At a regular College Place City Council meeting, officials described a multi‑step process for interviewing finalists for a mayoral appointment and said Oct. 13 is the tentative date for interviews, consultant Dave Zabel said.

The plan calls for each candidate to rotate through three panels — a council panel, an executive panel including the mayor and any designees, and a department‑head panel — followed by a lunch, a roughly one‑hour tour and a debrief to share impressions with the mayor, Zabel said. "We're probably talking about a 6 hour process because we, you know, we're talking interviewing 3 pretty much 3 panels," he said.

Why it matters: the mayor makes the initial appointment and the council will later vote on confirmation. Officials said the schedule and format are intended to let panelists see candidates in both formal interviews and a more informal setting, and to give the mayor multiple perspectives before making a decision.

During the meeting, Zabel, who identified himself as representing GMP Consultants, emphasized timing: "the mayor's gonna have to make a decision at some point in time. There's no deadline," he said, noting that delaying an appointment can risk losing candidates who receive other offers.

Council members and staff discussed adding a public meet‑and‑greet. One councilmember recalled prior processes that included an evening reception and said it "seemed to be good," noting that community members appreciated the chance to meet candidates. That reception would, if adopted, occur separately from the interview panels and could be scheduled the evening before interviews to accommodate travel schedules.

Councilmembers and staff also supported rotating panels to capture varied perspectives. A councilmember said the brief debriefs after each candidate helped surface observations panelists might otherwise miss, and staff confirmed each panel will include a facilitator to manage time and permit short discussions between interviews.

No formal appointment or confirmation vote occurred at the meeting. Councilmembers asked that staff and the consultant collect suggested interview questions from council and department heads; Zabel said the consultant team would incorporate those requests into the questions used during interviews.

The meeting concluded with a procedural motion to adjourn. The motion was moved and seconded and the presiding officer declared the meeting concluded at 8:45 p.m.

What’s next: staff and the consultant will finalize scheduling, the panel list and the interview questions; the mayor will make the appointment after interviews and the council will later consider confirmation.