Staff
The Sweet Home City Council on Wednesday, May 18, hired Christy Wurster of Albany to serve as city manager pro tem.
The council hired Wurster after considering six candidates in special meetings Tuesday (May 17) and Wednesday (May 18).
Other candidates included William Lee, who had been a city manager in Kake, Alaska. He also previously served as a city administrator, recorder and manager in Lowell and Oakland. He served as an interim manager in Wheeler and had been a code enforcement officer, grant writer and community services worker coordinator.
The council also considered local residents Aaron Pye, Shawn Anderson and Dave Holley. Aaron Pye has previously run for City Council, and he is a volunteer with the Sweet Home Gleaners. Anderson owns Shawn Anderson Auto Body. Holley has served as mayor and been a member of the city Budget Committee off and on ever since.
Adams is the city’s Public Works director.
“We had a lot of very good applicants that have come before council, and we had some citizens that came before council,” said Councilor Greg Mahler. “I actually have to applaud some of the citizens that came before council because their passion for the community is very commendable. They have a lot of the same visions that I think we, as a council, have.”
Mahler said Holley would be “very qualified,” and Adams does an excellent job as Public Works director, but he didn’t want to pull him away from his strengths.
“Looking at all the applicants as a whole, I think the applicant that stood out for me based on qualifications, what the individual could bring to our community, the experience, the total package, I feel that Christy Wurster was the best candidate that came before council,” Mahler said.
Councilor Jeff Goodwin said that Adams would cost the least while he has the most experience with the city organization.
“People know him,” Goodwin said. “People work with him, and actually, frankly, an awful lot of our personnel report to him. It makes sense to me, I understand that people may want to choose a different path because of concerns about time, whether that’s too much for him; but that’s my preference.
“I could also see hiring Mrs. Wurster. She certainly seems very qualified. I guess I could support either path, depending on what the will of the council is.”
Adams told the council that he would have to use someone from Public Works to help supervise maintenance.
Total cost for using Adams would have been about $1,167 per month.
Wurster will cost the city about $3,300 per month.
Councilor Ryan Underwood concurred with Mahler’s points.
“Right now I think it is in the city’s best interest or in the council’s best interest to go forward with Mrs. Wurster as well.”
Councilor Bruce Hobbs recognized Adams’ qualifications to be city manager, but noted that he doesn’t have experience searching for a permanent city manager.
“For me, I am quite conflicted,” Hobbs said. “(Wurster) has an excellent resume. She would serve us quite well.”
But he is concerned about the difference in cost.
Goodwin said he was concerned about the time requirements in getting an outside person up to speed.
“By the time they figure out what they’re doing, get to know the people, they’ll be done,” he said. “This is not a long-term job. I just think it’s a mistake to spend the extra money to get somebody that’s not familiar with the city, that’s not part of the system.”
Trask noted that Wurster has previous experience doing what Sweet Home needs.
“With her background in helping select a city manager, I think that’s very important,” he said. “I think it was the best choice for us. The process we’re going to have to go through I think it was absolutely the best choice.”
Wurster has done this for “three or four cities, and to me I’m not saying Mike could not do the job,” Trask added. “:I just think to find a new city manager pro tem, it would be way more difficult for him to do than it would be for her to do. She’s done it many, many times. To me, it would be worth the extra expense if we’re going to drag this out for six months or something to do that.”
Goodwin agreed that Wurster was the best outside candidate.
“My objection is I think it’s a mistake to hire someone from outside the city for all that expense to bring someone in like I said that has not been a day-to-day manager in the city,” he said.
The council voted 7-0 to hire Wurster.
Present were Mahler, Goodwin, Underwood, Trask, Hobbs, James Goble and Mayor Jim Gourley.
Wurster will generally work two days per week, including City Council meetings the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. The hours will be flexible if necessary. She will receive $45 per hour.
Since 2013, Wurster has served as interim city administrator in Fairview, an interim budget director in Creswell, an assistant to the city manager in Salem. From 2009 to 2013, she was city manager in Dayton, and from 1995 to 2009, she was assistant Public Works director in Dallas.
She earned her master’s of public administration with a specialization in local government in 2003 from Portland State University. She earned a bachelor of science degree in business, management and communications, from Western Baptist College (now Corban University) in Salem. She earned an associate of science degree from Chemeketa Community College in Salem in 1998.
Wurster said she understands that “my primary responsibility is going to be to help the council in the search for a city manager.”
During her interview with the council she mentioned that city staff will likely be nervous about changes following the resignation of a long-term city manager.
In addition to helping with the city manager search, she said, she can help smooth the transition.
“I feel like I’m really approachable,” Wurster said. “I’m fair in dealing with employees. What’s hard for staff, they’re used to things being done in a certain way.”
What happens going forward is an unknown for them, she said.
“This council has indicated they want to move in a different direction,” Wurster said, and she will focus on developing that direction as the council moves forward.
The council has a number of projects coming up that will be interesting to prospective city managers, and she will work with the council to tailor the recruitment process.
Among them, the council is looking at replacing or moving City Hall. The city also is involved in a the All-Lands Collaborative and community forest, which includes a trail system from Sweet Home to the Sweet Home Ranger District.
The council also wants to begin a strategic planning process this year, she said.
At this point, Wurster is looking forward to getting into the community and getting up to speed on what the issues are in the community and what the community and council expect, she said. That’s the fun part of the job.
Wurster and her husband, Todd Wurster, are developing a hazelnut orchard in the Albany area. He is a 1985 graduate of Sweet Home High School and is employed as a mechanical engineer at Hollingsworth and Vose, a glass fiber manufacturer, in Corvallis.
Sweet Home is important to her and her family, she said.
“I feel really good. I’m excited about the opportunities.”