Homewood City committee advances three finalists for city manager

An ad hoc Homewood City committee unanimously selected three finalists — Lehi Adams, Chase Wagner and David Strahl — to advance to in-person interviews and meetings with department heads, the full council and the mayor, committee members said.

The committee said the search began with a December call for applicants and drew 13 submissions. Committee members said they applied a preset screening threshold requiring at least five years of service and a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in public administration, business administration, engineering, planning or finance, which eliminated five applicants and left eight candidates who were interviewed by Zoom.

“there were 3 that we all unanimously landed on, to invite them to the next phase of interviewing,” said Speaker 2, a member of the ad hoc committee. The committee identified the three finalists in the order they were interviewed: Lehi Adams, Chase Wagner and David Strahl.

Committee members said staff and volunteers split reference checks among themselves, contacting a minimum of three references per candidate. They credited Brian Wallace and Bo Segris with coordinating and hosting interview sessions and with helping arrange the next steps.

David Strahl will be fast-tracked for an in-person visit because he is scheduled to leave the country Feb. 7 for three weeks. “He is gonna attend the department head meeting that is gonna be on Monday afternoon prior to our committee meetings. He'll be at our committee meetings,” said Speaker 1, a remote committee member, describing the planned itinerary. Committee staff said they will send a detailed schedule to the full council, mayor and department heads before the visit and that the public will have an opportunity to speak with the candidate during posted committee meetings.

The committee said the other two finalists will be scheduled for one-day visits next week so they can meet department heads, see city facilities and meet with additional councilors who did not participate in the first-round Zoom interviews. The committee also said it completed extensive reference checks for all candidates.

Members emphasized the public visibility of the process. “The transparency of all this, making the public engagement, the ability for the public to see and be engaged and witness what's happening… I think that's been…a hallmark,” said Speaker 4, a committee member.

Next steps include the in-person visits and follow-up interviews with department heads and the full council; the committee did not state a date for a final hiring decision.

Votes at a glance: The ad hoc committee reported a unanimous decision to advance the three named finalists to in-person interviews and meetings with department heads and council; no formal council vote on appointment was recorded in this meeting.