Council conditionally hires new public works director and approves long‑term personnel committee

The Lindstrom City Council approved a conditional hire for Peyton Hill as its next public works director and voted to establish a new personnel committee to oversee updates to personnel policy and job descriptions.

City administrator Dan (speaker 7) told the council he made a conditional offer to Peyton Hill contingent on a successful background check and council approval; Hill is serving as a foreman in Apple Valley and—if approved—would begin March 16. Dan told council Hill would start at grade 5 and, on successful completion of a six‑month review, would move to grade 6. Hill has prior sewer and water licenses that have lapsed; Hill agreed to renew those within six months. Dan also said staff planned to credit Hill 80 hours of leave for prior public-service hours to ease his transition.

Council member (speaker 2) raised concerns about the six‑month review period, noting the city recently extended union probation periods to one year, and asked whether the shorter period was appropriate for a director-level role. Dan said the six-month schedule reflected market competition for candidates and his judgment that performance would be evident within that period. After questions from several council members about council involvement in director-level hiring, speaker 2 moved to approve the hire and the council carried the motion.

Personnel committee: Dan proposed creating a personnel committee composed of two council members, the administrator and the assistant city administrator to lead a focused review of personnel policy, job descriptions and hiring processes and recommended a monthly meeting cadence at the outset. Some council members urged that the full council read the existing 35-page personnel policy before appointments and that the personnel committee coordinate closely with the city attorney to ensure compliance with current state requirements (for example, updated sick/paid-leave provisions and medical leave rules).

The council voted to establish the personnel committee and directed staff to distribute the current personnel policy to all council members before the March meeting so members can identify areas for the committee to focus on. The administrator said the committee would return recommendations to the full council for any changes.

Next steps: Peyton Hill’s hire remains contingent on a completed background check and the personnel committee will begin policy review with legal support; staff will circulate the personnel policy to council members ahead of March meetings.