Elected officials surprised by Plale’s departure

TAGS: Jeff Plale, Fred Risser, Dean Kaufert, Dale Schultz, Carla Vigue, DOA, state facilities, building commission, Department of Administration, position, commissioner, railroad, appointment, Scott Walker

CQ: Jeff Plale; state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison; state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah; state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center; Carla Vigue, DOA spokeswoman;

NOTE: page 1, second priority

JUMP HED: Senator: Vacant role requires political know-how

SLUG: Departure

HED: Elected officials surprised by Plale’s departure
DECK: Former senator leaves DOA role for commissioner of railroads appointment

Adam Wise
[email protected]

Wisconsin representatives expressed surprise Wednesday in the wake of Jeff Plale’s announcement that he is abandoning his post as state facilities administrator less than a year after assuming the role.
As a former senator and longtime member of the state Building Commission, Plale seemed like a perfect fit for the facilities job, said state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison.
“He had the background and knowledge to help him out in the field,” Risser said. “And it’s one of the most important positions in the state because state facilities — we have billions of dollars invested in state facilities and maintaining them is a major activity of the state.
“It certainly involves dealing with an awful lot of money.”
Plale’s new role as state commissioner of railroads will pay $1 more a year than his $90,000-a-year position as state facilities administrator. The commissioner post is a six-year appointment from Gov. Scott Walker.
Carla Vigue, Department of Administration spokeswoman, said she expected Plale’s position to be filled within days.
Plale, who did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday, lost his bid for state Senate re-election last year. He was appointed to the facilities job in January.
The Building Commission, comprised of three state senators and representatives and one citizen member, meets monthly to act on building project proposals from a variety of state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System. During his time as state facilities administrator, Plale also served as secretary to the Building Commission.
Vice chairman of the commission, state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said the biggest challenge facing Plale’s successor was helping determine the best way for the state to deliver its building projects while remaining an open government.
“There’s so many ways: design-build, construction manager, single prime, multiple prime,” Kaufert said. “The committee, the department and the governor have been struggling with this for some time now, while still needing transparency in the process.”
Most of all, he said, Plale’s replacement needs to be capable of overseeing a division of employees who “seem to be non-partisan.”
“I think you need someone with good management skills because there’s so much involved with the bidding, architectural, the engineering, the contracts and the bid process,” Kaufert said. “You need someone with the managerial experience and political know-how to get these things done.”
State Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, agreed that previous political experience should be a key requirement when Walker chooses Plale’s successor.
“I think it’s absolutely essential,” Schultz said, “because this is a critical interface between bureaucracy and the legislature.
“With legislative concerns, he helped explain things that made sense and allowed the process to move forward, because ultimately, we want to build buildings at a sufficient quality and competitive rate.”
Although the state facilities administrator works for the DOA, Risser said, the job can become political.
“I think it’s an advantage to have that experience,” he said, “because you do get pressured because you’re overseeing the state bidding and that becomes quite sensitive sometimes.”
Both Schultz and Kaufert said they did not know who would be taking Plale’s job.
Risser said he couldn’t speculate as to Walker’s next move.
“I haven’t the slightest of the governor is thinking,” he said.

James Briggs contributed to this report.