SEBASTIAN — Among 18 people who have applied for the position of Sebastian city manager so far, present Interim City Manager Joe Griffin is the only local candidate and appears to be a leading one.
The city’s Administrative Services Department, which forwards applications to Range Riders recruitment consultants for evaluation, has not yet closed the process; deadline for accepting applications is March 28.
Among the applicants to date are four women and 14 men.
Griffin has been praised by council members since taking the interim reins when former City Manager Al Minner resigned to accept a similar position in Leesburg, Fla.
Griffin continues to serve as Sebastian community development director and airport director as well.
Griffin attended high school in West Palm Beach, then earned an undergraduate degree in industrial management from Georgia Tech and an MBA and a law degree from Florida State University.
He was a Marine Corps aviator for 12 years, earning his wings at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. For the next 26 years, he flew as a commercial pilot with US Airways.
After practicing law in Kissimmee for about nine years, Griffin was hired by the City of Sebastian in 2006.
Sebastian Administrative Services Director Debbie Krueger provided the following tentative timeline for the city manager search process:
- April 2, 9:30 a.m.: Moderated staff meeting and candidate review conference call; Range Riders will develop a consensus list of semi-finalists to present to the city council.
- April 9, 2014: Range Rider coordinator Kurt Bressner will facilitate council discussion regarding semifinalist/finalist list; council may accept, reject or modify list by majority vote. Council will decide on a final selection process during a so-called “interview weekend.” Possible methods of selection include: Council members have one-on-one interviews with candidates, then convene publicly to choose finalists and/or alternates, or Council members have public interviews as a group, then publicly make a decision on finalists and/or alternates, or Council at the end of the interviews decides to continue the discussion and make a decision at its next meeting. All public interviews will be in the form of special council meetings so selection of a finalist and/or an alternate is possible.
- April 10-18: City staff will begin preliminary background checks on semi-finalists/finalists.
- April 23: If necessary, there will be a final decision by council on who to interview if not determined at the April 9 meeting.
- May 9-10: Interviews based on the process approved April 9.
- May 16-17: Alternate date for interviews.
Once a finalist has been selected, council also needs to set parameters for the city attorney, a council member, one or more members of staff, or a combination thereof, to negotiate salary and benefits.