INGALLS — To help prepare for the inevitable growth of the town, Ingalls has hired Neil Stevenson as its new director of planning and development.
Stevenson has spent the past 12 years as a regional planner with Madison County Council of Governments (MCCOG), a regional planning organization funded in part by Pendleton, Anderson, Alexandria, Anderson, Daleville and Elwood, as well as Madison County.
He has worked with Ingalls through MCCOG on previous projects and is scheduled to begin his new position with the town on May 17.
The position is new not only to Stevenson but also to Ingalls.
“It’s essentially taking the place of having an official town manager,” Ingalls town council president Scot Lawyer said. “It’s handling a lot of those same duties. In the past, previous town managers have been responsible for the street department. They’ve been responsible for the planning. They’ve had so many hats to wear.
“It’s why a street department supervisor (Carl Marlett) was hired. It was too much for one person to handle for as big as we’ve grown. This kind of movement in this direction is taking a lot of those duties and spreading them out so we’re handling everything the way we should be.”
Lawyer said among Stevenson’s responsibilities along with the planning and developing of the town’s growth, will be looking at getting Ingalls up to date on building codes, permit fees and its UDO (Unified Development Ordinance).
“He’s going to be involved in so many things, spearheading a lot of things that we haven’t done up to this point,” Lawyer said.
Working with Ingalls is nothing new for Stevenson. MCCOG has been on retainer with the town. Among his previous dealings, he was a consultant with the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals in 2019 that denied Newco Metals expanding its business to include what was perceived as a smelting plant.

MCCOG’s main goal, outlined on its website (see related note at right), is “to increase communication, cooperation, and coordination among local governments in planning and implementing programs to meet mutual challenges and problems.”
Stevenson, with his position at MCCOG, has been able to advise a lot of the county’s smaller communities that did not have a full-time planning staff. He now looks forward to focusing his attention to one town and leading it to positive growth.
“For me the biggest thing is my interest in being able to assist the community full time,” Stevenson said. “I feel the town of Ingalls needs someone there full time, especially with the type of growth they’re going to be seeing here in the next few years.
“They’re already kind of seeing it as it is, especially out by Exit 214, but it also aligns with my interests in being able to see positive change in the community and being a driver for that change.”
Stevenson said at MCCOG he was able to help several communities but doing smaller things. This new position will help him have that larger impact he has been looking for.
Already having a working relationship should help with the Stevenson’s transition. He likes where the town is headed and wants to be a part of it.
“Having the team that (Scot Lawyer) has put together made it a little easier to jump on board,” Stevenson said. “You can see that everyone is working in the best interest of the community.”
For starters, Stevenson said he plans to update ordinances, make amendments to the UDO and start a planning department.
He said he also will seek out grants for the town to help fund community projects.
“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity,” Stevenson said. “There’s going to be a lot of growth coming that direction, and it’s already happening at Exit 214. I look forward to be a part of improving the quality of life and creating that quality place, Ingalls, and working with the town council and planning commission. It’s going to be fun.”

About Madison County Council of Governments
The prime purpose of the Council of Governments is to increase communication, cooperation, and coordination among local governments in planning and implementing programs to meet mutual challenges and problems. Each local government has the opportunity for involvement in policy making and programming of MCCOG.
The Council of Governments is advisory in nature and lacks the normal governmental powers of taxation, regulation, and operation of public facilities. Instead, its purpose is to provide a forum for dialogue and joint decision-making within a regional context. MCCOG has no direct power to implement these decisions. We must rely on the representatives of local governments to see that these decisions become a reality.
Source:www.mccog.net