An advisory committee appointed by the Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury is wasting no time in its search for a parish administrator.

The committee is in the process now of mowing forward with getting the information out to solicit individuals to apply and what method they will use to let others know how they can apply, according to Ronnie Petree, who serves as moderator for the group.

At a meeting this week, the committee began creating a draft to advertise for the position in newspapers across the state and online job posting sites.

The committee hopes to begin advertising for the position by February with application deadlines set for mid-March. The committee hopes to review the applications, interview applicants and recommend finalists to the Police Jury by May.

“I think that the administrator position is going to be vital for Jeff Davis Parish,” Committee Chairperson Kendal Henry said.

The parish has never had a single person overseeing the daily activities of the parish government, including its employees and various service boards.

“We’ve never had a parish administrator before, but what this is going to do, it is going to centralize and put a person in charge,” Henry said. “Everybody has been on a volunteer basis, but this is going to be his task at hand. He’s going to be tasked with the process of making sure everybody is doing their jobs in a timely manner and moving the ball forward.”

In a suggested advertisement, the group said the administrator will be tasked with optimizing the parish government, managing parish government employees, identifying and capitalizing on growth opportunities and economic development and serve as the liaison between parish government, local communities and the state.

Henry said Jeff Davis Parish is an “underdeveloped parish” with great potential.

“There is so much potential for economic development, especially the Lacassine area,” she said. “There are just so many amenities to offer in terms of the rail, the interstate and access to the ports, for them to go in and develop. They have so much potential to grow this parish, get their start and be a shining star.”

Police Jury President Steve Eastman, who serves as an ex-officio member, hopes the job will be attractive to lots of people and draw interest from throughout the state.

“Hopefully we have 10-15 applicants and 12 good ones and not 10-15 applicants and only one good one,” Eastman said.

Committee Vice Chairman Mark Pousson said he has already received some inquiries about the position.