Kiffi Summa, LWV Observer
All Councilors were present; the Agenda was approved.
This was the second Special Council Meeting of the day, the 8 AM version being the interviews for the position of Interim City Administrator, with tonight's follow-up meeting being the Council's decision process and selection of their preferred candidate.
The two Agenda items were: 1. Select Interim City Administrator, and 2. Approve contract for Interim City Administrator.
Mayor Rossing began the meeting by stating the two agenda items; Councilor Pokorney then asked for clarification on the structure of the discussion, i.e., "may we speak with 'freedom' now, use names, etc.?"
Elizabeth Wheeler, Human Resources Director, assured the councilor that the discussion could be more informal, now that the names were public and the interviews concluded.
Mayor Rossing then asked for "general comments" from the councilors.
After many such 'general comments' about the four candidates, their qualifications and how they 'fit the bill', Councilor Buckheit focussed the conversation by asking that they think about the 'bill' that was needed to be filled.
Two candidates rose to the top in the more specific discussion, and the Council all seemed to prefer Tim Madigan, the former City Administrator in Faribault.
Councilor Pownell made a Motion to approve Mr. Madigan, Councilor Vohs seconded the motion, and the Vote was unanimous to approve his selection for the position of Interim City Administrator.
The discussion then moved to the employment contract, which has been reviewed by City Attorney Chris Hood, with Ms. Wheeler informing the Council that during the application and interview process she had discussed contract parameters with all the candidates, as the timeline was pressing. The Council wants the interim person to have an overlap of at least two weeks with departing City Administrator, Joel Walinski.
All of the candidates fell into a close range as far as desired salary; one who had preferred a higher salary becoming more closely aligned through his not wanting the city's offered family health benefits, which Ms. Wheeler stated would amount to about 14K. The selected candidate would qualify for a Step 8 position in the City's state mandated Pay Plan System, which allows pay of $104,212. 00 for an interim administrator.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the form of the employment contract; approved by unanimous vote.
Ms. Wheeler then informed the Council that after a resolution at the 8/17 Council meeting to finalize the hiring by the signing of the employment contract, this process would be completed.
Mayor Rossing suggested that any Councilors who had reports might wish to give them as that was not done at the end of the very lengthy previous 8/3. meeting.
A few reports were given,and then the Mayor reminded everyone to vote, and wanted to "wish our councilors good luck!".
The meeting adjourned at 7:59 PM.
***NOTE: At the 8.09 morning session, the observer found it unusual that there was no audio, no video, no live-streamed broadcast, and no minutes taker, as well as no separate packet for that meeting. All of these seemed to leave a 'hole' in the Public Record.
When asking that question at the evening session, it was said that Ms. Wheeler, the Human Resources Director who was taking notes on the interviews, would be the official note taker for that meeting. Within Ms. Wheeler's job requirements for a series of employment interviews, that would seem to be a very different focus, but it was stated that her notes would provide minutes for that meeting.
