3.1. SR 08-10-19985ity of
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MEMORANDUM
Item #3.1.
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor & City Council
Pat Klaers, City Admi~j~c~ ator
August 10, 1998
Status of City Planner Selection Process
The city planner candidate that was discussed at the August 3, 1998, City
Council meeting has officially withdrawn from further consideration. The
interview team has requested one of the candidates to come back for a second
interview. This interview is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 12,
1998. Following this interview the group will have to decide if any of the
other candidates need to come back for a second interview, whether or not
the candidate interviewed on the 12th is our recommendation for the position,
or whether or not the city has to stop the selection process.
It is unfortunate that the selection process is taking so long, but, as you
know, we extended the original deadline by three weeks. However, on the
positive side, Planning Assistant Scott Harlicker and our new Planner Steve
Wensman have really "picked up the pieces" and have handled all of the
planning activities and business that has come forward in the last few
months. Since Steve Ach has left, I have asked City Engineer Terry Maurer
to play a more active role in reviewing big planning proposals. While Terry
is not a planner by nature, he certainly has more than enough experience in
planning through all of the municipal engineering work he does, to help us
manage the big projects. I guess what I am trying to say is, we certainly
need to hire a city planner as soon as possible, but it has to be the right
candidate and, in the meantime, we seem to be holding together pretty well
through the collective efforts of Terry, Scott, and Steve.
I have recently reviewed the status of our city planner selection process with
Jim Brimeyer of The Brimeyer Group, Inc. As the Council may recall, Jim
assisted the city in the hiring of Paul Steinman and Utilities Manager Bryan
Adams. After discussing the situation, Jim did not think he could do much
more for us in the recruitment process than what we had done and we both
agreed that the lack of apphcants is a reflection of the current market and
how busy the planning departments are in the metropohtan communities.
By this I mean that the Met Council has required that all metropohtan
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communities update their Comprehensive Plan by the end of the year. A
number of communities have already asked for an extension to this end of
the year requirement and, essentially, what this means to Jim and me that
the planners are too busy to even be looking for another position. Combine
this work assignment with the development activity in growing communities
and it seems like you have very few candidates in the market at this time.
Jim and I both think that the market will be better after the first of the year
and, besides, the market is usually better in the winter. Accordingly, ff the
committee cannot make a recommendation to the Council from the current
applicants which we have interviewed, then I believe my recommendation
will be to stop the selection process, carry on with business the way we have
in the past two months since Steve Ach has left, and restart the hiring
process after the first of the year with the possible hiring of Jim Brimeyer to
help in the recruitment and selection process.
No action is being requested with this agenda item, but it is important to
keep the Council updated as to how things are going in the selection process.
Both Daryl and I will be in attendance at this Council meeting to answer
questions you may have on the applicants or the selection process.