Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area ReporterDennis Coryell, former city administrator was honored by Wyoming City Council Monday night. Coryell and his wife JoEllen attended the meeting.
Mayor Vern Haag read the text of the plaque before the presentation. The plaque was presented ìin appreciation for more than 11 years service to the city of Wyoming.î
Additional language recognized Coryellís commitment to the city and its welfare and that the presentation was from ìpast and present council members in 2003.î
Coryellís remarks were spontaneous and he told the council: ìI do love the city.î It has been a ìdistinct pleasure to work here.î He continued that there is ìnever a good time to leaveî and especially now when so many ìprojects are up in the air.î
His final comment was that ìWyoming will succeed.î Photos were taken of Coryell, his wife, and council members. Coryell leaves the city for a similar position in the city of Baxter, near Brainerd.
Acting administrator
By unanimous 5-0 vote, council members appointed Deputy Clerk Sandy Berry as acting city administrator until a new administrator is hired.
This decision was made at Mondayís meeting. Council member Martin English is the administrator liaison and will work with Coryell to establish a proposed pay agreement with Berry while she serves in this capacity. This is likely to be an instance of out-of-class pay with regard to Berryís union standing.
Council said this is important because there needs to be someone in the city office who knows some of the history behind the projects that are ongoing.
Candidate rejected
An interview with one of the remaining two city administrator finalists on Dec. 12 did not result in a decision for a new administrator.
Council member Sandy Standridge made a motion to approve candidate Steven Bloom as administrator. Lynn Koalska seconded the motion in order to open discussion about the decision.
There are issues which involve public and private information which constrained discussion Monday. Attorney Tom Miller provided guidance about a discussion which by law must be public.
He reminded council of the ìneed to take all reasonable safeguards not to discuss private data, but if it is essential, it should be discussed.î There is ìno easy way around it,î he concluded.
Mayor Vern Haag believed Bloom to be ìvery qualifiedî and having ìexcellent references.î He considered the work load of the administrator and demands on the person selected. His final thoughts were that it was a ìtough, tough, tough decision,î to vote against him for the job.
Standridge commented that all those interviewed were told that their ìplate is full.î She said Bloom would bring ìa lot of experience and knowledgeî that the city needs right now.
ìWe have to do what is right for the city of Wyoming,î she said. She felt Bloomís record of experience is so beneficial that the city really could profit by his being here.
Council member Lynn Koalska agreed with Standridge and did not want to go down the line to candidates ranked lower on the list. She did not see the need to open applications again, but thought a choice might be found in another of the finalists. She said the probationary period is the time to find out if the employee will work out for the city and its requirements.
Council member Martin English had no new comments after the Friday interview. Council member Ted Phillips, while not at the Friday interview, had the same opinion as Haag, based on the initial interview.
By a 3-2 margin, council members voted against bringing candidate Bloom aboard as the new Wyoming city administrator.
English, Haag, and Phillips voted against his selection. Koalska and Standridge voted in his favor.
By consensus council members voted to contact the next three candidates on the finalist list to see if they are still interested and available for interviews. Berry was to make calls on Tuesday.
If a satisfactory choice cannot be made, the city will offer Luayn Murphy, the third finalist, the administratorís job on a temporary basis, until the position can be reposted.
English said Murphy had offered to do this during her interview. He said the situation is ìnot ideal, but someone experiencedî would be in the position.
All council members and the acting city administrator will participate in the interviews. If candidates are available, the target interview time is the end of this week.
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