HomeMy WebLinkAbout04242023 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 24, 2023 Volume 42,Page 289
CALL TO ORDER
The April 24, 2023 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:30
p.m. by Mayor McClure.
OPENING CEREMONY
Deputy Police Chief Karl Schaefermeyer led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Sue McClure, presiding and
John Osenga Liz DeMoss
Mike Calhoon Randy Wells
Kevin Finch Robert Barnwell
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Janette Bower, City Manager
Brenda Ballou, City Clerk
Excused—None
Absent—None
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
Norm Regis, outside the city, thought that GovHR did a great job last time they did city
manager hiring. He recommended council look hard inside the state of Alaska.
Lynda Paquette, outside the city, said the city had used GovHR in the past, and one thing
she thought was really important was who the candidates knew in the community prior to
interviewing them.She thought it was important to have transparency;if a candidate knew people in
the community there may be undue influence.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (DeMoss/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
There were no consent agenda items.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 24, 2023 Volume 42,Page 290
Presentations
GovHR Presentation by Mary Jacobs And City Council Discussion Regarding City
Manager Recruitment Services.
DeMoss asked if the advertising would be done nationwide or just in Alaska.Jacobs said the
advertising would be done nationwide,but would also pay attention to certain target areas,including
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
DeMoss wondered if GovHR would also be able to advertise for a finance director as well.
Jacobs said she could advise the city to use Linkedln and to post on free recruiting sites. Jacobs
added that Seward was not the only community struggling to recruit a finance director.
NEW BUSINESS
Resolutions
Resolution 2023-046,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Recruitment Services
Contract With GovHR,And Appropriating Funds.
Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approval of Resolution 2023-046
Finch wondered what services the Alaska Municipal League(AML)could provide. Bower
said AML could advertise,but could not offer screening services or background checks; the city's
insurance company,AML/JIA,could perform the background checks.Finch wondered if it would be
prudent to try AML for four weeks before contracting with GovHR.
Wells wondered if there was city staff available to handle the application process. Human
Resources Manager Tammy Nickell said she would be responsible for the process.
Osenga said the advantage to using GovHR was that they would screen the applications and
narrow down the best candidates to present to council. He wished to cast the widest net possible,
which meant advertising nationally.
Calhoon was in favor of the city doing the recruitment for 30 days;he was willing to put in
extra work as necessary.
Motion to Postpone (DeMoss/Calhoon) Postpone Resolution 2023-046 until the first
meeting in June to allow for a city
recruitment period.
DeMoss said she wanted to see what applications came in, use AML/JIA for background
checks, and have council review all the applications.
In response to Calhoon, Jacobs said the GovHR proposal would be good for six months.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 24, 2023 Volume 42,Page 291
Motion to Postpone Passed Yes: Wells, DeMoss, Barnwell, Calhoon,
Finch,McClure
No: Osenga
McClure said this resolution would come back to council on June 12, 2023.
By unanimous consent, council scheduled a special meeting on April 27, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. to
review HR's draft city manager recruitment materials.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Lynda Paquette, outside the city, thought this was a wise decision for council to make,
given that the election was coming next week and one of the items on the ballot was to expand the
boundaries for city manager residency.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSES TO CITIZEN
COMMENTS
Barnwell was excited about this process; he thought trying to hire an Alaskan was a good
approach.
Wells thanked GovHR for the presentation tonight. He also appreciated the suggestion to
conduct a city recruitment.
DeMoss was also excited to focus on Alaskans and to try a city recruitment. She thought
word of mouth could be effective.
Finch appreciated the GovHR presentation. He was willing to put in the time to do a
recruitment.
Calhoon was happy to try something different.
Osenga thanked GovHR for the presentation.
McClure said this was not the first city council to hire a city manager on their own.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
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