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04-07-2014 HUCM Minutes of the Special Hutchinson Utilities Commission Meeting of April 7,2014 Westlund Room - Hutchinson Event Center Members present: President Anthony Hanson,Vice-President Monty Morrow, Commissioner Dwight Bordson, Commissioner Donna Luhring, Commissioner Mark Girard. Also present were City of Hutchinson Human Resources Director, Brenda Ewing and Hutchinson City Attorney, Marc Sebora. Also present was Jeremy Carter,the finalist for the Hutchinson Utilities general manager position. The meeting was called to order at 1:00 PM. President Hanson explained the purpose of the meeting was to conduct the finalist interview of Jeremy Carter for the general manager position and that Human Resources Director Brenda Ewing would be primarily conducting the interview with the Commission having an opportunity to ask follow-up questions. President Hanson announced that Commissioner Dwight Bordson would be leaving the meeting at 1:45 p.m. President Hanson also stated that because Commissioner Bordson would be leaving early and in order for the whole Commission to be able to discuss the information obtained through the interview, he would be entertaining a motion to recess the meeting and reconvene at the same location on April 9, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. at the conclusion of this day's session. Vice-President Morrow stated that he wanted it in the record that he was not aware that Mr. Carter was the only candidate being interviewed. Ms. Ewing began by explaining the recruitment process for the general manager's position. She noted that at its January 21, 2014, meeting,the Commission formed a recruitment subcommittee consisting of Commissioners Bordson and Luhring, with Ms. Ewing acting as facilitator, for the purpose of attracting applicants for the general manager position. Hutchinson Utilities advertised the position locally, regionally, and nationally. As a result of those advertisements 19 individuals submitted applications. 11 of those individuals were found to meet the minimum qualifications necessary for the position and of those 11, 9 were found to have most closely matched the position as advertised and were forwarded to the Commissioners for review. Except for Commissioner Girard, the other four Commissioners individually reviewed the qualifications of these 9 applicants and scored the applications. The top 5 scoring candidates were invited for an initial interview. Of the 5 candidates invited,four candidates accepted the interview invitation. Initial interviews were then held by the recruitment subcommittee. At the March 26, 2014, Commission meeting, the Commission discussed the results of the initial interview process and determined to conduct a finalist round of interviews for finalists as determined by the recruitment subcommittee. Today's meeting was called for the purpose of conducting that finalist's interview. Ms. Ewing then began conducting the interview and asked the candidate,Jeremy Carter, questions regarding management experience, intergovernmental relations, personnel management, budgeting, industry regulation, technology, public relations skills, and conflict management among other things. During the questioning, Commissioner Bordson asked Mr. Carter about cost-sharing opportunities between the Hutchinson Utilities Commission and the City of Hutchinson. President Hanson asked Mr. Carter about maintaining the independence of the Hutchinson Utilities Commission and the importance of that. Vice-President Morrow asked Mr. Carter about his experience in dealing with complaints from state regulatory agencies and working with state regulatory agencies in general. At 1:47 p.m. Commissioner Bordson excused himself from the meeting. At this point, the prepared question portion of the interview was concluded. Commissioners were then given an opportunity to ask additional follow-up questions. Commissioner Girard asked Mr. Carter about what Mr. Carter felt were the pros and cons of taking the Utilities general manager job. President Hanson then asked Mr. Carter if he had any questions of the Commission. Mr. Carter asked the Commissioners about what they felt were the biggest challenges facing the Hutchinson Utilities Commission at the present time. Mr. Carter also asked the Commissioners to elaborate on the attributes that the Commission was looking for in the person that they would eventually select for the general manager. Lastly, Mr. Carter asked the Commissioners talk about what they saw as the Commission's short, medium and long-term goals. The interview was then concluded and Mr. Carter excused himself from the meeting. President Hanson then asked the Commission to consider all of the information that was presented during the interview that was conducted and to ponder it for the next day or so. President Hanson stated that it was important for the Commission to decide whether Mr. Carter was the person that was appropriate for the position of general manager, or not, and asked the Commission to consider all of the information that was presented during the meeting today in making that decision. President Hanson then stated that he would entertain a motion to recess the meeting until April 9, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. in the same location to consider the next steps in the Utilities general manager selection process. At 2:21 p.m. a motion was made by Commissioner Luhring and seconded by Commissioner Girard to recess the meeting and to reconvene at the same location on April 9, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Reconvened Meeting of April 9, 2014 The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by President Anthony Hanson. All of the Utilities Commission members were present as were City of Hutchinson Human Resources Director Brenda Ewing and City Attorney Marc Sebora. President Hanson stated that it was the purpose of the meeting to determine whether or not Jeremy Carter was