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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-06-15 TranscriptionPage I ITEM 2. CITY MANAGER SEARCH a) Accept Correspondence Throgmorton: Is there a motion to accept correspondence? Botchway: So moved. Dickens: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 2 ITEM 2. CITY MANAGER SEARCH b) MOTION TO DO A NATIONAL SEARCH SEEKING APPLICATIONS FROM ALL QUALIFIED PERSONS FOR THE CITY MANAGER POSITION Throgmorton: Uh, motion to do a national search seeking applications from all qualified persons for the City Manager position. Botchway: So moved. Cole: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Cole. Discussion? Uh, I would like to begin, uh, taking my prerogative as, you know, the Mayor of Iowa City. So ... roughly three months ago we appointed Geoff Fruin as Interim City Manager. At that time, we indicated that approximately three months after the effective date of his appointment we would decide whether or not to conduct a national search for a permanent City Manager. Beginning about one month ago, I began meeting with each individual Council Member to discuss the pros and cons of conducting su... such a search versus appointing Mr. Fruin. These discussions made it very clear that there are good reasons to conduct a national search, just as there as for appointing Fruin. Following these discussions, I encouraged each Council Member to hold one on one discussions with Mr. Fruin and to explore with him any questions that might influence their decisions. Most .... maybe all, I'm not sure, Members have held such meetings. This past Monday night, as requested by Mr. Fruin, we held an Executive Session to assess his performance as Assistant and now Interim City Manager, and to discuss our mutual expectations concerning the relationship between the Council and a City Manager. And, roughly one month ago, we invited members of the public to offer their recommendations concerning the decision we are now addressing, which brings us to tonight's meeting. I want to thank ... uh.... I just got tripped up here. I want to thank the I00 -plus individuals who responded to our request for public input. By my count, somewhere between 80 and 90% of respondents supported Geoff Fruin's appointment. In general, they argue that we should not waste time and money on conducting a national search we ... when we already have a terrific young talent at hand. Let me be frank — a large percentage of those respondents probably did not vote for the four of us who were elected in November. So it would be very easy to say we were elected to change City government and a key change would be to conduct a national search to identify an experienced and energetic person who would be committed to carrying out this Council's policies. I have carefully considered all This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 3 the comments we've received, as well as several that were provided face-to-face to me. And I've thought long and hard about what I've heard from fellow Council Members. But I've also reflected back on the many national searches I've participated in at the University, my own expectations of a City Manager, and my personal interactions with Mr. Fruin. I've had the pleasure of working with Geoff... um .... for the past four and a half years, the last si... the last three months in our roles as Mayor and Interim City Manager. During those three months, I have had extensive interactions with Geoff, including 13 weekly one-on-one meetings. These discussions have focused on key topics, such as making progress toward achieving our strategic plan, discussing important staff changes including, uh, the imminent departure of our Police Chief, and responding to an array of unexpected and emotionally charged events. In all of these interactions, I have found Geoff to be very responsive to the policy direction provided by the Council majority. I never sense that he's trying to manipulate me or turn the Council's policies in a direction he prefers. Rather, what I see is a person who tries to make sure the Council and I have the best professional advice that he and the rest of the City staff can offer. Moreover, I am fully persuaded that conducting a nine-month long national search would greatly inhibit our ability to make significant progress toward achieving the goals we have established. We need to have our manager and staff working toward achieving those goals, not wondering who the next City Manager might be. Whoever our next permanent City Manager is, I think it's very important for that person to begin his or her term with the clear expression of Council's support. Preferably, this would mean a unanimous vote. A 4 to 3 vote would place the new manager in a very tenuous situation. With these and many other factors in mind, I strongly and unequivocally support appointing Geoff Fruin as our permanent City Manager. I will vote against the motion to conduct a national search and I encourage you to do the same. Mims: I think that's very well stated, Jim. Um, I really appreciate that and you, of all seven of us, have certainly spent the most time with Geoff in the last six... six months