Kalamazoo City Commission announces city manager finalists
As of Monday night the City of Kalamazoo had received 56 applications for its city manager position. The commission agreed by consensus to condense that list to four finalists.
The Kalamazoo City Commission released the names of four finalists vying to become Kalamazoo’s next city manager during its regular meeting Monday. Elle Colle, Malcolm Hankins, Odis Jones, and Laura Lam will advance to the next stage of vetting. Their bios as provided by the city can be found here.
The search, which the city is conducting for the first time since 2013 comes as current manager James Ritsema announced his retirement six months ago.
The next steps for the new candidates are a meet and greet on Tuesday, October 14 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Catalyst Center followed with public interviews on Wednesday, October 15 at 4 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall.
Kalamazoo’s governmental structure, as described by Mayor David Anderson is a commission/city manager form of government where the commission body is able to make formal decisions and take actions, however, authority is balanced with a powerful city manager. Anderson explained this in light of highlighting the importance of this selection to the city.
As of last night the city had received 56 applications which the commission agreed by consensus to condense to four finalists.
Other items
In other business, commissioners unanimously approved more than a dozen infrastructure and service contracts, including $435,000 to replace deteriorating domestic water pipes at City Hall, $239,440 to extend a downtown parking and mobility consulting agreement with Mission North, and $115,250 for a 2025 tree-planting initiative funded through a federal community forestry grant.
The commission also set two public hearings for October 20 on proposed property tax abatements tied to downtown redevelopment projects at 261 E. Kalamazoo Ave. and 227 W. Michigan Ave., approved the $249,300 purchase of 6086 E. Michigan Ave. for a public services project, and established the Porter Street Neighborhood Enterprise Zone to support new housing investment on the Northside.
All commissioners were present, however, Commissioner Dan Cooney needed to leave early.
Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
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