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The Minden Town Board workshop was held at 6:30 pm on August 24, 2011 at the CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda Avenue, Minden, Nevada. Board members present: Matt Bernard, Charlie Condron, Roxanne Stangle, John Stephans and Steve Thaler. Staff present: Sharla Hales on behalf of George Keele, Trish Koepnick and Bruce Scott Meeting was called to order by Chairman Stephans. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ms. Stangle. Thaler/Stangle moved for approval of agenda as published. Motion carried unanimously. Public Comment: Mr. McMillan asked if this meeting was subject to the rules of open meeting laws, and chose to address the Board concerning the American Disability Act. He is hard of hearing and disabled because of it. We do not need a new sound system but we need to be aware that we need to speak into the microphones; he is only asking for a change of habit. He also felt that it should be disclosed for the record if any candidates for the manager’s position are here tonight. Mr. Stephans said he was aware of the volume problem and he has spoken to each of the Board members to bring this to their attention. PUBLIC WORKSHOP MEETING: Discussion and public workshop to discuss the qualifications and attributes that the Minden Town Board is looking for in a Town Manager, should they elect to fill the position. Mr. Stephans started the discussion. He said that he would like to hire someone with a financial background in governmental accounting, as the Town accounting requirements are getting quite involved with the wholesale and retail water accounts. He would like to see a person with a grasp on grant writing, communication skills, who is looking for challenges and gets things moving, a people person and problem solver. He sees this person more involved with the day to day routine, and is not sure that it needs to be a 40 hour a week position with benefits. Mr. Bernard understands the comment about finance experience, but he puts less weight on the financial end. He believes that we need a manager and that the right person can help the Town in all kinds of ways. Looking at all the qualifications it is hard to think of someone who could meet all of the criteria. He would like to see someone who is a people person and will become the face of the day to day operation. He sees an ambassador who builds relationships with Gardnerville, Douglas County, and other entities. This person would oversee the personnel and would be there for the employees on a daily basis. Possibly we can use the County more in the financial area. Mr. Thaler stated that having been through this once before he knows that we are bound by a lot of Human Resources requirements. He thanked the public for attending this workshop and he looks forward to public comment on this issue. This person would be the face of Minden and would understand what Minden needs. The manager would be the leader of the employees and very employee-driven, would understand economic vitality and be part of the community. In regard to budgeting, when we do not have a manager, the Board becomes the managers of the Town. He believes that the Board should be policy makers and the manager the policy administrator. The manager needs a basic understanding of budgeting although Mr. Thaler does not see this as a huge priority. We need a manager to work with our engineers and not necessarily be an engineer. He would especially like to see a self starter—someone who does not have to be told what to do but has ideas and ownership in the Town and makes things happen; this person should understand county and state politics. Ms Stangle said she spoke directly to 111 people and only 3 felt that we need a manager. We have the experts on water issues on staff. She has been told that people are concerned they will end up footing the bill for the water improvements. The person in this job will represent each person who lives and works in Minden. We love this town and care about what happens to it, and we need someone who also has a heart ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Workshop August 24, 2011 Page 2 of 4 for the Town. She believes that it will be hard to find someone who is good at PR and also business and finance; perhaps we could consider two part time positions. Mr. Condron would like to hear from all of the public. When we spoke of having a workshop, he knew the Board would come to a consensus on what we believe, and he has already heard that tonight. His highlights have already been spoken of. His list of qualities is as follows: 1. Excellent communication is a critical factor, and the manager must be able to use mediums. 2. Manage employees effectively; motivate, hold them accountable and see a real team climate created. 3. Expert with finance, know the County budget, and maintain an accurate up to date budget. 4. Successful grant experience. 5. Ambassador: friendly and approachable, visible in Town, County. More time on the street than in the office. Work well with all people and supports business community. 6. Historian: understand where Minden has been and where it is going. Know all of Town’s functions, especially what we are doing with the water. 