This position is the first point of contact for planning issues and coordinates applications with the Permit Coordinators.  The planner previously in this position left to be city planner in another community earlier this year.  The city recruited twice nationally and to the members of the Minnesota APA and interviewed applicants twice to fill this position.  During the second round, eight candidates were interviewed and Amanda Schwabe ranked the highest of all the candidates by the interview panel of five.

Amanda is currently a Senior Planner in Savage but lives in Shakopee.  She has more than twenty years of experience in both the public and private sector in planning and also economic development experience.  While she will be taking a pay reduction for this position, she wants to have a positive impact on the community that she resides in.  She holds a Masters in Urban Planning from Minnesota State University - Mankato and is eligible to take the AICP exam. She will not have a steep learning curve since she is already familiar with zoning interpretations and working with residents, builders and developers.  

As part of our succession planning, she is the perfect candidate since she has substantial experience and will be able to backfill other positions in the department as vacancies become available. She is excited to join the Shakopee team in July and the Planning Division will now be complete for the first time in more than eight months.