basically, since you've been Mayor. Um, as you say, you've had those weekly meetings with him and discussed issues, um, facing the Council, etc., and you mentioned a couple of things that I just want to elaborate on, um, a little bit. One, I think is ... is the time and money. I think we have put together ... um, as I have said in the past, an aggressive strategic plan which, um, you know, I did not support when we voted on it, but I certainly ... it is the will of the majority and I have ... I support it now. I will not speak against it. Um ... I believe that once the majority has spoken we all need to get on board and support what the majority of the Council has voted for. Um, I expect.... expressed my views at that time. And, I think that's important now, um, as well, and I think, um ... the timeframe that you have mentioned, I think, is ... is crucial and is very detrimental to the implementation of the strategic plan, that the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 4 majority of this Council has supported, voted for, and I think that we all now support. Um, and so to ... to not have people distracted or time taken up doing other things. Um, I'm not sure that.... Members of this Council who have not been involved in a City Manager search .... have an inclination of the extensive, extensive amount of time that it will take, not only for this Council, um, I'm talking full days, I mean, people who are working having to take full days off from work, um, to do multiple interviews, um, not... starting with the search firms, selection of a search firm, um, etc. It is a lot of time commitment, um .... but more importantly than that, even if everybody is able and willing to commit that time, it is the delay in moving forward on what is .... I ... I think overall a very good strategic plan, although, uh, aggressive as I said, but I support it. Secondly, and you briefly mentioned this as well, Jim, I think another point that is just as if...if not similarly critical is the fact that the Iowa City Police Chief has resigned effective the end of this month. And, under state law, um, as I understand it, we can only appoint an interim for 90 days, and so .... if you start looking at a say nine-month process, by the time we would .... were to select a search firm, and hire a search firm, and they start doing all their stuff and we actually got somebody on board, and this is what many people have said — approximately nine months, give or take — you're talking three interim police chiefs in that time, plus one or two more at least by the time that person comes on board, gets familiar with the community, gets familiar with our Police Department, and conduct their search and can hire a permanent police chief. We're talking easily five interims. We do not have the depth, um, in this community and ... or within our Police Department staff to do that. It would be incredibly difficult. Um, we have a second item here that we'll get to, but again, a .... a huge part of my support for .... or.....not support for doing a national search is the fact that we have, um, an incredibly qualified, dedicated individual, um .... that .... understands the limitations and expectations of a City Manager based on, uh, based on their ethical code and .... uh, I think has shown through his term as Assistant City Manager, as well as his term as, uh, Interim City Manager that he will do everything in his power to implement the vision and the strategic plan set forth by the majority of this Council, and so I will join you, Jim, in not supporting a national search. Botchway: So I want to make four points real quick, and Jim, you did a... more eloquent job than I will as far, as Susan as well, as far as expressing your points, but ... I want to make clear a couple of issues, and provide some background. Um, and so recently the School District has done, um, what I would say is, um, a lot of administrative hires. And, that process has been very tedious, and I ... I don't have any experience doing a City Manager search and so I .... I'm not even going to speak to that because I'm one of the Council Members that don't, but .... knowing the amount of work it took, just to get the 11 or so administrators we had, or just one, but 11 administrators .... 11 to 13 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 5 that we had to hire, um, it is insurmountable. There are things that have ... that took nights upon days to work on that you just .... you don't think about in the grand scheme of things. You ... you're more looking at it from the standpoint of, you know, we want to get the best person in the position hired, and I .... I'm not saying we didn't do that. Um, but the amount of time that would take into it to me is a cause of concern. I know that a lot of you on here, four, are looking at this as a four-year gig, and I really .... I can appreciate that. I looked at it in the same way, as well, um, you know, uh, I'm not going to speak to whether or not I'm running for re-election, but you know, I am looking at it from the standpoint of there's two years where there's a considerable amount of work that I think that needs to get done. Frankly I'm a little