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Minutes 01-28-97 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING HELD AT CITY HALL IN THE MALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1997, AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT Gerald "Jerry" Taylor, Mayor Shirley Jaskiewicz, Vice Mayor Matthew Bradley, Commissioner Henderson Tillman, Commissioner Jamie Titcomb, Commissioner Dale Sugerman, City Manager Michael Pawetczyk, Asst. City Attorney Sue Kruse, City Clerk CALL TO ORDER Mayor Taylor called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m The purpose of the meeting is to review resumes submitted by candidates for the position of City Manager, and to receive a report from Mr. David Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson advised that each Commissioner received eight resumes for review. In addition, he provided a booklet summanzing his interviews with the candidates. The candidates were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of five candidates, and the second group consisted of three candidates. There were a total of 46 applications submitted; however, one applicant withdrew his application leaving a total of 45 applicants. Mr. Donaldson is confidentthat the Commission has good candidates to interview. Group I Dennis Phelan Mr. Phelan is currently the Town Manager of Barrington, Rhode Island. He has been a City Manager in two communities; one for seven years and the other for over five years. He was also an assistant for three years in the City of West Hartford, Connecticut. West Hartford is similar in size to Boynton Beach. Barrington, Rhode Island is a unionized environment; therefore, Mr. Phelan has a great deal of union experience. Interviews with two of the Council members in Barrington revealed that Mr. Phelan is not under any pressure to leave, but is looking for a new challenge. He wants to be involved tn economic development and redevelopment. As a result of his position as City Manager of Newport, Kentucky, Mr. Phelan has a great deal of experience with downtown restoration. They have three historic areas. He also helped create an industrial park, and was very active in the area of economic development. Mr. Phelan is currently earning $80,000 with an additional $5,000 for longevity pay. Mr. Donaldson feels Mr. Phelan would be available in the $85,000 range. In interviewing Mr. Phelan, Mr. Donaldson sensed that he was very motivated for professional reasons. He is currently involved with a five-member council. In response to Commissioner Bradley's question, Mr. Donaldson advised thai he was most comfortable with the first five candidates in Group I. There are two people in Group II he is somewhat uncomfortable with because of credentials, and there is a salary issue with one individual. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 When asked by Commissioner Titcomb if Barrington is a coastal city, Mr. Donaldson responded affirmatively, elaborating that il is located on Narragansett Bay. David Sallee Mr. Donaldson advised that six months ago, Mr. Sallee was aware that his council would not be renewing his contract; however, he was not ready to apply for the position in Boynton Beach. When Mr. Donaldson contacted him this time, he decided to apply. Mr. Donaldson reported that everything he has heard about Cape Coral involves the fact that it is a very volatile community. There has been a great deal of change and turmoil in this community. Mr. Saliee was the City Manager of Cape Coral for four years. No one else has lasted that long. Cape Coral is 114 square miles ol preplatted plots that were sold without the City dealing with the issue of utilities. They are nowtrying to deal with that in terms of assessments for water and sewer. Mr. Sallee spent a great deal of time dealing with that issue. This area was mostly developed as a retirement community, but has had an influx of young families over the last three or four years. There is a lot of conflict between the two segments of the community. Mr. Saltee likes being a city manager and is interested in this job. In probing why Mr. Saliee was pushed out of his position, Mr. Donaldson could not find any ethical or confidence issues. Mr. Donaldson believes a new council wanted change. In discussions with the current mayor, it became obvious that he felt Mr. Sallee would probably get along well with the new council that came in as a result of the November election. However, he did not get along well with the outgoing council. Mr. Sallee is Iow-key in terms of style. There was an ssue in Cape Coral which was voted on by the citizens and passed to remove department heads from the Civil Serwce system. Immediately after, the council members wanted Mr. Sallee to fire two of the department heads. This caused conflict. During his tenure, Mr. Sallee hired a Black Police Chief and Black Assistant City Manager. Mr. Donaldson sensed there were some issues with staff going around him to the council, in speaking with the County Manager, he reiterated that Cape