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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Ad Hoc City Manager Selection Process Committee - 03/17/2022 -Ad Hoc City Manager Selection Process Committee Thursday, March 17, 2022 Meeting Minutes Members in attendance: Mayor Jeni Arndt; Councilmember Shirley Peel; Councilmember Susan Gutowsky; Teresa Roche, Human Resources; Carrie Daggett, City Attorney; Amy Resseguie, Senior Specialist Communications and Public Involvement; Melanie Clark, Executive Administrative Assistant Public in attendance: Charles A meeting of the City Council Ad Hoc City Manager Selection Process Committee (“Committee”) was held on Thursday, March 17, virtually through a Zoom webinar. Agenda •Call Meeting to Order •Approve Minutes from January 24, 2022, February 18, 2022, and March 3, 2022 •Discussion Items: Debrief “Virtual Monday” and Preview Onsite Schedule •Adjournment Next Meeting: TBD Meeting started at 3:04 p.m. Teresa Roche called roll. Councilmember moved to approve all minutes. Councilmember Peel seconded the motion. Teresa provided an update on virtual Monday with the finalists. There were two interview panels. Teresa hosted one and Kyle Stannert hosted the other. Panelists were deeply honored to participate. Councilmember Gutowsky wanted to know how many questions were asked. Finalists were asked eight questions per panel. Teresa is working on creating a summary to provide to Council that will include the direct quotes from the panelists. Teresa plans to submit questions to Council that community members have suggested they ask the finalists as follow up from the panel interviews and the two forums. There were about 350 employees who joined the employee forum and more that may have watched the recording. Many community members joined the community forum, about 80 online and then 320 more on YouTube with 40 views using the Spanish interpretation. Teresa wanted to know if the Committee wants the raw data of feedback submitted by staff and Community members or if they wanted a summary. Councilmember Gutowsky would like a summary. Mayor Arndt and Councilmember Peel would like the raw data. Teresa will send forum feedback as is to Council. Councilmember Gutowsky would like to have copies of the recorded forums. Mayor Arndt received great compliments about the search. Mark McDaniel received feedback from the candidates about the rigorous process. Finalists are anxious to get to the interview process. Mayor Arndt has heard some concerns from panelists about a couple of the candidates. Mark explained that the Council wanted to include non-traditional candidates. Councilmember Peel wanted to know if the media deep dives will be discussed. Teresa will follow up with Councilmembers individually to discuss the media searches and background checks. Teresa received feedback from community members who were upset about their questions not being asked as well as concerns about diversity. Teresa has been responding to every email received. Teresa let the committee know that the reception will be posted as a public meeting. She asked if the Committee would like for us to do anything to make invited guests feel special. Mayor Arndt suggested having printed name tags for invited guests. Councilmember Gutowsky wanted to know how to plan for not knowing how many guests might show up. Teresa shared that staff has experience with these events and feels comfortable that the number who attend can still be accommodated. Councilmember Gutowsky questioned how guests will be able to maximize their time at the reception. Teresa suggested that the finalists station themselves. Mark agrees that it would be easier for them to be stationary and that they will be experienced in this type of situation. Councilmember Gutowsky was concerned that one person’s time might be monopolized and wondered how the finalists will handle the situation. Mayor Arndt explained that this is part of the process for the Council to observe how the finalists react and handle these social situations. Teresa shared that after the reception Council will move into another room to have dinner with the finalists. Councilmember Peel wanted to know if the finalist’s spouses are invited. Teresa shared that Councilmember spouses and finalist spouses are invited to the reception. Teresa shared that on Friday, March 26 Council will have 2x1 coffees with the finalists, but Mayor will always be on her own. Teresa had asked the Committee previously if they wanted any predetermined questions for the coffees and they had indicated they did not. Mayor Arndt would like to have a reminder for the Council on the types of questions they should not ask. Teresa will prepare a guide to provide this information. Teresa went over the City Tour that was set up for finalists and shared that two of the candidates will also be having a tour with The Group. Mark is encouraging the finalists to look at all parts of the city and surrounding areas while they are here. Teresa went over the schedule and design for the Special Council meetings. The Saturday afternoon session is for Council to discuss and debrief the finalists. One Councilmember has indicated they may not want to choose one finalist and may want to choose two and have the Contract negotiators, negotiate with two candidates. Mayor Arndt questioned if it was standard practice to negotiate with two different candidates. This does not seem fair to her. Mark and Teresa shared that there is also a concern about the length of the process and more candidates dropping out should the timeline be extended. If Council is not ready to act on Saturday, March 26, Council could have a backup meeting after the Library Meeting on March 29 at 7:15 p.m. Mark will find out what the contract expectations are for the finalist and bring the information back. A resolution to appoint and an ordinance to set the salary of the new City Manager would take place on April 19. Mayor Arndt questioned if there were scheduled 1x1s with Teresa or if she will be calling. Teresa will schedule time with each Councilmember to review the media searches and background checks and respond to any other questions they may have. Mark shared feedback from the finalists and how appreciative they are for all of the outreach, scheduling, and checking in. The Committee shared appreciation for Teresa, Melanie and Mark, and his team. Meeting adjourned at 3:57 p.m. THIS WAS THE LAST MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE. THEREFORE THE MINUTES HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED AND REMAIN IN DRAFT FORM.