Palm Coast narrows city manager search, adds new semifinalists; council to review candidates March 11

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday advanced additional candidates in its search for a new city manager after a presentation by SGR, the executive search firm managing the recruitment. Council members agreed to add semifinalists from a recent outreach round and to review submitted materials at a March 11 meeting.

SGR consultant Doug Thomas told the council the firm reopened outreach after concerns that the initial posting occurred around the holidays and that the supplemental effort produced 11 additional applicants from six states. “As a result of that work … we ended up with having 11 additional candidates,” Thomas said during the workshop presentation.

Why it matters: the city has been operating with an open city manager position and wants to settle on a permanent appointment before mid-2025. The council’s selection of semifinalists moves the search toward on-site interviews and gives members time to vet candidates’ written materials and interview videos.

What the council did: council members used a ranked triage process to select six candidates from the newly presented pool to advance to the next round. Those six will be added to five candidates previously advanced, creating an 11-person semifinalist pool the firm will assemble for review. The council did not make a final appointment at the Feb. 25 workshop.

SGR’s next steps: Thomas and SGR colleague Michael said they will collect cover letters, resumes, candidate questionnaire responses and links to video interviews and deliver that packet to council and staff. SGR told the council it will return March 11 prepared to help the body narrow the semifinalists to three to five finalists for on-site interviews and to propose an interview schedule.

Candidate background and council comments: Thomas summarized the new applicants’ backgrounds (local government executives, public works directors, military and operations leaders, and grants/economic development professionals). Several council members voiced interest in advancing specific candidates who had prior ties to comparable communities; the council explicitly discussed moving Sonia Alves Avivieros forward, and Councilman Charlie (last name on record as Thompson) spoke in support of Tom Hansberger based on military leadership references he had checked.

Process and timeline: SGR said the city can have up to 12 semifinalists but that the current pool stands at 11 after one candidate withdrew. Council members and SGR emphasized that advancing candidates to the semifinal round is not a final selection — the March 11 meeting is the scheduled milestone for additional narrowing and selection of finalists for on-site interviews.

What’s next: staff will distribute candidate materials to council members before March 11. The council will vote at a future meeting to determine which finalists will be brought in for on-site interviews and subsequent reference checks.

Ending: The council did not take a final hiring vote at the Feb. 25 workshop; the next substantive decision point is the March 11 meeting, when members will review the packet SGR compiles and decide which candidates to invite for on-site interviews.