upset in the last packet that came out, because I think there's some things that from a strategic plan standpoint we're not pushing forward on as hard ... and I'm not going to talk too much about that, but you know, I need laser focus on some of these initiatives going forward, and I .... personally don't have the time, um, to go through it, and I think that, you know, when I was speaking to multiple community members, a lot of them don't have the time, as well, and some of those community members might be leaving and want to see some of those changes, especially when you're talking about, um, the minority community or community of color, um, more specifically, um, I think that, you know, and this isn't a .... second point is, so time was my first point, and the Police Chief point is huge because the Police Chief point is a point of main contention with me that, you know, I want to make sure that we are eye on the prize for that particular position because that has spoken highly within the African American community and the Hispanic community as a constant cause of concern. I'm not saying anything about Sam, I'm just saying the position of police overall is a constant cause of concern. I am not inclined to have interims in the position. I want to go forth and have a tedious search for the right person in that position. Number two, um, overall Rockne has made this point before and .... I'll be honest with ya, at first I didn't like it because I felt it set a negative tone, but it is our job to set policy. You know, I mean.... election aside, you know, the election stood for the fact that.... people wanted to see something different. That is our job. Geoffs job is to administer whatever our direction is. I .... I think he can do that. I .... I think personally, as John, I think Rockne and others have brought things to the table, I think that is the way that I ... I like us to function. I wasn't .... while I was involved in, you know, obviously the last two years of Council, I didn't necessarily feel like that came up as much. I know that Jim did, I mean, I wasn't necessarily as involved with talking with Council Members about that, but I felt like more and more so we're having those conversations. You know.....I know Geoff is not going to, you know, try to persuade us or, I mean, at least I've had some crazy ideas that I've presented to him. Um, try to persuade us to do different things that I think will push a progressive majority forward, and so I ... I like again him to be the person that implements that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 6 The two other .... two other things I want to mention is, there's been a couple of comments, both publicly, um, and in the packet about, you know, people just tend to like Geoff. It's a little bit more than that, you know, um, going back to kind of my experience in working through the process, we've had internal candidates that I literally have needled through because I think that as internal candidate, you know, you have some .... uh, some favoritism at times being that person, and so you know when I was asking people about Geoff, you know, is this the person, you know, are there qualities that you don't feel like are becoming of your city manager. I heard nothing, and in this community (laughter) that's ridiculous! I mean, I'm just being honest with you! With this engaged community, that is ridiculous, and again, not, I mean, doesn't matter as far as diversity concern, um, socioeconomic status, black, white, Asian — it doesn't matter. It was just across the board, um, he just does a phenomenal job. My last point, and again, I will .... I will simply state that I agree with, uh, Susan and Jim on their point as far as, um, not, um, going forward with a national search, and hopefully I've made that point through my points. But, um, the majority vote, I was a part of a process in which it was a 5 — 2 vote for me to be Equity Director of the School District. I can't tell you how painstaking it is to not know that I don't have the support of the full board. Now that board has changed and hopefully I have the support of a new board, I don't know, but....it...it hurts, and so I .... I haven't talked to Geoff about that. I don't know his feeling. Believe me, I think with the issues that he has to deal with at the School ... or the City level, he ... he can figure that out a lot better than I did, but I .... I just, you know, in my own personal feelings on the matter as far as what a majority vote means, it ... it's pain ... I still think about it. I know the exact, um, members of the School Board who voted, um, not to approve me as the, um, Equity Director. I know the reasons why they do it, and I consistently go through in thinking about how I can prove to them, cause they're still in the community, why they made the wrong choice as far as their vote, and so I ... I just don't want to put our City Manager in that same boat because it wasn't a good feeling. It was a feeling that I had to live with, and still live with in a consistent basis. So, at that point I'll stop. Cole: I guess maybe I'll jump inhere a little bit. I view that as an issue three question. That is if we