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Home My WebLink About04012019 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City ofSeward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes April 1,2019 Volume 40, Page 667 CALL TO ORDER The April 1, 2019 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor David Squires. OPENING CEREMONY Citizen Skip Reierson led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Squires presiding and Sue McClure Suzanne Towsley Jeremy Horn Sharyl Seese John Osenga Kelley Lane comprising a quorum of the Council; and Norm Regis,Acting City Manager Jessica Fogle,Deputy City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Skip Reierson said both city manager candidates were more than capable.He said he spoke with both candidates about difficult Human Resources decisions that they had to make in the past and they both had experienced these.He said Scott Meszaros had more city manager experience and hospital experiences,which he was impressed by.Reierson said he saw Erin Reinders as young and energetic and he felt like we would be taking a slight chance on her, which he wanted to do. Patrick Messmer thought that both candidates were very good choices. He said he gave a slight edge to Erin for being a current Alaskan resident. Carol Griswold read a letter from Bruce Jaffa endorsing Erin Reinders as the new city manager, which was presented as a laydown. Griswold said it was time for Seward to seize the opportunity to have a highly qualified woman as city manager. Lynda Paquette agreed that Erin Reinders would be a good choice for Seward. She suggested council utilize Scott Meszaros' grant writer experience and consider finding a position City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes April 1, 2019 Volume 40, Page 668 within the city for him, as well. Paquette updated everyone on Seward Civic Engagement by announcing April meetings were scheduled for April 3 and April 19, 2019. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Towsley) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous There were no consent agenda items. NEW BUSINESS Choose the candidate for the permanent city manager position. Lane thanked council, the clerk's office, and Steve Veitch with GovHR for arranging this process. She felt that council had succeeded in having a more educated vote. Squires wanted to thank both candidates for coming to Seward to go through the interview process and meet with the public. He had concerns about both candidates and wished that he could combine the strengths from both candidates into one. Deputy City Clerk Jessica Fogle passed out Ballot#1 containing the names of the two city manager applicants, and instructed council to vote for no more than one name. The results of the first vote were: Reinders 7 Meszaros 0 Council unanimously selected Erin Reinders as the new City Manager. Select a negotiating committee. Council Members Towsley and Horn, and Mayor Squires were selected for the negotiating committee. COUNCIL COMMENTS McClure said that she voted with the public tonight. It was a hard decision but she hoped it turned out well and the negotiations worked out. She thanked the public for attending the special council meeting. Towsley said this process took a lot of time but it was a very important decision that would affect future councils. She was happy to cast her vote for Erin Reinders,who she thought would do a City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes April 1,2019 Volume 40, Page 669 great job. She wanted to keep Scott Meszaros in mind for any upper management positions that become available in the future. She said Reinders' Alaskan experience would serve Seward well. Horn said this was the most important vote he had to make in his two years on council. He was surprised that it was a unanimous vote and he felt like it could have gone either way.He thanked everyone who participated in this process. Seese said she voted for Reinders because she currently lived and worked in Alaska.She was concerned that Meszaros' family might not want to move to Alaska. She was surprised that it was a unanimous vote. Osenga apologized for not making it to the interviews but he said he watched them. He thanked Lynda Paquette for videoing the council meetings and the interviews. He believed that Reinder's Alaskan ties and the citizen comments had a lot to do with the unanimous vote. He said that he was originally looking at Scott Meszaros and it was a very close vote for him. Lane said Erin Reinders' emphasis on setting rules that are consistent with our community values spoke to her skills in clarifying and creating strategic plans. She appreciated Reinders' mention of looking to existing reports to gain information. She said Reinders' experience in coastal Alaska and her background in managing housing prepared her well for many of the challenges faced in Seward. Lane said she struggled all weekend deciding how to vote and she cast her vote tonight because of the public.She was excited and pleased with the outcome and hoped that Reinders would agree to come to Seward.She thanked council for re-establishing the relationship with South Korea, and she was excited to use this experience to honor Willard Dunham's legacy. Squires said he appreciated the comments he got from the citizens about the city manager hire all weekend. He hoped everything worked out and he was glad that council and the citizens made this decision together. CITIZEN COMMENTS Skip Reierson congratulated council on their selection for city manager.He said this was a turning point for this community and he looked forward to a fresh start.He reminded council that our new city manager would succeed based on how well we let her do her job. Matt Chase congratulated council on voting with the citizens as a team. He said we were taking positive steps forward and he wished council luck on negotiations. Lynda Paquette urged council not to wait too long to set up negotiations and reminded them that other people want Reinders,too. Kyle Walker asked for more detail on what would be discussed in executive session. Anthony Baclaan thanked council and city administration for their time. He was very excited about where we were headed and he was amazed that it was a unanimous vote. City ofSeward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes April 1, 2019 Volume 40, Page 670 COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Towsley said it was important to her that we did not end up with a giant severance packet and she wanted a clear conflict of interest clause and a clause about outside employment included in the new city manager contract. She said council would be discussing the negotiating strategies for the new city manager in executive session. Horn was glad that council was able to be transparent throughout this process.He agreed with Reierson that it was time to have a clean slate for the new city manager and move forward in a positive manner. Lane said former Interim City Manager Jeff Bridges emphasized using the framework of becoming a high performance organization the last time he spoke with council. She said that when she spoke with Reinders about using that model, she seemed familiar and open to it. Lane was excited about using this model. Regis said he spent a lot of time with both candidates last week and they were both great individuals.It was a hard decision. He said we came a long way from last year and he wanted to start with trust with the new city manager. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion (McClure/Towsley) Go into executive session to discuss negotiating strategies for the city manager hire. Motion Passed Unanimous Council went into executive session at 6:37 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 7:31 p.m. Council directed the clerk to contact Steve Veitch with GovHR to notify Meszaros of their selection and set up a time for Erin Reinders to meet with the negotiating committee, and to send thank you cards to both candidates. Council gave direction to the negotiating committee for parameters to stay within before coming back to council for final vote or other direction. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:44 p.m. 9_ea_d_-t•ce„_ 11111 WNW- Jessica Fogle .0;4 OF.SF/vq'•, Davi•-Squires N Deputy City Clerki•�G�.repilP°Rgj•.'Pp'•, Mayor (City Seal) �� , o% • ( SEAL • -,-- n_ • �►+,TF OFA ' s` %