Montrose council directs contract talks with Barbara Kibler Valentine after candidate interviews

The Montrose City Council voted Dec. 14 to direct the mayor and interim city manager to begin contract negotiations with Barbara Kibler Valentine after holding interviews with three finalists for the city manager position.

Council convened at 9:01 a.m. at the Montrose City Office, 139 S. Saginaw Street. Pivot Group Representative James Freed distributed a standardized set of interview questions to the council and said, because of time constraints, Valentine would be interviewed first. The council interviewed Valentine beginning at 9:11 a.m. and recessed at 9:44 a.m.; the meeting resumed at 10:00 a.m.

At 10:03 a.m. the council interviewed Christopher J. Shannon and recessed again at 10:45 a.m.; the session resumed at 11:00 a.m. The council then interviewed Adam Kline beginning at 11:05 a.m. and recessed at 11:38 a.m.; the meeting returned to order at 11:43 a.m.

Following the interviews, Councilor Todd Pangle moved, with Councilor Lori Machuk seconding, that the city manager and the mayor begin contract negotiations with Mrs. Valentine. The council approved the motion in a roll call vote: Pangle — Aye; Heslop — Aye; Arnold — Aye; Machuk — Aye; Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Richard — Aye; Melissa Wallace-Hoose — Aye; and Mayor Tom Banks — Aye. The motion carried unanimously.

Mayor and council members expressed general concurrence with the candidate’s qualifications and said they look forward to moving forward with the hiring process. No public comments were received during the meeting.

The council later approved a motion by Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Richard, seconded by Lori Machuk, to adjourn the special meeting at 12:19 p.m. The clerk’s minutes were prepared by City Clerk Tina Rush.