don't ... if we decide not to do a national search, then we get into the issue of whether we're going to support Geoff, and let me say this....Jim, I share your, uh.... basically (mumbled) of Geoff. He is an extraordinarily talented .... I have been amazed at how evenhanded he has been and how he's dealt with some incredibly thorny issues that I don't think any of us saw coming. No one has expressed to me that they doubt his technical competence. Um, I think he is a very strong candidate, but one point I'd like to emphasize, and I .... is I don't think a pro public search position is anti -Geoff. I'm an enthusiastic supporter of Geoff, and if we were to, and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 7 it doesn't look like we're going to be able to do this, if we're able to have an open search process, and he was one of the candidates, uh, I think everyone would start at the same point, but I think he would clearly be an extremely well-qualified candidate, and at the end of that process we hired Geoff Fruin, I think that would be a wonderful, um, outcome and I would celebrate and welcome that. However, I think our duty at its core is to uphold the principles of our Charter, and when I look at our Charter, I see the very first sentence, that it says is that we hereby adopt this Charter and confer upon it the full Home Rule powers of the State. And by this action we adopt the following principles. Number one, resident participation on an inclusive basis in democratic self-government. Now of course this is hortatory, this is aspirational, um, I'm not saying, uh, this is something that people are going to differ as to what that means, but what it means to me .... is more than a public process of soliciting email comments, and by the way, I'm not saying that that wasn't welcomed. I think that that was clearly ... we got that information, uh, it was overwhelmingly in support of Geoff, um, but to me it means more than that. It means meaningful participation as to the types of criteria that we would like to see for a city manager. I know the way I feel, and Geoff shares a lot of the criteria that I'd like to see, but I want to hear that in a meaningful public process, because when you do express your views publicly, there's a lot of people that I know that ... that don't feel comfortable sharing those publicly, and that's fine, but I think in a small group they may. Um, the second thing is that I look at, um, essentially page six of our Charter that also talks about all appointments and promotions of City employees, by City Council and City Manager, must be made to job related criteria, and be consistent with non- discriminatory and equal employment opportunity standards established by a ... pursuant to law. Um, you know, I think we have no greater duty than to ensure that this office, which I view to be the most important office ... I think in some respects, almost more important than an individual Councilor in terms of the operational, um, decision making that they have, uh, while we set policy, I ... I think that, you know, the Manager sort of sets the menu, um, they give us the information, they have an extraordinarily, um, high impact on the policy, uh, implementation that we do. And, it strikes me that the questions to whether Geoff Fruin is qualified or not is not the right question in my view. The question is is how do we know that there's not a graduate student that's 32 -years -old, um, that .... or maybe someone with 10 years experience at X municipality throughout the nation, that has all the qualities of Geoff, um, but maybe from a group that's been unrepresented. How do we know that? I, sitting here today, I think I am extremely impressed with Geoff. I think he is ... is an extraordinarily competent person, and I'm a huge fan of his, but I think if we're really serious about opening doors for people, and I think this is the most important door that we can keep open, we have to demonstrate with our actions, and to me that means that we open the door to allow everyone from every background This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 8 with the qualifications to petition to serve this city, and with this action I don't think that we're doing that. And so I cannot support a process that closes the door. I can't do it. Um, I know that this is going to be a minority position, but I want to state publicly for the record I do not want this position to be any way construed as a negative feeling towards Geoff. I'm a huge fan of his. I think he is an extraordinarily talented individual, but we need to keep those doors open and you know we've had a month during the summer to solicit email comments. I don't view that that's sufficient, and I think that, you know, of course it's going to be time -intensive. I'm a lawyer, I'm a trial lawyer during the day. I hardly have a spare second. Uh, but to me when we're talking about equal employment opportunities, um, that that's worth spending hundreds of hours if necessary to ensure that we meet this principle, and I want to clarify too. I think, again, this is an aspirational goal. I'm talking about this as a policy matter. I'm not talking about this in terms