Assembly could make borough manager decision this week

The assembly could decide this week on a new borough manager. The three finalists were scheduled for interviews at a special assembly meeting Wednesday afternoon, and assembly members could take action in public after talking with the candidates in private.

The finalists scheduled for interviews were Jeff Good, who has been working as interim borough manager since Nov. 1; Alexandra Angerman, CARES Act coordinator at Wrangell Cooperative Association; and Kim D. Zimmerman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who serves as borough manager of Lewistown, Pennsylvania.

The borough received eight applicants for the job, with assembly members selecting three finalists. The interviews were scheduled for executive session Wednesday, closed to the public.

The meeting agenda also included a draft motion to offer the job and negotiate a salary with the successful candidate, though the assembly is not required to make a decision the same night as the interviews.

The draft motion would direct two assembly members to negotiate the borough manager’s contract, which would have to come back to the full assembly for approval.

The other five applicants not selected as finalists were: Brian O’Hara, deputy district director for a congressional office in Jenks, Oklahoma; Lukas Benjamin Darling, regional planner at Stark County Regional Planning Commission in Canton, Ohio; Patrick Marsh, a grant writing and property acquisition consultant at CWIowa in Rock Island, Illinois; Tara Welinsky, office manager at St. Herman Theological Seminary in Kodiak; and Jeffrey Millican, Korea programs manager in Pyongtaek, South Korea, for Huntington Ingalls Industries, a Virginia-based military shipbuilding company.

Mayor Steve Prysunka said he’s looking for a candidate who can build teams and positive rapport with the borough staff.

“I'm looking for someone who is creative in looking at the issues that we have in the community regarding our aging infrastructure and finding creative solutions to dealing with those,” Prysunka said.

He said he’s also looking for someone who is fiscally conservative, “but not to the point that we are deferring maintenance for a good-looking ledger today. Someone who is bold and can stand tall when concerns and issues come up with the assembly, help us navigate those concerns in a constructive way.”

Lisa Von Bargen left the job on Oct. 29.