Coral is a very volatile community. Mr. Donaldson had a sense that there had been very severe financial problems; however, they now have their reserves up to 19% this year. Mr. Donaldson feels Mr. Sallee is a competent, capable manager, but he is not very charismatic in terms of his presence. Steven Thompson Mr. Donaldson was quite impressed with Mr. Thompson during his discussions with him, and received good references for him. His career has been primarily with the City of Aiken, South Carolina. He has been with them since 1983, and he became City Manager in 1991. He worked his way up to that position. Prior to that, he worked as Director of Administrative Services in Richland County, South Carolina. Aiken is a city of approximately 25,000 with a 31% Black and 1% to 2% Hispanic community. It was originally developed as a resort area in the 1920s and 1930s. However, today it is much more agricultural. In addition, they have a large nuclear power plant which employs many people. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 Since he was dealing with some tough issues and because of the Sunshine Laws= Mr. Thompson did not want the publicity associated with applying for a new position. When he saw the advertisement again, he decided to submit his application since he is ready for a change and wants to mot, e to a larger metropolitan area with more amenities for his family. Mr. Thompson has dealt with manyof the same issues Boynton Beach is dealing with. They have gone through a vis oning process and are involved with community policing. The C ty of Aiken has 80 sworn police officerS. Twenty-five of them are Black, including Oaptains and Lieutenants. Aiken has a seven-member council. His support on that council is probably 6-1. Mr. Thompson explained that in the past, the council was a 4-3 or a6-1 counc However, oflate, they are all going in different directions. Mr. Donaldson feels this may be the reason for Mr. Thompson's motivation. Mr. Thompson's weakness may lie in the fact that South Carolina does not allow unions; therefore~ Mr. Thompson has not had any experience in that area. However, Mr, Donaldson does not feel this is a critical component of the City Manager's r01e here n BoyntOn Beach. In response to Mayor Taylor's question relative ~o a remark about Mr. Thompson being compulsive at times in his decision making, Mr. Donaldsor~ advised that when he probed for weaknesses he talked to the County Manager in Richiand County who made tha~ remark, but added that Mr. Thompson improved over the years. Mr. Donaldson feels this refer'red to an earlier point in Mr. Thompson's career, and he has matured since that time. Mr. Donaldson feels Mr. Thompson is a very solid candidate. He is currently making $72,000 per year, so the salary should not be an issue. Mr. Thompson was the #1 finalist for the manager's job in Spartanburg, South Caro na however, he tbrned down the job. Michael West. Mr. West is the Assistant City Manager-Management Services for Columbia, South Carolina. This is a community Df 113,000. The community of Columbia is 50% Black and 50% White. There is a seven-member council. This is a well-educated community with two Black universities. There are three Assistant City Managers in this structure. There are approximately 2.000 employees, and Mr. West handles PersonneL, Public Information, Internal Audit, Budget, and Emergency Preparedness. This amounts to approximately 25 people. The current City Manager will be retiring in July after being nudged out by a new council. He was Mr, West's mentor. Mr. Donaldson feels this may have a bearing on Mr. West's interest in looking for a new position. Mr. West was the budget director for the City of Fort Lauderdale. He has always wanted to return to SOUth Florida. Mr. West has a great deal of experience with debt management and bonding. He lacks union experience ;except for the time he was in Fort Lauderdale. Mr: West was in charge of 16 people when he Was in the Air Force. He was a First Lieutenant when he left. He worked with Delray Beach on alc0ntract when he was with Waste Management. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 He is currently earning $90,600, but is paying 7% into his retirement. In addition, South Carolina has a 7% State income tax. Therefore, the $85,000 salary range being offered will not be an issue. Mayor Taylor questioned whether Mr. Donaldson spoke with anyone from the City of Delray relative to Mr. West. Mr. Donaldson said he spoke with the Public Works Director who worked with Mr. West in Fort Lauderdaie, and a representative from Waste Management. Mr. Donaldson said he asked Mr. West about:h s phi osophy on contracting out. It is his opinion that costs must be reviewed. They have their own ~anitati0n pickup in Columbia because they are able to do the= job for less money. Mr. Donaldson feels Mr. West understands how to examine Privatization serVices. In response to Commissioner Bradley's question. Mr. Donaldson feels Mr. West's management abilities would be sufficient even though he does not