of, um, an absolute legal requirement. This is for the policy role that we have. And so I cannot support a process that's going to keep the door closed. Um, obviously it's step three, um, I ... I think, uh, I think people probably know where my vote is going to go at step three, but I ask to step two which is where we're at at this point, I'm not going to support that because I think we need to keep those doors open. So for me I'm going to vote yes to an open search. Dickens: Uh, I've been through the search before, and as Susan said, it's a very time -intensive. I just remember getting a box with between 25 and 40 ... applicants. You have to go through each one of those applications. I'm not afraid to spend $30,000 if I thought that, you know, out of that box we might find something better. I think Geoff s proven himself, that, uh, he can handle the job. Um .... with what we have to do in the next ... I've got a year and a half, and with ... I really want to see as much of the strategic plan get ... get done as we can over the next year. Um ... Rockne (mumbled) um, has some great points about doing a national search, but having been through one and ... and getting down to the five or seven finalists, interviewing those ... people on paper are much different than when you interview, um .... we had one candidate that on paper looked like he was a no-brainer. After you sit down and talk to him, he slid down the ... the list quite a bit, and I...just sitting with Geoff the other night and listening to him talk in interview, yes he has a comfort level with us. He was far and above as good as anybody that ... that we interviewed the last time, and I think we'd be making a big mistake to ... to not go with him and not do a national search. Thomas: Um, like .... like Rockne, I'm, uh, with .... with respect to the open search, I think it...it does seem to me that the best way of getting the candidate for the City Mana... Manager position is to .... to do the open search, to have a pool of qualified applicants from which ... from which you can draw. I .... I think the ... the time This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 9 considerations reflect the significance of the job, you know, that it...it is .... it would be time consuming to go through that process. Uh, it's .... it's worth going through that process insofar as it's determining who will be the City Manager for the City of Iowa City, which I think we would all agree is .... as important as any position in City government, and um.....uh, so ... so for me it's ... it's really what I would consider to be a procedural question. Uh, this ... as Rockne mentioned, this is ... this is in no way in my mind a ... a .... a commentary on the abilities of Geoff Fruin to do the work. Uh, it's ... it's simply that the best way of getting at determining, uh, who the best candidate is for the City Manager position is to have a pool of candidates. Um, Iowa City's a big city. It's 70,000 people. Uh, has many complex issues that ... that we're dealing with as we move forward, and again, you know, Geoff, and this ... this is one thing as ... as Jim outlined, there are a number of steps we went through over the last month. I ... I met with ... with Geoff and spoke with him for a couple of hours, uh, you know, I .... I am impressed with his qualifications. Uh, but I don't want to leave a shadow of a doubt in terms of the degree to which we go through the due diligence in the process. Now, urn .... another point I would make is that .... the other value in my mind, uh, of the ... of the public, of the open search, is ... is as Rockne mentioned the ... the fact that it would provide forums in which the public could participate and become part of the process in a really meaningful way, which I think would elevate the.... the.... the notion of governments in ... in Iowa City to have that kind of participation and the selection of the City Manager position. I think would also elevate.... the.... those candidates, you know, thinking back in their performance, and I think back to ... to running for office and how that elevated my experience and understanding, and .... you know, digging deeper into the notion of what it is to be on City Council, that had I not gone through that process I never would have experienced that level of engagement, and I ... I think that that kind of experience would be, uh, excellent preparation in terms of moving, whoever the candidate would be, moving into the position as City Manager. Um, so those are the reasons I ... I would support the open search. I too .... I'm, my under ... my sense is that this is a minority position, um, when ... when we discuss Item C, you know, I will support Geoff Fruin, uh, for ... for taking the position. But, uh, while I understand all the issues associated with doing the search, particularly in the short-term, this is a long- term decision that we're making, maybe perhaps the most important decision we make as .... as a Member of City Council. So, in the long-term I would just want to make sure that we were making the right one. Taylor: Well to be honest, if we as Council Members had been asked to make this decision just a few