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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/13/1998 Council Minutes• • • SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13, 1998 CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES DATE July 13, 1998 TIME STARTED 4:22 p.m. TIME ENDED 6:20 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Bergeson, Dahl, Lyden, Neal, Sullivan MEMBERS ABSENT None Staff members present: Chief of Police/Interim City Administrator, David Pecchia and Clerk -Treasurer Marilyn Anderson. Mayor Sullivan opened the meeting at 4:22 p.m. and adjourned to the city hall lunch room to discuss the investigation of a City Administrator candidate, Nick Dragisich. Dave Pecchia explained that he traveled to Virginia, Minnesota at the end of last week. The purpose of his visit was to elicit further information regarding Nick's performance as City Administrator of Virginia. He visited the Mesabi Times newspaper and the local library to read what the paper reported regarding a particular incident that happened during the time Nick was City Administrator. Dave also visited the Police Department and talked to the Chief of Police. While Dave was in Virginia, Dan spoke to Cy Smyth of Labor Relations. Mr. Smyth had worked with Nick and said he would love to work with him again. He felt Nick was very bright. Dave also talked to Greg Corwin, attorney for the Lino Lakes Management Association. He had helped Nick prepare his separation agreement. Mr. Corwin said Nick is bright and would do well in Lino Lakes because he is a very up -front person. The Council discussed Nick's willingness to relocate, his performance during the interviews and his test results. Kim said she was comfortable with Nick's style but wanted to hear more about the 1991 discrimination lawsuit. She also had other questions which she discussed with the Council including asking Nick what he learned from his experience at Virginia and in particular the lawsuit. John said that he would like to know more about the bad press he received in Virginia. Andy asked if the City would prepare a news release for the Quad. Kim said that she would like to sit down with Jeff, the reporter from the Quad and let him know that the Council is aware of the bad press. PAGE 1 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13, 1998 Andy asked if Dave would be here to bring the new City Administrator up to speed. Dave said yes, and he would be available to answer questions in the future. Chis said he thought Nick was very bright and would lead with his chin. He noted that Nick and his family are from that area and he had everything to gain by being "one of the guys". That didn't happen, he chose to do what he felt was right. There was discussion about whether Nick would be in competition with the Mayor's position as leader of the City. Kim said that the Council would have to be sure that Nick knows what he can and cannot do. There is the issue of authority. Andy asked if salary was discussed. Kim explained that all the candidates were told that the salary would be about $74,000 per year with a $290 a month car allowance. Several other questions for Nick were discussed and then the City Council returned to the senior center at 5:05 p.m. to interview Nick a second time. Kim thanked Nick for coming to this second interview. She explained to him that he scored high in the interviews and tests and the purpose of this interview was to make sure that there is a personality and style fit with this City. The Council is looking for someone to work with staff and the community and build a better "team". She told him that the community is diverse, sometimes cynical and sometimes reactionary. The City needs someone to bring this community together. Chris told Nick the issue that was covered in the Virginia newspaper is a big issue. He said you took it upon yourself to do what you thought needed to be done. He asked Nick to discuss his part in this matter. Nick explained that Virginia is a small town with a newspaper that wants to run the town. The newspaper asked him to do something that he felt was not ethical. He further explained his part in the matter. Chris asked, in hindsight, would you have acted so quickly. Nick explained some of the important things that happened in the City under his direction and then said he would have done some things differently. Chris asked Nick how he handles criticism. Nick said not as well as he should. He said that a person has to recognize where the criticism is coming from. Kim asked Nick, in hindsight, how would you have handled the newspaper. Nick said he would ignore them. They printed articles that were not true and also printed his home telephone number and asked the residents to call him. He said it was a real learning experience but he should have ignored them. John noted that there is a local newspaper here and several other larger papers in the area. He said this may help keep the local newspaper more accountable. Kim explained that the Council has worked to build a better relationship with the local paper. PAGE 2 • • • SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13, 1998 Andy asked Nick if he is a member of any community organization. Nick explained that normally he works 60 to 80 hours per week and spends most of his free time with his family. He said he helped form an economic development committee and worked with this organization for some time. He also worked with groups trying to improve the area lakes. He did not join either organization because he felt that his obligation was to his family. Kim asked Nick to talk about the situation that initiated the 1991 lawsuit. Nick noted that the lawsuit was filed by an Economic Development Committee member. The Economic Development Committee was originally organized by the son of the newspaper owner and initially was a good organization. However, the Committee became removed and the Council withdrew funding support. The Executive Director filed a' lawsuit and after that suit was settled, she left Virginia and went to work at another city and had a similar experience. Eventually another Economic Development Committee was formed in Virginia. Chris asked what happens when a Council is divided. Nick said that is a difficult situation for a city administrator. He sees the city administrator as a resource to help solve situations. He noted that the City Council is not suppose to talk among themselves after Council meetings but the city administrator can deal with all members and facilitate an agreement. John explained this Council has its disagreements but the disagreements are mostly friendly. Kim said that Council meetings are for taking care of business not disagreements. Kim asked Nick what his expectation was regarding direction from the Council. Nick said first, the City Council has to provide policies that he can work with to build community relationships. The Council also must have clear goals and priorities and a way to measure. these goals. These are things that the City Administrator does not do and he cannot achieve anything if nothing is clear. Kim asked Nick what he saw the city administrator position to be. Nick said the city administrator has to support the Council. He noted that one newspaper criticism in Virginia was that the city council endorsed everything the administrator wanted. His reaction to that criticism was that he did not bring ideas to the city