a temporary capacity and will now work as the deputy clerk on a part time basis.
Denson has been a resident of the village for over a decade and worked for the homeowner’s association at the resort for some time before starting her current role. She also worked in an administrative role at the Charrette Creek Commons at the resort which includes the pool and fitness center.
“Someone reached out to me and said ‘hey, the village is not having luck finding somebody, and we know that you did a great job on the other side of the street keeping everybody organized and happy,’” said Denson.
She said she interviewed and grew interested in the position, although she acknowledged she still had plenty to learn.
While she officially started on Dec. 10 she described that as a probationary period before her official swearing in to feel out the position and see if she could handle the workload.
Denson acknowledged that the learning curve had been steep but she was growing more comfortable with the work and was confident she would be able to handle it moving forward.
“I had to become a notary really quick, because that’s something the village lacked,” said Denson. “The (candidate) filings, trying to get all of that to Warren County, we’ve got everything to Warren County so the election can move ahead as well.”
At the Jan. 14 meeting, she requested and received permission to attend a workshop for new municipal clerks provided by the Missouri Municipal League.
She said she has also been familiarizing herself with the village ordinances and permitting processes so she is able to help those coming to the village hall with questions.
Denson was also excited that they were going to open the village hall five days a week in the near future.
The village hall has only been open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays since the sudden departure of Ayala and her temporary replacement by Kemp. Denson said that while Kemp is staying on as deputy clerk that is temporary as well until a permanent replacement can be found.
“I work three days a week, she (Kemp) works three days a week and we meet in the middle on Wednesday just to make sure we touch base,” said Denson. “We haven’t changed our hours yet, but we’re working to hopefully be open five days a week.”
As she continues to learn, Denson said her priority in the role was maintaining channels of communication between residents and their elected officials to keep residents informed of what is happening in the village.
“I feel like my role here is communication, with getting the trustee’s word out, getting the public’s word to the trustees, I feel like we’re lacking some communication. So I feel like my biggest thing here is to communicate,” said Denson.