City and Borough Assembly

ASSEMBLY CHAMBERS CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK (907)747-1811 Minutes - Final City and Borough Assembly Mayor Gary Paxton Deputy Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz, Vice Deputy Mayor Valorie Nelson, Aaron Bean, Kevin Knox, Dr. Richard Wein, Kevin Mosher Interim Municipal Administrator: Dave Miller Municipal Attorney: Brian Hanson Municipal Clerk: Sara Peterson Tuesday, September 3, 2019 5:00 PM Assembly Chambers SPECIAL MEETING I. CALL TO ORDER II. FLAG SALUTE III. ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Eisenbeisz, Knox, Bean, Wein, Paxton, Mosher, and Nelson IV. NEW BUSINESS: A 19-192 Administrator applicant interviews via video conferencing (Leach, Ardaugh, Lanning, Schmitt) Applicant interviews via video conferencing were held for John Leach, Jack Ardaugh, Alan Lanning, and Sheldon Schmitt. B 19-193 Discussion / Direction / Decision regarding the Municipal Administrator application process (possible executive session) Assembly members discussed next steps. Some wished to narrow down the list and bring those candidates to Sitka for an interview, others believed more information was needed and shared what they were looking for in an administrator. A motion was made by Paxton to consider John Leach for the next round of interviews. The motion PASSED by the following vote. Yes: 5 - Paxton, Knox, Mosher, Wein, and Nelson No: 2 - Bean and Eisenbeisz A motion was made by Bean to consider Sheldon Schmitt for the next round of interviews. The motion FAILED by the following vote. CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA Page 1 City and Borough Assembly Minutes - Final September 3, 2019 Yes: 3 - Wein, Nelson, and Bean No: 4 - Knox, Paxton, Mosher, and Eisenbeisz A motion was made by Bean to go into executive session to discuss subjects that may tend to prejudice the reputation and character of Municipal Administrator Candidates Franklin Etheridge, Craig Cugini, Jack Ardaugh, Alan Lanning, John Leach, and Sheldon Schmitt. (Note: Candidate Marko Dapcevich requested his application be discussed in public.) The motion PASSED by the following vote. Yes: 6 - Nelson, Mosher, Paxton, Wein, Bean, and Knox No: 1 - Eisenbeisz The Assembly was in executive session from 7:33 p.m. to 7:57 p.m. A motion was made by Bean to reconvene as the Assembly in regular session. The motion PASSED by the following vote. Yes: 7 - Mosher, Nelson, Knox, Bean, Eisenbeisz, Paxton, and Wein A motion was made by Knox to move Craig Cugini to the next round of interviews. The motion PASSED by the following vote. Yes: 6 - Paxton, Bean, Wein, Nelson, Knox, and Mosher No: 1 - Eisenbeisz Discussion of Municipal Administrator Candidate Marko Dapcevich Bean spoke in support of Dapcevich and reminded Sitka was Dapcevich's home, he had served as Mayor, and his father had helped write the Charter. Nelson stated Dapcevich had been a good Mayor and believed his business and work experience and time serving as an elected official gave him the necessary experience for the job. Mosher, while supportive with Dapcevich's views, expressed concern that his style may not be a good fit. Wein noted Dapcevich was the most knowledgeable and coherent as it related to Sitka interviews and reminded no one else spoke about budget issues. Wein stated his main concern was that Dapcevich brought a lot of baggage and wondered if Dapcevich could gain traction with staff and the community. Paxton spoke to Dapcevich's inexperience as an Administrator. A motion was made by Bean to advance Marko Dapcevich to the next round of interviews. The motion FAILED by the following vote. Yes: 3 - Bean, Wein, and Nelson No: 4 - Paxton, Knox, Mosher, and Eisenbeisz Eisenbeisz commented his reason for not voting in favor of any of the candidates was because he didn't believe any of them were a good fit. He referenced the recent termination of previous Administrator Keith Brady. Eisenbeisz reminded one of the lines used in the resolution terminating Brady was from the Charter Section 4.01 Compensation: The Administrator shall...be appointed solely on the basis of his CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA Page 2 City and Borough Assembly Minutes - Final September 3, 2019 executive and administrative qualifications. Moving forward, Eisenbeisz stated it was his duty to appoint someone based on the executive and administrative qualifications although the Charter didn't define those terms. Knox wished to see a concrete list of questions developed for the next round and encouraged the Assembly not to rush the process. In future interviews, Wein requested the Assembly not edit or limit his comments. A motion was made by Bean to extend an offer to Craig Cugini and John Leach for final interviews the week of September 9-13. The motion PASSED by the following vote. Yes: 5 - Paxton, Wein, Mosher, Nelson, and Bean No: 2 - Knox and Eisenbeisz Testifying from the public was Steve Lee. He expressed his disappointment in the actions of the Assembly with this process and commented the Assembly was divided. V. PERSONS TO BE HEARD: Tamy Stevenson reminded of the public notice requirements when scheduling the next round of interviews. VI. EXECUTIVE SESSION See item B. VII. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Nelson to ADJOURN. Hearing no objections, the meeting ADJOURNED at 8:31 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ Sara Peterson, MMC Municipal Clerk CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA Page 3