New city manager search winnows field to three

Wrangell has narrowed the field for its new borough manager, with city staff and members of the Borough Assembly holding a teleconference with five candidates during a closed-door meeting Friday.

Current manager Jeff Jabusch announced his plans to retire back in September, which is to take effect at the end of day March 31. In his current post since 2013, the move brings to a close four decades of employment with the city, much which was spent as its finance director.

The Assembly accepted the resignation announcement, approving formation of a committee to steer the transition made up of Jabusch, clerk Kim Lane, Mayor David Jack, and members Julie Decker and Mark Mitchell. The search began with a pool of about 25 candidates, which after going through resumes the committee whittled down to five. Those candidates were invited to an interview using Skype at last week's meeting, and after fielding questions four were invited to visit Wrangell next month for another round of interviews.

These include:

Ann Capela, recent city manager of Bethel from November 2014 to September 2016. During her time there she had secured a plan and funding for the city's sewer project, according to Alaska Daily News coverage of her tenure. Prior to that, she had been the township manager of Oakland Township in Michigan, and city manager for the City of Inkster, also in Michigan. Capela had also served for three years as the town manager of Minturn, Colorado, and has served in several other administrative capacities since 1995.

Michael Cleghorn is presently the director of solid waste services for Killeen, Texas, since October 2012. Prior to that, he had been the assistant director of solid waste services for Lufkin, Texas for a year and a half,

and the director of solid waste services for Crockett, Texas for six years. Before those

public sector positions, Cleghorn had served for 21 years in the Army, retiring in 2004 as a Chief Warrant Officer 3. During

his military service he had been an electronic warfare technician, advising on maintenance

and logistical issues for his

battalion's electronic equipment.

Bradley Hanson, had served as the city administrator for Onawa, Iowa, from June 2013 until March 2016. He had also been city administrator for Bridgeport, Nebraska, for 20 months before that, and had worked as an administrative intern in Limon, Colorado, from January 2010 to September 2011. Hanson also has private sector experience assistant managing a Walgreen's in Louisville, Colorado, and cites experience in promoting business development during his administrating jobs.

A fourth candidate, Angie Flick of Glendale, Arizona, withdrew her name from consideration Tuesday after further consideration over the weekend. She is presently the strategic business planning administrator for Maricopa County's Office of Management and Budget.

Tentatively the three candidates still under consideration will be brought for a visit to Wrangell on February 15, which will include an opportunity to meet with the public. Lane explained the hiring committee will be seeking additional input from local professionals and departmental staff as the selection process reaches its final round.