FAIRMONT– On Thursday the Fairmont City Council interviewed a trio of candidates– Scott Hilderbrand, Lou Leone, Sam Demel– for the open city administrator position. It will interview two more candidates– Pat Oman and Dana Schoening– today.

In total 27 applications were received and the council had whittled down the five from a list of the eight most qualified during a special meeting on Sept. 8.The city is using consulting firm MGT, formerly Gov HR USA, to assist with the process.

While the meetings were expected to be live streamed, prior to starting on Thursday, Council Member James Kotewa said he was worried about the possibility of or accusation that some of the later candidates got an unfair advantage as they could have heard what questions were asked.

“We’re ensuring the credibility of this process,” said Kotewa.

City Clerk Betsy Steuber said that she had contacted the legal team about broadcasting the interviews and was encouraged to follow past practices. However, past interviews with city administrator candidates have not been broadcast live or even recorded.

Kotewa said he wanted the public to be able to watch the interviews, but he didn’t want an unfair advantage. He made a motion to stop the live stream but record the interviews and broadcast them after the last interview on Friday. The motion received a second from Council Member Wayne Hasek.

The motion passed 3-1 with Council Member Jay Maynard also in favor, Council Member Randy Lubenow opposed and Council Member Britney Kawecki abstaining.

Rachel Viesselman, the city’s Human Resources Manager, acted as moderator during Thursday’s interviews and Michael Brethorst, a senior consultant with MGT, was also present. Each of the candidates had an hour and a half interview and prior to that, got a tour of the town and did a meet and greet with city staff.

To start, the council heard from Hilderbrand, who is the current city administrator of Maple Lake, a city of about 2,200 people northwest of the Twin Cities. He has over eight years of experience in a city administrator role and holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration as well as a Doctorate.

Hilderbrand was asked what he liked the most in his current or a recent role said he enjoys the diversity of the job and working with the public and city council members who want what’s best for the community.

Speaking about some challenges he’s faced, Hilderbrand said through Covid some of his previous communities had a lot of staff turnover that resulted in staff rebuilding.

“The benefit with the city of Fairmont is you’ve had people in positions for many years. You have people that are familiar with the community so I think that’s worth stepping back and learning from their strengths,” Hilderbrand said.

He was asked how he would approach community members who are particularly vocal or highly active, especially when their focus is on the city or its staff. Hilderbrand said social media is a tricky topic and sometimes he opts to meet with someone in person to see what their larger concerns are.

“Don’t just come to me with a problem; come to me with a solution,” Hilderbrand said.

He was also asked to describe his style when meeting with the leadership team. Hilderbrand said he thinks it’s important to have their back and support their goals.

Following Hilderbrand’s answer, Kawecki asked what he would do if there is an experienced staff member that does not buy in to a decision.

“It’s making clear that they understand why I’m making the decision,” Hilderbrand. “I do my best to explain the why behind the decision, and there’s times I don’t. Sometimes you have to trust that I’m going to have the city’s best interest.”

He said he’s comfortable with both having a strong backbone but also being respectful, calm and collected.

Hilderbrand also answered a question about upholding the city’s mission and vision.

“It’s important. It really guides your staff,” Hilderbrand said. “Knowing we’re here to work for the public and knowing we’re here to do our best for the public.”

After a series of questions, Hilderbrand had the opportunity to ask council a question and asked what challenges it is facing.

Lubenow brought up the Local Option Sales Tax that passed almost a decade ago. He said by now he expected to have something done.

“As a community, we need to close out some of these projects,” Lubenow said. “The citizens, the council is looking for a leaders to get projects to a climax.”

Kawecki asked whether Hilderbrand had experience working with a divided council and a city with a declining and older population.

He spoke of experience he had with the city of Pine City and shared that the school district was good and a Cub Foods and Kwik Trip came in, but acknowledged that it was hard to get new housing and that the council was divided on that.

“You do the best you can with councils, but even with a 2-3 vote, you may personally disagree, but that’s your marching order and you do the best you can then to get staff behind it and get education to explain it to the public as well,” Hilderbrand said.

