Golovin
GOVERNMENT
Few declare candidacy in upcoming municipal elections
Just a few minutes before the filing deadline on Tuesday at 5 p.m. incumbent school board member Jon Gregg filed his candidacy for the three-year board seat, running without competition. The story is similar for the other school board seat, currently held by Nancy Mendenhall, who’s also running for another...
Council holds off on authorizing hire of interim city manager
The Nome Common Council wanted to see a negotiated employment agreement before voting on a resolution to install former retired city attorney Brooks Chandler as the interim city manager. Outgoing City Manager Glenn Steckman is set to depart Nome on Sept. 1. Before the council was a resolution to approve entering into a contract with Chandler for a minimum of 90 days as interim city manager, but no agreement was attached to the resolution. Mayor John Handeland, taken aback by the council’s reluctance to pass the resolution without having a contract agreement before them, said the council had discussed this in executive session. The process was to find an interim city manager while the city is hiring a professional headhunting firm to seek a permanent city manager, while also advertising for the position. With the imminent departure of Steckman, it seemed pressing to install an interim. For the lack of a suitable temporary replacement the city hoped to find on an Alaska Municipal League’s list, Handeland said, it occurred to him in the middle of the night, that Brooks Chandler, a retired attorney who’s been the city’s legal counsel for more than 30 years and who has a connection to Nome, would be a good prospect. Chandler signaled interest and Handeland has entered into negotiations of terms of employment, but those negotiations have yet to be put into a formalized agreement. “Typically, we see a proposed agreement and the employment rate,” Councilmember Scot Henderson said. He said it seemed premature to sign off on the resolution without any of that information presented. Councilmembers Mark Johnson, Adam Martinson and Cameron Piscoya agreed, saying they want to see a contract prior to approving the resolution.
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