the person who should be selected as the next Hutchinson Utilities Commission general manager. Commissioner Bordson explained that there was no candidate that completely met all of the desired qualifications for the Utilities general manager. All of the candidates had weaknesses, or gaps, in their qualifications, but that in his opinion Mr. Carter was the preferred candidate because of his leadership skills. Commissioner Bordson stated that while it is true that Mr. Carter does not have extensive experience in operating a gas or electric utility, Hutchinson Utilities staff can be utilized to assist Mr. Carter in those areas, especially in highly technical matters. Mr. Bordson stated that Mr. Carter's experience in dealing with governmental entities and organized labor groups was a plus for his application. In addition, Mr. Carter's extensive financial background would be an asset for the Commission. Commissioner Luhring stated that other persons who interviewed for the position were not business managers, and that she sees a person with management experience to be a critical need of the Utilities at the present time. Commissioner Luhring stated that there are budgetary concerns looming for the Utilities that the Commission will have to focus on and that Mr. Carter is a person that would be able to address them. Commissioner Luhring stated that Mr. Carter has the business background required for the job and that he is a known person in the community. Commissioner Bordson said that he would be opposed to any suggestion of having a shared position of a chief executive between the Hutchinson Utilities Commission and the City of Hutchinson and that it was his opinion that such a shared position would not be in the best interests of Hutchinson Utilities. President Hanson concurred stating that it is vital that Hutchinson Utilities have its own separate identity separate and apart from the City of Hutchinson. President Hanson added that it is important that the new general manager get to know all of the Utilities employees individually to help successfully run the organization and that Hutchinson Utilities needs the full-time undivided attention of its general manager. President Hanson continued that based on all of Mr. Carter's experience, both in the private and public sector, that Mr. Carter would be a good manager for the Utilities. President Hanson stated that Mr. Carter will be able to accumulate knowledge on the technical side of the operation of the Utilities from staff, and therefore it is important that the position of Director of the Electrical Division that will be vacant because of the retirement of Steve Lancaster be filled by a capable person. Commissioner Girard stated that he was impressed with the business management credentials of Mr. Carter. Commissioner Girard stated that the Commission is looking for person skilled in management and that Mr. Carter has the necessary training and expertise in management. Commissioner Girard concurred with previous comments concerning the ability of Mr. Carter to gain knowledge and experience on the technical side of utilities management from existing staff. Vice-President Morrow stated that he is looking at the general manager's position from a different perspective. Vice-President Morrow agreed that Mr. Carter has the experience and expertise in business management, but Vice-President Morrow has concerns about the lack of regulatory experience that Mr. Carter has. Vice-President Morrow stated that it is very important for a utilities general manager to have an idea of the bigger picture and broader issues facing utilities at all levels including local utilities. Issues like smart grid technology cannot simply be taught. President Hanson agreed that this is an issue that should be considered, but as with previous general managers, the Commission has received assistance from experts in particular fields to help guide the decisions of the Hutchinson Utilities Commission. Vice-President Morrow then stated that whoever is selected for the position of general manager must be given the tools and support of the Commission members necessary to succeed at the Hutchinson Utilities Commission. This would include increased involvement of Attorney Sebora and Human Resources Director Brenda Ewing in the matters appropriate for them. Commissioner Bordson stated that if Mr. Carter was to be offered a contract it initially should be for a period of one year. Commissioner Luhring stated that it will take a longer period than one year for anyone to become familiar with Hutchinson Utilities. Commissioner Luhring stated that you won't find someone that has the complete package to run Hutchinson Utilities but it is important that we get someone to match our needs as closely as possible. Commissioner Luhring noted that it is important that the Commission hire someone with integrity to run the business of the utility. President Hanson agreed, stating that truth, transparency and integrity is what the Utilities needs in a general manager. A motion was then made by Commissioner Luhring, seconded by Commissioner Bordson to extend an employment contract to Mr. Carter for the position of General Manager of Hutchinson Utilities. The motion passed unanimously. President Hanson then stated that any contract of employment would need to be reviewed by the entire Commission and voted on at some future Commission meeting. President Hanson then also asked Brenda Ewing take the lead in negotiating a contract of employment with Mr. Carter with the assistance of Commissioner Bordson. President Hanson urged Ms. Ewing to examine other contracts that exist with other municipal utilities in the preparation of Mr. Carter's contract. Ms. Ewing also indicated that she had resources available to her from the League of Minnesota Cities for the development of the employment contract. At 2:29 p.m. a motion was made by Commissioner Bordson and seconded by Commissioner Girard to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.