Board members of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority on Thursday voted to begin looking for a new executive director.

But before they do, they also voted to figure out what they are looking for.

In replacing outgoing director David Hixson, the seven member board agreed to start from scratch.

In the next few months, board members will discuss what skills, experience and education a new executive director should possess. They will also consider what they want that person to do. A new job description will be drafted and salary range set.

And, while the board figures it out, Chairman Arthur Morris will pay the price, or rather, won't be paid.

Morris agreed Thursday to fulfill the director's duties without pay during what's expected to be a four-month search.

"It's a lot of work," Morris acknowledged, expecting that it will be his full-time job after Hixson leaves at the end of this month. "I will fill the gap as necessary and try to fill the duties."

Morris has served since June as chairman of the board, which is charged with constructing the meeting center at South Queen and East Vine streets. The center will be attached to a 300-room Marriott Hotel on the site of the former Watt & Shand department store. The combined $170 million project is under construction. It is slated to open in spring of 2009.

Morris is also a former Lancaster City mayor and engineer. He has his own engineering consulting business.

"I'm dealing with that," Morris said of placing his business on hold. "I've got a partner and I've got understanding clients."

Along with voting to accept Morris' service, board members also voted to amend a contract with Tom Ecker, of Millersville, as a human resources consultant. Ecker will conduct the search for Hixson's replacement.

In a proposed timeline presented to board members, Ecker recommended a nationwide search beginning with newspaper advertisements as early as this weekend. The search was expected to take three months.

That timeline was rejected by board members who said they needed more time.

"I think we're rushing too fast when we don't know what we're looking for," said board member Laura Douglas.

Board member Deb Hall commented that they don't even have a job description for the position.

They could compile a listing of Hixson's duties, but that wouldn't really help, she said, because "it's a different project now."

With construction of the project well under way, the board will likely look for someone with experience operating a convention center.

"Individuals with experience may be looking for a new opportunity, or someone who has been an assistant may be ready to move up. Those would be good candidates," Ecker said of the search.

He recommended the position be advertised in trade publications and Internet Web sites for the conventions and meeting planning industry.

Ecker said the board's evaluation of the position will likely add at least a month to the search process.

Ecker is being paid between $1,500 and $3,000 for the initial search preparation. He will be paid $50 hourly for the balance of the work.

Hixson announced two weeks ago that he was resigning from the authority. He will reportedly become chief operating officer of The Cope Company, a commercial salt company in Manheim Township.

Hixson has held the executive director post for four years. He is paid an annual salary of $87,000.

The Convention Center Authority's partners in the project are the Lancaster City Redevelopment Authority, which owns the hotel site, and hotel developer Penn Square Partners. The limited partnership consists of general partners Penn Square General Corp., a High Industries affiliate, and Penn Square Ltd. LLC, an affiliate of Lancaster Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Lancaster New Era, Intelligencer Journal and Sunday News.