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12-10-1997 - Special " ~ ...., CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER SPECIAL MEETING DECEMBER 10, 1997 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Allman called the special Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Randy Allman Councilman James Gornto Councilman Myron Hammond Councilman Gary Roberts Councilwoman Judith Lichter Interim City Attorney Nikki Clayton Interim City Manager Kenneth Hooper City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present INVOCATION. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE There was a silent invocation and pledge of allegiance to the Flag. MEETING PURPOSE Mayor Allman stated the purpose of the meeting is for the Selection of City Manager candidates for interview. There were 172 applications. Interim city Manager Hooper explained to Council the process they used to narrow down the list of City Manager applicants. Interim City Manager Hooper asked Council when they get to that point to provide, by number, their choices. After they get done tabulating, they will be seeking an individual that has three votes and that will be the short list of applicants. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council what they will do after they come up with a short list. He made recommendations regarding travel expenses, moving expenses, severance pay, and the probationary period. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council before they are through tonight, he would like to pick dates for interviews. Councilwoman Lichter stated she only received 167 applicants to review. She is satisfied if the Range Riders looked at the five she did not and did not pick them. Interim City Manager Hooper stated he would think all of the Councilmembers had 167 and the Range Riders looked at the additional applications and so did he. Councilman Roberts spoke about the deadline being Friday, December 5th. Interim City Manager Hooper spoke about the applications that came in after the deadline. If there was someone outstanding in that group, he would have brought it to Council's attention for review. He is ready to say the number in front of them is the list. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they should have discussion regarding the dates, travel expenses, and moving expenses now or after they vote. She would like to discuss a couple of those issues. .. '-" ....., Councilwoman Lichter agreed with Interim City Manager Hooper on severance and moving expenses. She is hesitant on travel expenses. She feels by not giving some amount, they are almost in a sense limiting this to someone in an immediate driving area. Councilman Roberts feels the final group of people could be reimbursed if it was worthwhile for them to come down. He feels it would be more prudent to wait until they narrow it down to a really tight group, that if they did have expenses Council would consider possibly reimbursing a portion of their travel. Interim City Manager Hooper also suggested they could have telephone conference interviews. Mayor Allman feels they are putting the cart before the horse. He feels they may end up with three applicants from Florida. If they do live out of state, they could pay expenses for the final interview. He feels this discussion could become a moot point if indeed all of these people are local. Interim City Manager Hooper asked Council to present their lists by numbers. Councilman Roberts stated considering the short list may be limited by people who don't want to travel, he feels they should have more than 10 names to start in case they lose a few along the way. Councilwoman Lichter asked Interim City Manager Hooper a good number they should get down to tonight. Interim city Manager Hooper feels if they could get to ten, it would be wonderful but eight to twelve would be good. Councilwoman Lichter presented her numbers: 14, 52, 53, 70, 71, 79, 86, 89, 124, 128, 129, 137, 139, 145, 146. Councilman Roberts presented his numbers: 30, 43, 51, 69, 71, 72, 74, 79, 90, 91, 100, 108, 113, 117, 124, 128, 130, 142, 150, 153, 155. Councilman Hammond presented his numbers: 164, 155, 124, 117, 91, 74, 68, 53, 47, 30. Interim City Manager Hooper stated number 124 already has three votes. Councilman Gornto presented his numbers: 72, 79, 90, 111, 124, 128, 129, 137, 145, 150. He agreed with the applicants chosen by the Range Riders. Mayor Allman presented his numbers: 30, 53, 58, 66, 111, 133, 145, 164. Interim city Manager Hooper listed the applicants with the majority being: 30, 53, 79, 124, 128, 145. There was a brief discussion regarding where the chosen six applicants were from. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they should keep the number at six or go to ten. Interim City Manager Hooper suggested contacting the six applicants and see what they say. He will bring back the information and they could set dates for interviews. Councilwoman Lichter stated the Council came up with four of the six applicants chosen by the Range Riders. Councilman Gornto went with the choices of the Range Riders because he feels they are one of the most capable people to pick. Page -2- Council Special Meeting December 10, 1997 '- w ....., Councilman Gornto feels they should try interviews by telephone first. Mayor Allman would like to see how soon they would be able to start working. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council they would all need to be present with phone interviews. They would convene it as a meeting and observed in the public for the interview process. Councilman Gornto questioned there being a speaker here. Interim city Attorney Clayton spoke about teleconferencing. There was a brief discussion regarding the locals actually being there. Mayor Allman feels if they should do all of the interviews the same way. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they should be contacted by letter that they are going to be interviewed. Interim city Manager Hooper stated he would send them a letter and contact them by telephone. There was a brief discussion regarding time differences in the different states where the chosen six applicants are from. There was a brief discussion regarding a date and time that would be convenient for Council for telephone interviews. Interim City Manager Hooper spoke about different ways they could do the interview. It was the consensus of Council to have a special Meeting on December 17th from 3:00 until 4:30 p.m. for interviews, each being approximately 20 minutes. Mayor Allman passed the gavel to Vice Mayor Roberts. Mayor Allman made a motion that December 26th, City staff and employees get that as a paid holiday due to the fact of the emotional stress they have been put through since October 6th. He feels they deserve it and he is very proud of everyone that works for the City. Councilman Gornto seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Interim City Manager Hooper stated January 19th is Martin Luther King Day and also a normal scheduled Council meeting. He informed Council that meeting is canceled. Councilman Gornto asked if they are going to provide their own questions or will it be more structured. Mayor Allman feels on the first interview he would rather get a feel for the candidate more than having a structured interview. Councilman Gornto feels there should be basic information they pull and they could be allowed to go from there. Interim City Manager Hooper agreed to put a biography of each applicant and list of questions together. Council decided they would use the same questions for each applicant and after the standard set of questions, it would be open for discussion. Councilwoman Lichter asked if the first interview is actually in person. Interim City Manager Hooper stated he has never seen this many applications for one position. Normally the first time you meet face to face. It is not abnormal to do a phone interview. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Councilwoman Lichter of what they would be looking for with the questions they ask. There was a discussion regarding questions Council would want to ask. Page -3- Council Special Meeting December 10, 1997 -.. ....., Councilman Roberts asked if they are willing to come to Florida for their interviews at their own expense, should they do that rather than going through the phone process. Interim City Manager Hooper stated that could be one of their questions. Councilman Roberts feels a face-to-face interview is much more effective. Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, suggested Council keep certain specific questions so they all get the same questions. Mr. Jenkins wondered if Council should call a Special Meeting night informing the applicants when they would be called. Mayor Allman stated that is what they are going to do. Ed Keenan, 1905 pine Tree Drive, feels Council should ask each applicant a little history about their tax history, whether they have increased or decreased taxes in the past. Andy Anderson, pine Tree Drive, feels they should ask questions that have not been asked in the past. Councilman Roberts passed the gavel back to Mayor Allman. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Gornto made a motion to adjourn, second by Councilman Roberts. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Kruckmeyer Page -4- Council Special Meeting December 10, 1997