Lake Forest Park council narrows appointment pool, schedules six interviews for June 4-5

Deputy Mayor Tracy Feritani presided over a Lake Forest Park City Council special meeting on May 20, where council members voted to remove two applicants who are running for council from consideration and agreed to interview six remaining candidates on Wednesday, June 4, and Thursday, June 5, at 6 p.m.

Feritani opened the meeting by noting the number of applicants: “we do have 8 applicants,” and led council discussion on whether to narrow the pool. Council members debated whether excluding declared candidates who are running for office would be fair. After a motion to eliminate two applicants who had filed to run — Fred Grant and Joshua Rosenau — the council carried that motion and proceeded to invite the six remaining applicants to interview.

The council specified interview logistics consistent with the city’s governance manual. Members agreed to a random drawing by the city clerk to determine each candidate’s order of appearance; the clerk will draw lots and assign three interview slots to June 4 and three to June 5. The council also decided the same set and order of questions will be used for every candidate; the clerk will draw the question order so it is identical for all interviewees. The clerk was asked to notify candidates and to send the chosen questions to applicants promptly.

Council members discussed accommodations and fairness around scheduling. Some members argued that all applicants had been given notice of the two possible interview dates and that random drawing should stand; others asked for limited flexibility if a drawn slot presented an unavoidable conflict. The governance manual language read during the meeting says the city clerk determines the order by random drawing prior to the interviews.

The council also set procedures for post-interview deliberations. Members agreed to hold short debrief sessions after each interview day in executive session, with the city attorney present to advise on allowable topics of discussion under state law.

Questions the council compiled for candidates focus on the city’s budget outlook, the short duration of the appointment term, affordable housing in a built-out city, and the candidate’s experience reaching consensus. During the meeting members cited budget figures that will be part of interview questions: the council used about $800,000 from roughly $7.3 million in unallocated fund balance for the 2025–26 biennium, and a projected shortfall of about $1.6 million was mentioned for a future biennium; those figures were read into the record as background for candidate questions.

Next steps: the city clerk will draw lots to finalize interview order, notify candidates of their assigned interview date and time, distribute the final question list to the applicants, and convene the interviews on June 4–5. The council will hold executive-session debriefs after each interview day and then return to public process to decide the appointment.