months ago, um, my vote would have been different. Uh, as a member of organized labor, which y'all know I am, I've always believed in transparency and a fair process for everyone, and I still do believe that, but I also believe that when one This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 10 makes a decision as John said that is as important as this one, you have to give it a lot of thought and serious consideration. In this case not only looking out for what's best for the City, but also considering how this decision might impact the employees of Iowa City. I would be concerned about their uncertainty of what to expect from a new supervisor, uh, I've been in that position — been there, done that — and that's not a comfortable place to be. Uh, I've heard from a number of employees that they are pleased with Geoff s performance, uh, as interim and would like to see him continue as City Manager. We did receive a number of letters from various folks in the community whose opinion I value and I appreciate that they took the time to write to us, uh, and yes, a lot of the correspondence was from the business community, many of whom were not in favor of my election to the Council. However, they have direct contact with Geoff and I value their opinion because of that. I appreciate the fact that some folks, uh, want a search process to find a pool of diverse candidates, and although this is an honorable thought, uh, that could be a difficult goal to accomplish. Uh, we run the risk that the only applicants would be other white males, and we'd be right back where we are now, and also we might run the risk, uh, of hiring someone who is only here to put another notch in their belt, and would move on to somewhere else, uh, in just a few years, whereas I believe that Geoff, as he mentioned in our conversation with him the other day, uh, is committed to remaining in Iowa City and I just feel that spending the money and the time on a national search would not be in the best interest of the community. Throgmorton: Thank you, uh, I'd like to add one more particular fact. Uh, I asked Manan to obtain some information about, uh... uh, the demographic composition of the city manager profession, and I ... I'm gonna give you some data here. It's not something I want to praise, but it's facts that, um, are relevant. Just under 3% of city managers nationwide are African American. Basically 3 % are Hispanic. 20% are women. So your point about ... it being likely that the pool would really consist of basically white males, uh... um, not Hispanic white males, I think is probably true, though .... of course we don't know because we haven't really gone that route. Uh, but... those... that's (both talking) Botchway: Two comments real quick, one .... um, I don't know about everybody else, but I ... I, the emails were persuasive, but honestly, you know, I've spent a considerable amount of time talking with folks, and so, um, you know, I felt like when you laid it out, the format as far as what the three month process, I mean I took that literally like you have three months to learn about this particular candidate and find out whether or not he's fit for the job, and if you have any inkling that he's not, you know ... move on. Um, so I ... I mean I just want to make sure that ... I don't want people to think that I jut took the letters, cause I mean .... I read `em but frankly, I mean, a lot of those folks, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 11 you know, they have their particular opinion and I have mine. Um, the other thing is, and I think Rockne brings up a great point about .... the EEOC, under -represented groups and finding that piece in the Charter. Um, one of the things that I have found in, you know, this long administrative list is how tough it is to recruit. I'm not saying that's a reason why. I'm just mentioning the fact that it is tough, and one of the things that is really hard on my job is ensuring that we have a framework set up for an individual or applicant of color, candidate of color or whoever's in the position, to succeed. I don't believe we have that in our city right now. I ... I don't want to put anybody on a .... a bad situation, I mean, I think it's something that as we were talking about diversifying the police force and talking about diversity of staff overall, you know, I think we need to have a retention plan and some things in place, and I still want to go there. Um, I would ... I would, there would have to be a long, even longer .... I guess (mumbled) nine months and frankly for me it would take a lot longer because I would be very interested in making sure or ensuring that there was a diverse applicant pool, putting the same amount of effort we put in, you know, from my own job, from that perspective, and I just don't see that as a possibility, and if I would, I'd have a different.....a different take on this entire conversation. Last point I forgot to mention is .... um, I'm not, this isn't a reason why, but I also want us to consider, again, you know, if we were to go through the process and it be Geoff, you know, looking kind of to our.... whatever that direction is, um, the University did not