Two candidates to interview for vacant Sturgis city manager post
The Sturgis City Commission Wednesday announced the date of the first round of interviews for its vacant city manager position. The interviews will be open to the public.
Interviews will be open to the public
The Sturgis City Commission Wednesday announced the date of the first round of interviews for its vacant city manager position. The interviews will take place at city hall on Monday, February 27 beginning at 5 p.m.
The position was previously held for over 17 years by Mike Hughes, who stepped down to pursue a new career at a local company on January 12. Formerly the assistant city manager, Andrew Kuk has been acting as interim city manager since Hughes’ departure.
Kuk and Dave Johnston of Kentucky are both expected to interview for the job. “Something that is important to us,” Mayor Jeff Mullins said during Wednesday’s meeting, “is that we are allowing candidates to participate via Zoom.” This means Johnston will be permitted to access the interview remotely without needing to make travel arrangements. City Clerk Kenneth Rhodes said city staff prioritized the privacy of candidates throughout the process and told commissioners, “Andrew Kuk and Dave Johnston are made public. Anyone (else) that has applied and asked for confidentiality, their confidentiality will extend in perpetuity. At no point will we release any of their names.”
Mullins said the original timeline in place for offers will need to be readjusted, and will most likely weigh heavily on whether a second round of interviews will be necessary after the February 27 meeting. “We will have a lot more clarity on whether we want to move forward with a second round or not at that point,” Mullins said, “it will give us a time table of what we can and can’t do.”
Commissioners have begun the process of formulating questions for the upcoming open meeting and interviews, which the public is invited to attend. Rhodes told commissioners their deliberations in deciding who to choose will be public, and the only time they would be required to go into a closed session is if they are deliberating on terms of a contract. On the prospect of beginning interviews for the position and selecting a new city manager Mullins said, “I’m excited about this, and I can’t wait to get this process moving.”
Interviews will take place Monday, February 27 at 5 p.m. in the Sturgis City Hall’s Weisloch Raum, 130 N. Nottawa St.
Beca Welty is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice.
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