Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home City Council on Monday asked city staff to develop a selection process for an interim city manager and report back at the next regular City Council meeting.
The council can meet in a special session the following week to vet the candidates, said Councilor Greg Mahler.
The council met Monday night in a special session to consider selection of an interim city manager to serve while the council begins searching for a new permanent city manager.
Craig Martin, who had managed the city for 18 years, entered involuntary retirement on April 30 as part of a release agreement with the City Council.
The council chamber was filled with Sweet Home residents and staff members Monday evening. Ten audience members wanted to know what direction the city was headed in relation to Martin’s departure.
The agreement said, “A majority of the councilors have indicated the time is right for a change in management and executive direction of the city.”
They wanted to know what direction the city is headed without Martin, the difference between where the city was going and where it’s going now.
“If people are patient, I think you’ll see in due time what direction we’re going,” said Mahler, who was serving as mayor pro tem in the absence of Mayor Jim Gourley from the meeting. This meeting has a specific agenda, but if the individuals want to ask questions of the council, he suggested they return at next week’s regular meeting.
The council meets next at 7:30 p.m. on May 10 in the Jim Riggs Community Center, 880 18th Ave.
City Attorney Robert Snyder told the council that it has two options, to hire someone temporarily from the outside the organization or use a staff member.
“Can we use someone in house,” asked Councilor Jeff Goodwin.
Pat Gray, finance director, or Mike Adams, Public Works director, Snyder said.
Gray said she preferred a support role and did not want to serve as manager. Adams did not indicate his willingness during the meeting.
Mahler said Gourley had talked to former Mayor Tim McQueary. Snyder said McQueary declined.
Snyder said three candidates had submitted resumes, including Christy S. (Ellis) Wurster, Dale Shaddox and William Lee.
He had been given four other names of prospective interim managers, including Rick Lewis, Don Otterman, Larry Lehman and Sarah Jo Chaplen, he said. They all have city or state government experience in executive capacities.
Of those who submitted resumes, Wurster was at the council meeting and introduced herself. According to her resume, she has served as interim city administrator in Fairview, interim budget director in Creswell and assistant to the city manager and franchise administrator for Salem. She also was city manager in Dayton and assistant public works director in Dallas.
She is an Albany resident.
According to his resume, Shaddox has been interim city manager and administrator in Gold Hill, Myrtle Creek, Talent, Newport and Shady Cove. He has been a city manager in Brookings and Phoenix.
Lee has been city administrator, record and manager in Lowell, Oakland and a city outside of Oreogn. He served as interim manager in Wheeler and has been a code enforcement officer, grant writer and community services worker coordinator.
In a second round of questioning from the audience, this one concerning the process for hiring an interim manager, Larry Angland, a Sweet Home resident, asked why the council didn’t leave the man who was in the office where he was to help hire a replacement he could have trained.
When no one answered Angland, Shawn Anderson, also a Sweet Home resident and a business owner, asked why the council just dropped Angland’s question like a hot rock.
“You have a lot of people showing up, a lot of people questioning what’s going on because things weren’t considered,” said Theresa Brown, a Sweet Home resident. The current city manager wasn’t able to take the city in the direction it was gong. That assumes the council knows where Sweet Home is going. The people of Sweet Home don’t know yet. Knowing where the city is going is mandatory before talking about who the council has fill in the city manager’s position.
Those questions will be handled at the next meeting as discussed at the beginning of Monday’s meeting, Snyder said, the other discussion now is how to proceed with a city manager pro tem for the next four to six months.
According to a guide for recruiting city managers submitted to the council by Snyder, he said, it is wise to put off making major decisions during an interim management period. The point is just to have someone there who can take charge and go to meetings and hold it until the council can pick the city manager it wants.
“But that sounds like you’re just coming up with this, Mr. Snyder, now,” Brown said. “Wasn’t that considered before the decision to change city managers?”
“This is a process,” Snyder said.
“We need to stop the interruptions so we can conduct the city business,” Goodwin said making a point of order.
However illogical it may be, Councilor Bruce Hobbs said, unfortunately, because of the way some things have unfolded, the order of the hiring process and the charter, this is the process the council must use.
“An interim is not someone who’s here for the long term to direct the city,” Hobbs said. “They’re to deal with the day-to-day functions until we can hire a new city manager. Part of that hiring a new city manager is setting out the parameters to make it clear and concise what the things are.”
“But you didn’t have that?” Brown asked.
Once again that’s part of the process, which is still going, Hobbs said.
The process that initiated this process is the city manager leaving, and that’s the question everybody wants answered, Anderson said.
The conversation with the audience ended as Goodwin said that the council needs to decide whether it wants to hire a pro tem or city staff.
Mahler said the mayor talked to former Mayor Tim McQueary.
Snyder talked to him, Snyder said, and he declined.
The council has several applicants and might have a special meeting to interview them and see which one the council feels would do a good job, Mahler said.
“I would like to have some sort of a process where we can interview these people or at least talk to them and know who the heck they are so we can get some sort of an idea of where we want to go,” said Councilor Dave Trask. “And we should do that as soon as possible.”
Martin has offered to help for a period of time to help with the transition, Trask said.
The council voted 6-0 to direct staff to develop a process and present it to the council at its next meeting, May 10, with interviews to follow in a special meeting the following week.
Present were Mahler, Hobbs, Trask, Goodwin, James Goble and Ryan Underwood. Gourley was absent.
In other business, the council appointed Dave Holley to the Budget Committee. The committee has two open positions remaining. Call (541) 367-8969 for further information or to apply.