CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 COUNCIL CHAMBERS 211 WEST ASPEN 2:30 P.M. |
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1. |
Call to Order |
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2. | Roll Call
Others present: Interim City Manager Jeff Meilbeck and City Attorney Michelle D'Andrea |
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3. | Discussion / direction on City Manager recruitment process. |
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Human Resources Manager Shauna Fisher introduced Stuart Satow, the consultant who is working with the City to recruit a new City Manager. Mr. Satow provided a PowerPoint presentation (attached) which summarized what he had heard in feedback from Leadership, the Employee Advisory Committee (EAC) and the individual Council members. In referring to the slide that indicated the commonalities, Vice Mayor Barotz said that she did not feel it was appropriate to list an individual project but rather key issues since it was the job of a city manager to understand that the manager implements the policies adopted by the Council. Mayor Nabours suggested that they include wording that the city manager would have the opportunity to complete projects they now have in place, such as the USFS thinning, watershed project, Rio de Flag, Courthouse, etc. Mr. Satow said that he could get that list from staff. Vice Mayor Barotz said that she had visited the website for the consultant and viewed some of the other brochures. She said that she could see them being similar in speaking to their management style, but different in the category of specific skills and experience. Councilmember Oravits said that he was not as interested in addressing management style; he just wants someone that can get the job done. Vice Mayor Barotz said that they should be sensitive in ensuring they do not hire someone that will disempower their entire staff, but rather energize and empower the staff. Their management style matters. Vice Mayor Barotz said that the information she could relate to is the latter part and she would encourage him to make sure that the diverse opinions reflected by Leadership and the EAC are represented equally in the brochure. Mayor Nabours said that Mr. Satow has spent a few days getting input from various groups, and he asked him if he has gleaned from them that Flagstaff is looking for a city manager different from what Mesa, Arizona or Denver, Colorado might be looking for. Mr. Satow said that there are a lot of common themes, but there are things specific to Flagstaff that they need to communicate to candidates, such as it being in a growth phase and emerging into a midsize community with real city problems. Additionally, they would be working with a community that has differences of opinion and natural resources, with the potential for Mother Nature to affect their city due to natural disasters. Mr. Satow said that the first thing they will do is include information about the City and the area, identifying the amenities, and staff is helping them with that. He said that the second part is to provide information about the government. Then they will go into specifics about the position itself. Councilmember Putzova added that it should be a seasoned professional and seasoned manager. She is not interested in just getting things done, but wants to know how they are going to get it done, building partnerships and empowering employees to do their jobs. She would also like to see a good outreach to women and minorities. Mr. Satow said that he would prepare the information and send a draft document for review before finalizing it. He then reviewed the proposed draft schedule, noting that interviews would be around the week of June 22, and as they get closer they will talk about how that process looks. Vice Mayor Barotz said that they should consider a subcommittee to travel to the community from where the applicant is coming and talk to both Council members and mid-level staff. Mr. Satow said that they would be looking to have someone in place by the middle of August. No public comment was received. |
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4. |
Adjournment |
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