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FAIRMONT-- The Fairmont City Council discussed the next steps in finding an interim city administrator following the resignation of Cathy Reynolds last month. While the council agreed on a plan at its last meeting two weeks ago, on Monday it learned that that it was no closer to finding someone to fill the role and Reynold's last day is May 19.
The first task was to find an interim city administrator. Mayor Lee Baarts said he talked to the city's Finance Director, Paul Hoye, who said he is not interested in taking on interim administration duties.
However, Baarts and Council Member Michele Miller, who together make up the hiring committee, spoke with Mark Sievert, who has previously worked as interim city administrator for Fairmont.
"He was planning on coming and knew what he was getting into... his rate was very fair... but after some things got out on the social media world that we live in, he contacted me Friday evening and said he was going to have to sleep on it and talk to his wife in the morning," Baarts said.
He went on to say that Sievert expressed doubts about coming here because it seemed like there would be a split decision about if he would be wanted here.
"Also, he was contacted by citizens of this city and I believe by some council members, which in my opinion, that's over-stepping your bounds. We have a hiring committee to do that and we were bringing that back to you tonight to fill this vacancy," Baarts said.
This past Saturday morning, Baarts said Sievert pulled his application and will not accept the position if offered.
"Now we're back to square one. We might even be behind square one with Cathy departing real soon, we are back to starting over, maybe worse," Baarts said.
Reynolds said she also had conversations with Sievert and said the vote of the council is important when it comes to an administrator or interim administrator.
"When I came here, I noted that there was a lot of controversy and there was a lot of things going on and a lot of division at the time. A lot of votes were 3-2. The only reason I accepted the position is because the council was able to come to a 5-0 vote," Reynolds said.
She added that if the council hadn't been able to agree, she wouldn't have accepted the position.
"An interim administrator isn't going to come in if they don't have the support of a council. Their job is to run day to day operations of the city. They're not here to propose new things, make change, it's to keep the city going and maintain status quo until a new administrator can be hired," Reynolds said.
She said it was important that the council understood what that division and controversy in the council and the community means when it comes to finding an interim city administrator.
Council Member Jay Maynard said that he hopes that none of the current council members had contacted Sievert, calling it a "gross overreach."
Council Member Britney Kawecki claimed that she had only reached out to the League of Minnesota Cities to ask about the process of finding an interim city administrator.
"You're insinuating something and I don't appreciate it," Kawecki told Baarts.
Baarts said he is going off of what Sievert told him and has no reason to believe otherwise.
Maynard said he saw at least one post on Facebook from a council member that misunderstood the role of both the hiring committee and interim city administrator, which led him to doubt they would ever get a 5-0 vote on hiring an interim city administrator.
"If we're going to find ourselves needing to go through months and months of interviews and selections... we're never going to hire one and what's that say to hiring a permanent one?" Maynard asked.
Baarts said there was no longer action that could be taken on the matter.
In other news, the council:
-- Approved a motion to authorize Martin Soil and Water Conservation District to have a presence at lake launches for educational purposes on aquatic invasive species.
--Approved the selection of KLJ engineering as airport consultant for additional projects.
--Approved a lease agreement with Community Education and Recreation in the Southern Minnesota Educational Campus.
-- Approved hiring a fourth full-time employee at the liquor store.
The council approved the following event permits:
-- For Visual Identity Vault to hold a tent/sidewalk sale on May 18 and 19.
-- For Fairmont Lakes Foundation's spring fishing tournament on May 20.
-- For Legion Post 36 and VFW Post 1222 for a Memorial Day parade on May 29.
-- For Red Rock Center for the Arts to have a Memorial Day community picnic on May 29.
-- For Indulge & Co. to hold a pop up event on June 6.
-- For City of Lakes Garden Club party and plant swap on June 10.
-- For Red Rock Center for the Arts for Good Morning Bedlam on June 14.
-- For Indulge & Co. to hold a pop up event on July 6.