have, you know, a good .... thing with that particular process, and I would frankly, you know, I wouldn't ... I know there's a lot of people that would be upset if we spent the money and still ended up on the same person, and so I'm not saying that's a reason why we shouldn't do it. I'm just, you know, as we're thinking to the future and some other things, that was another concern or thought that went in my mind, um, as we were, you know, talking about candidates, but the biggest point I wanted to mention was under -represented groups, because I think that was a huge point, um, that I wanted to clarify. Mims: I would just add one other point, and .... to John's comment, the idea, you know, that of doing a national search and really trying to get the best candidates. I think one of the realities that we have to consider is when you have an internal, highly qualified candidate... it's very possible we would not get all of the best candidates who would even apply, because these folks talk to each other. That city manager, you know, pool and cadre is ... is fairly connected and tight, and if they know that there's a very highly qualified internal candidate, there inevitably would be some really qualified people who wouldn't throw their name in the pool. So that ... that kind of biases, you know, that as well, but it's just one other (both talking) Cole: Tom had cautioned us on that too. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 12 Mims: Yeah. (several talking) Taylor: It also would not be fair to them, I don't think, the other applicants, to bring them in full well kind of knowing in the back of our minds that Geoff was going to be our best candidate, I don't think. Cole: But I mean to me, can I say one final thing.... Throgmorton: Sure. Cole: Kind of to me if we only have a 3% shot, it's worth it. I would just close with that. Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Okay, hearing none I want to pro ... provide one more little piece of, I don't know, advice. If you think we should conduct a national search, you should vote yes on this motion. If you think a national search is not needed, you should vote no. (several talking and laughing) So there's a motion on the floor, uh, roll call. Karr: It's a motion. Throgmorton: Oh, there is no motion! Karr: There is a motion. All those in favor. You don't need a roll call. Throgmorton: There's no roll call. Karr: Did you want a roll call, I mean .... no, it's a motion! Throgmorton: All right. Mims: I think it would actually be better to do a roll call in this case (several talking) Throgmorton: Yeah, I'm for a roll call. Dilkes: (several talking) ...certainly do a roll call. Throgmorton: Motion fails 2-5. All right, so that leads us to Item, uh.....what is this (several talking) 2C. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 13 ITEM 2. CITY MANAGER SEARCH c) MOTION TO APPOINT GEOFF FRUIN AS THE PERMANENT CITY MANAGER SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATION OF A CONTRACT TO BE APPROVED AT AN UPCOMING CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO NEGOTIATE THE CONTRACT ON THE COUNCIL'S BEHALF Mims: So moved. Dickens: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Mims: I would just say very quickly, I think .... this is, and I think people ... I think everybody really here has addressed this, that this is a very different decision than the first one that we just made. I think, Rockne, you commented on it, John you both commented on it, that your votes for national search had no reflection on your view of Geoff. That was very high level decision, based on philosophical views, chart views .... in the Charter, etc. Totally respect those opinions and views. I do. Even though I disagreed with `em, I totally respect `em. I think here we are at a very different level. Um, I think .... as, and I'm not sure if it was Jim or Kingsley said the same thing about.... you know, I think it's important at this point having not heard any negative comments from this Council or really from this community about Geoff and his capabilities and his performance, I think it's very important that we come together as a Council. I would hope, as Jim said, I think earlier, unanimously and show to Geoff and to the community that we have made the decision as a majority that we're not going to do a search and that we are 100% behind Geoff as our City Manager. Cole: Agreed. You've got my vote, and just let me quick say one thing about my ... now that we're talking about the attributes of Geoff, which I think where we're at, my first interaction with Geoff, um, actually came in the fall of 2013. And he knew that I was very interested in environmental issues and downtown issues and in particular composting, and he instantly went into a 15 -minute discussion as to the policy ramifications of how we would achieve that if that was a goal that we had for downtown. And I understand right now we're in the process of evaluating some of those things, but for me .... that was one thing that really impressed me about Geoff. Um, that ... just the technical mastery, and the second thing that I really like about, um, Geoff is that, um, there's a lot of personalities on