have exper ence as a City Manager. He has strong'financial and budgeting skills. Some of his references reported that he is a strong manager who can be demanding. Commissioner Titcomb inquired as to whether or not Mr. West elaborated on his shift back and forth between public ,p~sitions and private industry. Mr. Donaldson explained that Mr. West was with Waste Manager~nt for five years Dur ng that time, he was transferred three t roes. The last transfer was to Qcala, where all of the people who hired him were already gone. When he realized he,was not comfertable, he left to accept a'position with Dean Witter. After performing that job, he felt the position Was nothing more than an account executive. He made a decision to go back into the public sector. Kerry Willis Mr. Donaldson spoke with Ms. Willis three times. When he first saw her resume, he was concerned about the fact that she stopped working in 1995, and has not worked since. After meeting with her, he is no longer concerned. It was obvious from talking to her that Lake Worth was a very difficult place to work. It was a very volatile situation with 3-2 split decisions by a council that changed often. Ms. Willis did not want the City Manager's job in Lake Worth, but was drafted into the position after being the Acting City Manager. Shortly after getting the job, she discovered that the City was in very severe financial condition. They had considered bringing in the State to take over. The unions had been running the COmmunity and getting very large raises beyond what the City was able to pay. There was a staff of 700 people for a city of 30,000. She had the task of reducing the numbers. She made many hard decisions that included laying off employees, an eady retirement program, and reducing raises that were promised by the council. This led to a very difficult time for Ms. Willis. Ms. Willis gained a lot of good experience. When talking to people about her. there will be mixed rewews. However, Mr. Donaldson does not believe there will be any issues of integrity, honesty or incompetence. Ms. Willis had to make many changes in terms of budget. In her review of the Police Department, she found that many people had take-home cars. She eliminated that situation and she became very unpopular with the Police Department. She fired the Police Chief, and hired a new one. Mr, Donaldson feels she is a candidate who deserves an interview. She was burned out after her experience in Lake Worth. She retreated to her houseboat in the Keys to take time to decide what 4 MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 she wanted to do in the future. Approximately six months ago, she decided she wanted to be a City Manager again. She was a finalist in Wellington; however, the day before her interview, a story was published whereby the Mayor was quoted as saying she missed some deadlines on a bond issue. This stow hurt her chances in Wellington. Ms. Willis wants to stay in South Florida, and is applying for City Manager positions within the State. Commissioner Titcomb questioned whether Ms. Willis discussed her management style. Mr. ~onaldson senses that she is ateam leader. He does not sense that she is a heavy-handed ictat°r. M$~ Wiltis advised that,she had 17 department heads reporting to her when she took on the iob. Those department he~ds looked to her for direction. She consolidated that situation down to seven department heads and created a management team~ Mr. Donaldson met with the City Manager of [~ke Worth for a reference check, on Ms. Willis. The City Manager provided a good report about Ms. Willis' Style and treatment of department heads. Commissioner Tillman inquired about her motivation for returning to this area. Ms. Willis said she really enjoyed the work. Although she gave a lot.of thought to being an attorney, she decided she wants to ~ea~ City Manager. Ms; Willis feels she can help Boynton Beach because she has kno~/ledge of the area. Mr. Donaldson did not sense that she is still burned out. Group II Paul Brinqewatt Mr. Donaldson spoke with Mr. Bringewatt over the telephone and sensed that his wife has a very good position in Rochester, New York. Although he wants to be a City Manager again, Mr. Donaldson did not sense enthusiasm for the job. In addition, he has been out of city management for a while. Mr. Bringewatt is a Public Safety Commissioner in Rochester, and most of his experience is in upstate New York. He has not been in a growth environment, n Mr. Donaldson's opinion, even if selected for an interview, he believes Mr. Bdngewatt might not accept the interview, or probably would not take the job. Mr. Donaldson explained that Mr. Bringewatt was included in Group I1 because he has a good background, and was recommended highly by a number of Florida managers who have worked in the Rochester area. Robedl~in Mr. Donaldson was very ~mpressed with Mr. lrvin when he interviewed him over the telephone. Mr. Irvin has been in St. Peters, Missouri since 1978. Last Friday was his last day in St. Peters. Mr. Donaldson spoke with the County Manager who reported that for many of the 20 years, Mr. Irvin was seen as the leader in the County. He did many great things. In the last five years, a new mayor was elected and has made changes to the Ordinances. The mayor's position now pays $20,000. This has created a power struggle, and he finally got enough votes to remove the manager. When Mr. Irvin began in St. Peters, there were 8,000 people. The population has grown to 52,000. This is a starter home community. Mr. Irvin helped take the community through shopping mall developments and industrial developments. He had a tremendous growth experience with many accomplishments. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 The only reason he was put in the second group is that he is currently making $104,000. Mr. Donaldson does not believe he would accept less than $95,000 to $98,000. Of the candidates, Mr. Irvin is probably the strongest in leader and style. He is aggressive and proactive. Edwin Thorne Mr. Donaloson was very concerned about the amount of movement early in Mr. Thorne's career. He has been in his current job since 1988. Mr. Donaldson did not feel his interviewwith Mr. Thorne was very good. He found that Mr. Thorne talks too much and rambled Mayor Taylor questioned his motivation for wanting to move. Mr. Donaldson advised that he asked Mr. Thorne that questior~, but Mr. Thorne never responded. He talked about something else. COMMISSION DISCUSSION Commissioner Titcomb Commissioner Titcomb advised that he read all of the resumes and selected the same five candidates Mr. Donaldson selected. He mentioned that he was also interested in Mr. Irvin, but was concerned about salary. He eliminated Mr. Bringewatt because there was no natural tie-in with what we are trying to accomplish in Boynton Beach. Commissioner Titcomb had similar concerns about Mr. Thorne. He is concerned about Mr. West because of his movement back and forth between public service and private industry. In addition, he feels that Mr. West's affiliation with Waste Management could be a hindrance because his expenenco might sway him one way or another in dealing with the issue of privatization Commissioner Titcomb liked the resumes of Messrs. Phelan and Sallee because of their diversified backgrounds and various experiences. He also likes the resumes of Mr. Thompson and Ms. Willis. His four choices for interviews are Messrs. Phelan, Sallee, Thompson, and Ms. Willis. Vice Mayor Jaskiewicz Vice Mayor Jaskiewicz feels the two applicants that impress her the most are Messrs. Thompson and Sallee. Mr. Thompson was continually promoted in Aiken, and has been working as the City Manager since 1991. She liked a lot of his philosophies. In addition, she liked Mr. Sallee's resume. She checked into the situation in Cape Coral, and learned that it has been a very volatile situation in that city. Commissioner Tillman Commissioner Tillman agreed that Messrs. Sallee and Thompson appear to suit our area, He sees Mr. Sallee as a bit stronger because of his education and the fact that he took the reserves to 19%. They both come ,from diverse communities, and they have strong management backgrounds. Commissioner Tillman has strong feelings about Ms. Willis' motivation. He does not see anything MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 solid as to why she wants to do this job. He has a problem with Mr. West because of his relationship with a company this City may do business with in the future, and Mr. Pheian does not come from a community that is very diverse. Commissioner Bradley Commissioner Bradley commended Mr. Donaldson for developing this short list. He would not consider the three candidates in G~'oUp 11 even though Mr. Irvin seemed very good except for the salary demand. The bnly Other candidate he hesitates to interview is Mr. West because of his council experience. He feels that the private sector involvement could be an asset. He appears to be khowledgeable~about being a CEO'. Commissioner Bradley would not be opposed to seeing him but he is tl~e 0nea~0plicant ~f the f ve Commissione~' Bradley has reservations about The remaining applicants all hav~ ~e qualifications we are looking for and appear to be quality people. Mayor Taylor Mayor Taylor advised that when he reviewed the resumes, he applied topics that were important to him such as finances, experience as a City Manager, experience with economic development, experience with unions and utilities. The applicants who came out on top were Messrs. Thompson, Sallee and Phelan. Mayor Taylor feels people skills are also Very important, but the resumes do not reveal whether or not these applicants possess those skills. Mr. West did not possess the qualities Mayor Taylor wants in a City Manager, and he has some concerns relative to Ms. Willis even though he knows she was in a very volatile situation. He was not very concerned about what Ms. Willis has been doing since 1995 sihce she was given a good severance package. He would be w ng to interview Ms. Willis because, in his opinion, anyone