7. Must love Minden: can’t do all these things if your heart is not in it. Mr. Stephans asked Mr. Scott for comments. Mr. Scott said his company is committed to doing whatever is necessary to support this person, and he hopes that they can be an asset to this position by giving all the history and background. Minden is pretty dear and he hopes that he is given the opportunity to provide background to this person. He will do all he can to support the Town to make sure that the firm ground that we are on is sustained. Mr. Thaler asked Sharla Hales as a Minden resident for any insights that she might have. Sharla thinks the Town is in good hands and what she heard is what she hoped to hear and the Board has pinpointed important qualities. Mr. Stephans encouraged all public input; he takes comments very serious and welcomes all, both here tonight and outside of Board meetings. Mr. Thaler encouraged any applicant who is here tonight to speak, as there is really no time other than tonight that you are guaranteed to be able to speak. He noted that the final date to apply for the position is September 23. Public comment: Bill Driscoll, retired fire chief, has lived in Minden 31 years. He is interested in both part and full time, and based on his experience he believes that this position is right on target for him. What we need is a person who will go out, talk to existing businesses, find out their needs, make them happy and exert passion for Minden. With that, other businesses will come. Mr. Driscoll shares that passion and he would be honored to have the position. Greg Leiss, Minden resident, has not applied yet but wanted to hear the Board tonight. He felt that some of the qualifications on the job announcement don’t quite match some of the desires that he has heard tonight. Maybe taking one more look at criteria might get a person that more closely matches what you are looking for; it is critical to get the skill sets, and right now they might be a mismatch. Robert McMillan said that when he thinks of the Town manager he thinks of staff and his first concern is to be frugal with one’s own money as well as public money. He finds offense with a person who gets grants, because grants come from his pocket; he would much rather see a person who can manage and be frugal with their own finances. The manager should take into consideration that there are only 3000 residents and not start a project that will cost $1000 per resident. Water income is in the future and we have no money coming in now; we must be frugal. Also, the manager should not work for a salary but must be willing to sign a contract, similar to one that a teacher signs with a disclosure that they will not do anything that is insulting to the Town. He suggested that the contract holds after 3 months and the term should be longer than one year. Bev Giannopoulos said that she loves this Town too, and would like to see a well qualified person ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Workshop August 24, 2011 Page 3 of 4 with a heart for the Town and residents who here for the long haul, not as a stepping stone for the future. We need to have confidence in that person to give latitude and resources. Knowledge is key but personality and passion is vital. She encouraged the Board to use gut feelings in the process, and hopes that it would come down to more than three finalists. It is a special position, and as a previous manager herself she had to pull people together as a team, and use PR skills to create a cohesive environment. A lot of skills can be learned, and will be learned if they have the passion for the Town. This position is not for just an 8-5 person, but for someone who will do everything possible to enhance Minden and their position. Rick Angelosi said he has been in public service about 30 years, the latest at the City of South Lake Tahoe. He is very familiar with many phases of running public agencies. He is very pleased that they are having this workshop and really appreciates the opportunity to hear them tonight. He is familiar with grants and business attraction and retention. He has worked closely with Douglas County for years, and is familiar with County as well as state politics. Robert Pohlman would like to see the Board review the Plan for Prosperity and decide what growth they would like to see in this Town, in particular what the 1500 acres to the east would mean to the Town. The major qualities that he would look for are analysis and judgment. Elise Cunningham said one thought that struck home was when it was said that only 3 of 111 people said they supported spending the money to have a Town manager; it shines a light on how this person needs to communicate. Every person needs to walk away from the manager feeling that they have known this person their whole life; a manager needs to wrap their arms around the community and say this is mine and then promote it. It is not about individual politics; every person needs to be valued and feel that they are heard. In a small community, you need to serve in multiple capacities; the manager is the “go to” person. Some people have years of experience in small communities wearing multiple hats, and this is a very special quality in a manager. There will be a learning curve if you bring someone in from outside the area. Any time that you have goal-setting team-building opportunities, broadcast this using every source