Next, the council heard from Leone, who holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and was most recently the city administrator of Harvard, Illinois, a city of about 9,400. He has 10 years of city administrator experience and also has experience as a paralegal.

Speaking about what he enjoys about being a city administrator and what his strengths are, Leone said he enjoys helping communities grow and maximizing taxpayer dollars.

“I’m a big believer in being respectful of taxpayer’s dollars,” he said.

A project he’s lead in his career that he’s proud of is a housing development project in Nebraska City using some AARPA funds that he accomplished with help from land partially donated by a local farmer.

“It’s probably the one I’m most proud of,” he said.

Leone was also asked what he would do to build strong internal and external relationships. First he said he would sit down with individual staff members, council members and community leaders and hear from them.

“From there, I start to see where everyone has that common thread and then develop how to weave that plan together. From there I develop trust,” Leone explained.

Kawecki asked what Leone would do if staff does not take “marching orders.” He said he would talk to them one-on-one.

“The last thing you want to do is start firing people. It’s actually more expensive to replace them. You’ve already invested so much in them…But if they can’t turn that corner, you do have to let them go.”

He said sometimes the tough call has to be made to make the city better.

It was pointed out that the city of Fairmont has experienced leadership changes over the last few years. Leone was asked how we would approach creating a collaborative culture.

“It’s encouraging staff development and taking our victory laps when we can,” Leone said.

Leone also touched on how he would address conflict between council members and pointed out the shared goal is to make the city better.

When asked what excited him most about this position in Fairmont, Leone mentioned the lakes, industry base and the school system. He said the city possesses the tools to grow if that’s the goal. He also pointed out that Fairmont has some long-time city employees who seem to genuinely like what they do.

“To see that community pride excites me,” Leone said.

As for what gives him pause, he said the time it could take to find a common thread in the transition.

Leone then had the opportunity to ask the council some questions and asked how the council will measure success in the first 90 days.

Maynard said he thinks a successful city administrator would have familiarized himself with the community in the first 90 days. Lubenow added that they should have introduced themselves in that timeframe, as well as gained an understanding of the challenges the city is facing.

Kawecki said she was looking for a strong leader who wouldn’t be pushed around and would look at all council members equally.

Lastly, the council heard from Demel, who most recently was a city manager of Purcell, Oklahoma. Demel has both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Administration and about five years of direct experience as a city administrator.

Demel introduced himself as a public servant and shared that he has done missionary work, served in the Peace Corps, worked with non-profits and spent 17 years working with foster care.

He was asked what steps he would take to ensure strong external and internal relationships.

“In my first six months I’ll get to know all of the businesses. I will go to community meetings… to get to know them and to listen. I listen intently before I speak,” Demel said.

He talked about the need to build trust. Demel said he’s in favor of a city newsletter to help spread word of city projects and such. He said he doesn’t like engaging on Facebook, but would utilize the city’s website as a source of information.

In describing his style in meeting with the leadership team, Demel said he makes sure it’s known they’re the experts in their department. He works to build trust and maintain communication.

“Let’s make a plan on how we’re going to meet goals,” he said.”I want the best solution, I don’t care who comes up with it.”

Kawecki again asked how Demel would respond if there is a staff member that doesn’t buy in. Demel said he would want to have better understanding of the council’s reasoning behind the decision.

“Suppose we have to make cuts, and sometimes we do,” Demel said. “I like to set objectives and timelines and measurements so they know exactly what to expect… at the end of the day we have to meet that goal or direction that’s coming from council.”

When asked, Demel said he thinks it would be important to make sure that staff knows the city’s mission and vision statement. He suggested having it posted so everyone is aware of it and regularly reminded of it.

“Recognize people when they do it and encourage it,” Demel said.

When it was his turn, Demel asked asked the council what it would like the city to look like in one year. Lubenow immediately said housing growth. Maynard said he would like to see the climate of city government change.

“We are sometimes at each other’s throats and we need to do something about that,” he said.