can manage when things are going well. However, real managers come to the top when things are going bad. Consensus There was a consensus of the Commission to eliminate Mr. West from the interviews. Messrs. Phelan, Sallee, Thompson and Ms. Willis will be contacted for interviews. After brief discussion, it was agreed that all candidates shoutd be interviewed on the same day to be fair to all candidates and so that the Commission will have a balanced comparison. When Vice Mayor Jaskiewicz explained that Mr..Phelan did not ~mpress her because he did not come from a City that is comparable to ours, Commissioner Titcomb pointed out that Mr. Phelan is currently in a coastal community which deals with storms and hurricanes as much as we do. Prior to his current position, he was in the City of West Hartford which is a fairly large community with a large minority population. That City deals with many of the same social issues we deal with. Even though he is currently in a small community, his background contains several of the elements that would put him on par with the other candidates. He appears to be a sound manager who is looking to move up to a bigger situation. Mayor Taylor added that Mr. Phelan has a very strong financial background. He was able to reduce property taxes two years in a row while substantially increasing the sataries of employees. Mr. Donaldson suggested that the Commission wait two weeks to conduct the interviews until the MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 end of the filing period for the upcoming election. Vice Mayor Jaskiewicz did not feel there was ~ need to delay the interview process. She explained that since three incumbents are running, there is only a remote chance that all three would be defeated in the upcoming election. Commissioner Bradley pointed out that if all of the races are contested, the applicants may want to wait until after the election to apply. Fie recommended setting up a date during the middle of Fei~nJary. 'Since February 11 s the c os ng date for filing, if none of the ncumbents are opposed, the CommiSSion can move forward with the interviews. Mayor Taylor feels the applicants will be coming here to sell themselves. It should make no difference Whether they work for this Commission or the next Commission. This person will have to be able t(~ worl~ with any Corem ss on. Therefore Mayor Taylor does not fee the elect on should be a driving forth n these interviews He pointed out that it would be very interesting to him if an applicant droppeU out because he/she did not want to take a chance. Mr. Donaldson feels the best possible solution to this situation would be if all five Commissioners could find eno applicant they all agree on and support. Manager candidates want to know the people who hired~them are supportive, of them. Managers hesitate when they accept a job and then the ~eople whds,~pported them leave-and there are new people n their place who were not nvo ved in their selection.. With elections every y(~r, the' reality is that a manager would have to be able to deal with change: Consensus There was a consensus of the Commission to schedule the interviews on Thursday, February 13. There will be a group interview, one-on-one ~nterviews, and a social gathering on Thursday evening. Mr. Sugerman explained that staff will be involved with Fire Chief interviews on February 13. He offered to change the date of the Fire Chief interviews to free up conference rooms for the interviews. Mayor Taylor felt this situation could be worked out with staff. Commissioner Titcomb asked for clarification from the Commissioners about their feelings on providing moving expenses to the person who is selected. Mayor Yaylor advised that our Charter requires the City Manager to live in this City; therefore, we would have to provide assistance m relocation. Commissioner Titcomb questioned whether the Commission would call a special meeting to announce its decision if a selection is made, or whether the announcement will be made at the [ollowing regular City Commission meeting. Mayor Taylor felt it was too early to answer this question. He thinks it will be easier to answer the question after the interviews are held. Commissioner Bradley questioned whether the interviews could be started if there are applicants who wish to wait until after the election. In his opinion, the interviews should be delayed until after the election. Commissioner Titcomb feels this question will oe answered on February 11, the ctose of the filing period. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 28, 1997 Commissioner Tillman recommended that the interviews be scheduled, if two of the four applicants decline to be interviewed because of the election, then the Commission will have to look at the situation to decide whether or not to change the interview dates. The Commissioners agreed with this suggestior: ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:45 p.m. CITY QF BOYNTON BEACH ATTEST: Cit~'Clerk ~ Secretary "~(Two Tapes) Commissioner Comm/is~ioner