council that he knew they would not endorse. Chris explained to Nick that Kim is the mayor, the Lino Lakes public representative and the Council likes it that way. He said the Council wants a "top notch" administrator who does the work and does not get in the limelight that belongs to the mayor. Nick said wonderful, in Virginia, the mayor is a figurehead. The Council President presides over the meetings and the administrator plays a more "up front" role. He said the mayor should be "out front" and if the administrator is in that position, government is not functioning. PAGE 3 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13, 1998 Kim asked Nick to describe his delegation skills. Nick said that is the most difficult skill and it takes a lot of conscious effort on his part to do this. He said that he has to learn to trust that his staff can do their work. John asked Nick how well he did this in Virginia. Nick explained that he had 12 different department heads. He gave them authority to go directly to the city council if they felt their concerns were not resolved by him. He said this did not happen very often because they were able to resolve their differences before it got to that point. Nick said, "it scares the hell out of me", however he could not run the city by himself. Kim explained that this had been a concern and so this Council is implementing an intervener system. Kim noted that Nick had obtained his masters degree during his tenure as City Administrator in Virginia. She asked how the degree helped him in carrying out the Administrator duties. Nick explained that he spent the first couple of years at Virginia "crawling". After he earned his degree, he found from a managers perspective, he needed to be more "up -front", take the first step toward reconciliation and talk about what went wrong and what happened. He needed to build trust. He walked his way through the process. Nick said he was lucky and had the support of the city council. Caroline asked Nick when he applied for the administrators position at Lino Lakes, did he do any research on the City. She also asked what motivated him to apply for the position. Nick explained that when he left the administrator's position in Virginia, he took some time off from the public sector. However, he feels that he wants to be an administrator again. Nick said he saw the ad, noted that Lino Lakes is a growing city on the northern fringe of the Twin City metropolitan area and felt that this would be a good match for him. He said he does have another job offer in a much larger city in other state. However, he felt it would be hard for his family to move into a metropolitan area. Nick said he would like to stay in Minnesota since both his and his wife's families live here. In addition, he does have 14 years of PERA which was also a factor. Nick explained that he had heard good things about the elected officials in Lino Lakes. He said he would not like to work in a city with a dysfunctional organization. Caroline asked Nick if he would move into Lino Lakes. He said yes. He explained that he was working as the Virginia City Engineer and lived in Chisholm. When he was asked to move into the City Administrator position, he requested permission to remain in his home in Chisholm. John asked Nick when he went through the PDI process, what was indicated as something that he needed to personally work on. Nick explained he needed to develop his listening and delegation skills. He noted that he likes to talk. Nick said he needs to give the speaker his full attention and to listen carefully. Chris said that he had read all the material about Nick but asked Nick to tell the Council who he is. Nick replied that he is an intense person, believes in himself, is very social, hard working and dedicated. PAGE 4 • • • SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13, 1998 Chris asked Nick to explain how his wife sees him. Nick said that she thinks he is a very detailed person. Chris asked Nick to explain how his children see him. Nick said, "write a check dad". They see him as intense. Nick explained that he and his family do a lot of things together. His family sees him as considerate, with a high ethical value, interested in learning something new and ready to invest in himself. Nick referred to a newspaper article about his taking one day a month to continue his education. The newspaper opposed this use of his time. He noted that he does plan to get his P.H.D in the future. John asked Nick if the City made an offer to him and he accepted, how long would it take you to be available for the position. Nick explained, a couple of weeks. He noted that his employer is aware that he is looking at other employment possibilities. Nick asked how City functions are administered. He said it appears that the administrator runs the day to day functions. The Council said yes. Nick said he felt it would be inappropriate for a council member to call a specific employee and direct him/her. This should be the responsibility of the city administrator. John explained that this City Council does recognize that the Council's position is to set policy rather than direct operations. He explained that there may be two (2) reasons Council Members may contact staff and they are to ask a specific question or to relay a complaint. Kim explained that she worked for the City for a brief period. She noted that department head staff do not really direct their departments and were not given the opportunity to take responsibility for their department. As a result, few department heads have the skills that they need to fulfill their position. She felt a need to implement an intervener process. Kim said that she felt that the roll of the city administrator during council meetings was to advise and provide information. In addition, she felt that the city administrator should not allow the council to be put in a position of looking uninformed when someone from the audience is asking questions that the council would not know. The administrator needs to step in and tell that person that the council does not know but will direct staff to research the matter. The administrator is a buffer in that situation. Kim also said that the administrator is to staff what the mayor is to the council. The council will rely heavily on the administrators ability to know details. Kim explained that she was impressed with Nick's attitude and abilities. She felt that staff was ready for someone different. Again she noted there is an incredible amount of citizen involvement with their government. Kim asked that another special council meeting be scheduled for Thursday, before the Comprehensive Plan meeting to make a final decision regarding the city administrator position and let Nick know on Friday. She told Nick that he is the only person who this Council has invited back for a second interview. She asked Nick to call if he had questions or reservations. PAGE 5 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13,1998 John asked Nick how he felt about the PDI process. Nick said that he had mixed feelings. However, he felt that this was not uncommon. He suggested that "roll play" was valuable and gave insight into who he might be. The meeting was adjourned at 6:22 p.m. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at a regular Council meeting held on September 14, 1998. 0}4-L4.,Jki.6/(Ju.45,yi Mar lynG. erson, Clerk -Treasurer PAGE 6 u''ivan, Mayor