Council, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 14 uh, but I think it's good for this role to have (several talking and laughing) who would that be? (laughter) Um, but I think in particular for the role that Geoff possesses, I think he ... he, when ... when you float an idea to him, he ... he doesn't sort of pontificate as to why that's a bad idea. He's more just sort of, oh okay, well here are some of the operational... and I think that that personality characteristics, I think virtually will ensure that he will be a successful, uh, a manager, um, and so while I would have liked to see a national search, I think given that we're at this stage and the question is is he fit, is he competent, will he serve the community well, I think the answer to that question's clearly yes. So I will be supportive of a national, excuse me! (laughter) Of Geoff Fruin! (laughter) So I'm .... I'm supporting Geoff. And I'm a big fan of Geoff and I hope that's clear for the record. Botchway: Yeah, I'm a fan of Geoff as well. Um, I think that ... you even talked about his demeanor in handling different issues is key. I think that my biggest component, and I kind of alluded to it when we were talking, is that, you know, again not to allude to the election, but the change on Council and having an individual who can manage ... I mean, not ... not only different personalities, but hear what we're saying and operationalize it, I think, is key, and I think that he's been able to do it. I'll be very interested in the affordable housing discussion, you know, next week. Um, but you know, I feel .... in, and again, in the short amount of time that I feel like ... we need to get some stuff rolling on, especially with the Police Chief and some other issues, um, he ... he can come forward and be quick about other things, and I, you know, um, Pauline, I really appreciate your point cause I did not consider that piece of how employees felt of the, um, lack of stability and that also was a huge point for me because, you know, not only are we going ... he has to, you know, kind of implement these things, but as we're pushing forward and the time constraints as well, you know, employees have to be on board with working on the strategic plan initiatives as well, and so .... thank you for that, cause I did not .... that was not even in my thought process and that was a huge point, so.... Throgmorton: I would like to add, uh, a couple points, uh.... uh.... one has to do with diversity, and you and I talked about this particular point, uh, I .... I know it's the City Manager who hires the Assistant City Manager. It's the City Manager, according to our Charter, who hires the Police Ch ... Chief and so on. But I think, uh, we should, uh, be clear about, urn ... uh, how important it is to us that we diversify, uh, the City Manager's office and ... make great, uh, efforts to, um .... look for a Police Chief who would be either female or African American or Hispanic or .... or both or somehow out of the mold in a way that would really, uh, be good for our This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016. Page 15 community. Uh, we can't tell Geoff to do that, I guess. It's not within our power to do it, I don't know, you tell me. Dilkes: You can certainly express to him the need to do everything he can to secure a good applicant pool. Throgmorton: There ya go! Mims: You know, and that's something I know that I had some pretty in-depth conversations with Tom Markus when he was still here and is something that, you know .... he was really trying to do. It was something he believe in very, very strongly, and one of the conversations we had, and I asked about, is you know.... what is the student population look like in public policy programs and things like that, and he was like, you know, that's one of the problems. It's like ... no diversity, and so I agree that we need to work very, very hard on that. We need to encourage Geoff, but we also need to make sure we've got really good people, and what I would hope that he might look for, you know, is internship -kind of opportunities for diverse populations, where you kind of get `em in the door, maybe it wasn't something they really considered. They get in, they kind of like it, and now maybe they start pursuing some things, but, um, it ... it's one of those many, many professions that is going to continue to be an incredible challenge, but something we need to continue working on. Throgmorton: On that point, Susan, I ... I don't know how much the City Manager's position differs from the City planning, urban planning profession. I do know that the urban planning profession is vastly more diverse now than it was 20 years ago. Uh, and that's been a very good thing (several talking) And so I ... I'm hopeful that ... uh, at the level of, urn .... people who would be good candidates as Assistant City Manager, that the pool would be bigger, and .... and more.... promising. So, we'll... we'll have to see. Any further discussion? Okay, on this one....you vote yes if you're in favor (several talking and laughing) So let's do a roll call on this too. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 15, 2016.