possible, as everyone is a potential ambassador to promote the community. Jack Whipple asked why we need a manager. He hears we need someone with accounting background, a nice person, and grant writer, but why do we need a manager for $100,000 a year? You are searching for something that you don’t need. If you need an accountant hire an accountant, the Board members are the ambassadors. It has been a nice town and we never needed one before; we have very capable people so let them do their job. Bev Giannopoulos would like to add that the manager should be self starter and problem solver to pull the team together. We have so many skilled and dedicated employees in this town and they deserve to have that managerial position so that they don’t have to overlap as much as they have in the past. The Town has grown and needs this position. Mr. McMillan said that as Mr. Whipple pointed out, we talked about these same qualities two years ago when we were first looking for a manager. We have to ask ourselves what we have learned from this experience and what do we not want to have repeated, the public is waiting to hear that too. The benefits package that was given to the previous manager when he left is a sore subject with him and many citizens, as their only information is from the Record Courier. Mr. Stephans appreciates all the comments, especially on whether or not we need a Town manager and what we have learned from the past. Board comments: Mr. Bernard enjoys this process; public comment is critical but he also needed to see what the other Board members are thinking. He cannot call them up and see what they are looking for. He is not sure how the Board comes to this consensus, but he is learning along with everyone else. We have an ad out right now for a manager, so he feels that the person we hire should fit into the role that we are advertising for. He understands Mr. Whipple’s thoughts on not needing a manager: he has learned more about the process, and he understands the need more now than two years ago. He believes we need a manager mainly because he can gather information and disseminate the information to the Board members. He also sees the personnel management as being very important; who does that when there is no manager? He is also concerned about frugalness; we are very extended as a Town in our obligations for the water system and more than ever we need to be careful about how we spend money. There is a benefit in budget oversight, and the ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Workshop August 24, 2011 Page 4 of 4 private sector really just wants us to stay out of the way and create a business friendly environment. He questioned the process and what happens after the job closes. Mr. Thaler said that Darcy at HR will tell us the hiring process, which is set by so many rules and regulations that you are sometimes bootstrapped. He is convinced that we need a manager and believes that this is a necessity as a Board member. He feels that we can put the right person in place to manage the Town and he would be happy to talk to Mr. Whipple about this. He believes that personally they are pretty frugal, and he has no doubts that this Board is doing it well. The Town has grown, but we have a wholesale water delivery now as the Town sits on a lot of water and we are getting that water to people who need it. He believes that the right person is out there, and he looks forward to the process. Ms. Stangle said that she has never worked a government job and has a hard time understanding budgets. This is a lot of money to spend on the position but this person will also have a lot of responsibility. She is not convinced that this person really needs all those qualifications. She hopes that all 5 people on the Board have a whole lot more input than in the last process and she will not settle for anybody who does not love this community. Mr. Condron really likes the words that were used tonight and appreciates all the input. He agrees that the most important thing is to pick the right person. A manager will be viable for the future and the success of this town. He wants this Board involved in the process. We need to work with HR, not be told by HR. Why can we not do the selection the same way as the School District? Maybe we need to delegate someone to communicate what we need and how we can modify the process to make sure that that is the kind of person we select. Public comment: Mr. Whipple: After listening to all five comments, he thinks what we need is a water manager, unless you are looking for God. Basically, it is a water company so why do we need someone to do grants? Go hire a water manager. He does not need someone to tell him what to do in Minden. Mr. McMillan said we just had two volunteers; why do you have to be paid when you are already getting a pension? The Town office is open tomorrow so just come in and volunteer. Beverly Giannopoulos thanked the Board for the public workshop and for allowing her to express what we need. Over the last year she was has been sold on the position. She was from the old school and had asked why we needed a manager. Things have progressed, and because legalities make new requirements, she has come to believe in the position. Condron/Bernard moved to adjourn at 8:00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.