A lot of changes

have taken place in recent months in Fayetteville's Planning Department,

but the volume of work stays consistent.

Every position

in the three-member department has been vacated since spring, the most

recent being former Planning Director Maurice Ungaro, who left last week

to work for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The office

had three planners until Senior Planner Todd Miller left in late spring

for a position in Florida, and planner Lynn Oliver assumed a similar post

in Alpharetta at about the same time.

Bibi Houssain

joined the department in the summer as a staff assistant, and Eldrige

Gunn has assumed the senior planner's role in the past few weeks. The

city continues to search for a planning director.

Don Easterbrook,

the city's director of engineering and developmental services, has taken

on more of a hands-on role in the department, although it has always been

under his authority.

While staff

may have changed in the Planning Department, the overall workload has

not. "It's stayed pretty heavy," said Easterbrook.

City officials

hope to find a replacement for Ungaro soon, and some interviews have already

been lined up, according to Easterbrook.

Meanwhile,

the city plans to stay with two planners and one administrative person,

since there is plenty of that type of work to be done, he added.

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