6 finalists named for city administrator post in FL
Current top city official in Hugo is among them
Jennifer Mevissen
Staff Writer
At Monday’s meeting the Forest Lake City Council considered the top 12 candidates brought forward by Brimeyer Fursman to fill the vacant administrator position. Members narrowed down the list to six finalists to be interviewed next month.
Richard Fursman, president of the search firm, has confirmed the news with all six of them and is making their names public.
Candidates Are
• Michael A. Ericson, city administrator of Hugo.
• Joel Hanson, city administrator of Little Canada.
• David Minke, city manager of Bemidji.
• Aaron Parrish, city administrator of Crookston.
• Patrick Cannon, city administrator of Sun Prairie, WI.
• Julie LaFleur, attorney, member of the Forest lake Planning Commission.
Those individuals were the top vote getters in a straw poll done by the council Monday night. They were only going to choose a handful of people for the selection process, but Fursman encouraged members to let the finalists stand to compete.
Although on paper they all look good, he said the personality of each candidate will be judged during the interviews scheduled for Sept. 16-17 at city hall, 220 N. Lake St. The starting salary range is $107,263 to $127,375.
It’s at that time when you’ll learn who is a shrinking violet in the room and which ones are engaged, Fursman said.
“While I found them all to have a high degree of success, there are those differentiations of how they approach the job,” he added.
Councilwoman Jackie McNamara said she would have liked to review the finalists in private, and said she was not happy with the process.
“We couldn’t close this to the public,” Fursman said.
He noted that all the interested individuals are aware with what happened when the council made an offer to North Oaks City Administrator Melinda Coleman who received “threatening” anonymous e-mails from Forest Lake residents and withdrew her candidacy.
“I really ask the public not to contact these people,” said Councilman Jim DuFour. Dan Coughlin was hired Jan. 1, 2011 but in late June, he accepted a settlement agreement and vacated the position. Coughlin was one of five candidates considered for the city job upon the retirement of Chip Robinson last summer after a 33-year tenure.
In May of 2010, the council awarded Maplewood-based Brimeyer Fursman a contract in the amount of $15,000 to find a replacement.
