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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-04 Regular Meeting of the La Porte City Council LOUIS RIGBY 0� ,p DARYL LEONARD Mayor 0 Councilmember District 3 JOHN ZEMANEK IL 4 TOMMY MOSER Councilmember at Large A n7 Councilmember District 4 DOTTIE KAMINSKI JAY MARTIN Councilmember at Large B Councilmember District 5 MIKE MOSTEIT MIKE CLAUSEN Councilmember District 1 Councilmember District 6 CHUCK ENGELKEN Mayor Pro Tem Councilmember District 2 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE JANUARY 4, 2012 The City Council of the City of La Porte met in a regular meeting on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, at the City Hall Council Chambers, 604 West Fairmont Parkway, La Porte, Texas, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following items of business: 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Rigby called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Members of Council present: Councilmembers Zemanek, Engelken, Martin and Clausen. Absent: Councilmembers Mosteit, Leonard, Kaminski and Moser. Also present were City Secretary Patrice Fogarty and Interim City Manager Steve Gillett. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS (Limited to five minutes per person.) Ted Powell, 1700 Roscoe, La Porte, addressed Council and commented the future City Manager should focus on the community's interest, stand "toe to toe" working with the Port of Houston, respect and promote La Porte's rich history and tourism, concentrate on infrastructure, drainage issues, truck traffic impeding the city, the need for synchronized lights for better flow of traffic, and be cautious of the cost when pursuing economic development projects. Phillip Hoot, 927 Seabreeze, La Porte, addressed Council and commented the future City Manager should maintain citizens' needs ahead of special interests, develop ideas on improving the quality of life for the citizens, understand the manager works for the citizens, and possess good team building skills. Kathryn Aguilar, 3119 Fondren, La Porte, addressed Council and commented the future City Manager should be financially conservative, endorse transparency in government, and have a vision for the city to make it more attractive, while allowing community input. Ms. Aguilar also thanked Council for allowing citizen input on the recruitment process for selecting and hiring a City Manager. Norma Elliott, 11621 North D Street, La Porte, addressed Council and commented the future City Manager should have the ability to manage the various departments and know the function of the departments, be a good budget person and have knowledge of state laws, work with the goals and objectives of the Mayor and Council and not be a political tool for Mayor and Council. 3. DISCUSSION OR OTHER ACTION (a) Discussion or other action regarding recruitment process for selection and hiring for position of City Manager — Mayor Rigby Senior Vice President Alan Taylor, with SGR (Strategic Governmental Resources), provided an overview of the plan and process for selection and hiring for the position of a City Manager. Page 1 of 3 January 4, 2012, Special City Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Taylor commented the plan and process requires due diligence to find a professional City Manager who understands the dynamics, goals and objectives for prosperity of the city. This will be, approximately, a four -month process. Mr. Taylor informed that a position profile will be prepared for Council approval. SGR will market the community to professionals and welcomes citizen input if Council desires. After the profile is approved by Council, SGR will require a thirty -day recruitment period. Mr. Taylor informed that as consultants with expertise in local government and as City Managers, the applications will be scored and critiqued; and the information will be provided to Council for choosing the most qualified City Manager. Mr. Taylor advised Council that SGR does not have any preconceived notions and will not force candidates on Council. SGR will conduct criminal and civil backgrounds, media searches and confirm references after Council has finalists. Mayor Rigby asked Mr. Taylor to speak about the two -year guarantee offered by SGR. Mr. Taylor advised if Council is not pleased with the City Manager selected, SGR will conduct another search within a two -year period with no additional cost to the City. Councilmember Engelken questioned if a behavioral type of interview will be conducted on the candidates. Mr. Taylor responded yes, a behavior interview takes approximately two and half hours with a twenty -nine question essay for the written portion. Councilmember Martin questioned if the City of La Porte salary range was acceptable for the City Manager position. Mr. Taylor responded he does not know the salary range. Mr. Taylor also stated that if an applicant withdraws their application for any reason, Council will be notified. SGR will determine why the withdrawal. SGR dies not want the city judged on a perception that is not accurate. Councilmember Clausen commented he would like to see a City Manager with high integrity, a high level of experience in all departments and city services, ability to work with other entities and provide vision to move the city forward. Mayor Rigby added accountability is most important to him. A City Manager has to have integrity and be trustworthy to move the city forward. Councilmember Zemanek requested Mr. Taylor explain the differences in a Candidate's perception of nine Councilmembers versus five or seven Councilmembers. Mr. Taylor responded that the perception is the more voices there are could create more difficulties with Councilmembers moving in different directions. Councilmember Engelken requested the information from references be passed along to Council. Councilmember Martin added communication is the key for a City Manager regardless of the number of Councilmembers. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS regarding matters appearing on the agenda; recognition of community members, city employees, and upcoming events; inquiry of staff regarding specific factual information or existing policies — Councilmembers Zemanek, Leonard, Engelken, Mosteit, Clausen, Martin, Moser, Kaminski and Mayor Rigby. Mayor Rigby and Councilmembers Engelken, Clausen and Martin thanked everyone for coming out to attend the meeting. Page 2 of 3 January 4, 2012, Special City Council Meeting Minutes 5. EXECUTIVE SESSION The City Council reserves the right to meet in closed session on any agenda item should the need arise and if applicable pursuant to authorization by Title 5, Chapter 551, of the Texas Government Code, including, but not limited to, the following: There was no executive session. 6. RECONVENE into regular session and consider action, if any, on items discussed in executive session. 7. ADJOURN There being no further business, at 7:03 p.m. Councilmember Engelken moved to adjourn the meeting. Res•ectfully submitted, i l i a ! _AI !d . . Patrice Fogarty, City £ ecreta 1 Passed .1 t •ved on the 23 of January, 2012. MaWusR. •• Page 3 of 3 January 4, 2012, Special City Council Meeting Minutes