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Lakewood council moves to recess into executive session to evaluate city manager candidate and authorize staff to negotiate contract
Summary
An unnamed councilmember at a special Lakewood City Council meeting moved to recess into an executive session to evaluate qualifications for an applicant for the city manager position and to authorize the mayor and key staff to negotiate an employment contract with the selected candidate, identified in the transcript as “Russle.”
An unnamed councilmember at a special Lakewood City Council meeting moved to recess into an executive session to evaluate qualifications for an applicant for the city manager position and to authorize the mayor and key staff to negotiate an employment contract with the selected candidate, identified in the transcript as “Russle.” The transcript does not record a vote tally or final approval.
The motion, as stated on the record, asked the council to recess into executive session to evaluate the applicant’s qualifications and then directed the mayor and key staff to negotiate a proposed employment contract with the selected candidate and bring that contract back for review and approval at a later regular City Council meeting. The councilmember who made the motion described aspects of the applicant’s experience and community fit as reasons to proceed with selection and negotiation.
Discussion on the record emphasized the candidate’s experience and examples of projects that would “translate well to Lakewood” and noted that staff outreach to the candidate should be immediate so that a contract form would be ready for consultative review at the next regular meeting. The transcript includes a brief statement indicating the intent for the executive session to occur until after the meeting; no duration or end time is definitively recorded.
The transcript records that the motion was moved and seconded but does not provide names for the mover or seconder, a roll-call or voice vote tally, or a final adoption statement. Because the transcript does not record a formal vote or whether a contract was ultimately approved, this article distinguishes the procedural actions recorded (a motion to recess and an instruction to negotiate) from any final decision or contract approval.
No statutes, ordinances, or other legal authorities were cited in the transcript excerpt. The councilmember said staff should return the negotiated contract for formal review and approval at a later regular City Council session.
The matter—selection and contract negotiation for the city manager—remains subject to subsequent council action. The transcript does not show whether negotiation succeeded or whether a contract was later approved.
