Council to choose city manager finalists Thursday

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 25, 2021

The search for Sequim’s next city manager continues Thursday, Aug. 26, as city councilors consider how many candidates advance to in-person interviews this September.

City staff confirmed each councilor earlier this month received packets about seven candidates selected by consulting agency Colin Baenziger & Associates, from an initial list of 40 candidates.

Emily Stednick, the City of Sequim’s human resources director, said councilors will decide how many candidates make the short list of finalists.

Councilors meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, via Zoom at zoom.us/j/91235464249. The public can view the meeting on Zoom or attend by calling 253-215-8782 (meeting ID number 912 3546 4249).

Prior to an executive session, councilors will discuss their desired process for candidate selections with Baenziger.

Councilor Keith Larkin, who was selected as the council liaison to the firm, said there isn’t a predetermined number of finalists they’ve set, and that Baenziger will have suggestions on how to narrow the choices down as a group.

Stednick said she expects the short-listed finalists to be announced at the end of Thursday’s virtual meeting.

Larkin said last week he was still reviewing the packages but felt they were “very comprehensive with a significant amount of information.”

He said, “I feel good about the quality of candidates from what I’ve seen so far.”

At previous meetings, deputy mayor Tom Ferrell unsuccessfully attempted to move the city manager finalist meeting to a later date because of to its proximity to the November election; he asked for a motion to require a two-thirds majority, rather than simple majority, for hiring and/or firing a city manager to more unify the council.

As for the candidate pool, Ferrell said “there’s a lot of experience in there” and he felt it was a good pool of candidates.

He said fhe’d like the council to use a point scoring system for top candidates.

Finalists

Once finalists are chosen, the city plans to host three days/nights of interviews and meet-and-greets with candidates Sept. 8-10, Larkin said.

Much is dependent on COVID-19 protocols, he added, with he and city staff working on virtual options.

Tentatively, the candidates will receive a tour of Sequim the night of Wednesday, Sept. 8, followed by a reception with city staff and possibly the city council.

The following day, each candidate is scheduled to interview one-on-one with each city council member. A community meet-and-greet could happen the eventing of Thursday, Sept. 9, Larkin said.

“There’s still a lot of discussion on how we’ll do that,” he said. “We’re concerned about COVID restrictions and how we’ll be able to format this type of meeting with some sort of virtual meeting for the public.”

On Friday, Sept. 10, there will be three separate panels of interviews including one with the entire city council, a portion of city staff leadership, and a community panel.

The community group includes: Charla Wright, board president of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Jane Pryne, superintendent for Sequim School District; Colleen McAleer, executive director Clallam County Economic Development Council; Loni Greninger, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s tribal council vice-chair, and Greg McCarry with Westerra Homes, representing the North Peninsula Building Association.

Search process

Seeking out a new Sequim city manager follows the call for former city manager Charlie Bush’s resignation in January. An agreed-upon press release between Bush and the city said the parting was over “philosophical differences,” but those differences have not been made clear.

Larkin, Mayor William Armacost and councilors Sarah Kincaid and Mike Pence voted for his resignation.

Baenziger’s team was hired by the city council in 2015 for a similar city manager search following the retirement of Steve Burkett; Bush was one of their finalists.

After Bush’s resignation, assistant city manager Charisse Deschenes was appointed interim city manager through August before councilors voted unanimously on July 26 to extend her contract and increase her salary until a permanent replacement is hired.

Baenziger’s manager search contract was agreed to on April 30 for $28,500.

For more about upcoming city meetings and events, visit sequimwa.gov.