City Council will interview 2

The Baker City Council will interview two candidates to replace Steve Bogart as city manager.

Councilors did not name the two people during Tuesday’s meeting, nor did they schedule interviews.

If the Council doesn’t hire either of the applicants, the city will enlist the Prothman firm of Seattle to coordinate the recruitment of other applicants.

Both candidates responded to a letter that Mayor Dennis Dorrah mailed in early July to 160 city managers and department heads working for Oregon cities with populations between 5,000 and 20,000.

The deadline to respond was July 23.

“In my opinion we shouldn’t say ‘Oh, we only got two responses we’ll just ignore them,’ ” Dorrah said Tuesday. “I think these people are interested, they indicated an interest and I think we owe it to them to do something and talk to them immediately.”

Councilor Milo Pope cast the lone “no” vote on Councilor Aletha Bonebrake’s motion to interview the two candidates.

The Council fired Steve Brocato in June 2009, then offered the job to Tim Johnson last December. Johnson turned down the city’s offer because he needed to care for his mother. The Council hired Bogart in January.

Dorrah said he has talked with Johnson, but “he is still dealing with the same issues as last December.”

As for the two applicants, Bonebrake said “both appear to have a thorough knowledge of our city. Which to me is a really important factor because some people have been really concerned that we might not get applicants because of our chaotic history, so to speak.”

Pope suggested the Council draft an employment contract for the new manager, outlining the responsibilities of the council and the new manager, discipline procedures and performance evaluations.

“We need to be prepared to offer some stability and we have demonstrated anything but stability in the city manager position,” Pope said. “There is nothing in the city charter that prohibits this city council from giving the city manager some job security.”

Bogart has a contract.

Pope said that he was not surprised that just two people responded to Dorrah’s letter.

“At the risk of an editorial comment, I must say that none of us should be surprised at the small number of applicants we have,” Pope said.

“We can’t just consider these two applicants, this paltry list of applicants for a very important job,” he said.

About 80 people applied for the job after Brocato was fired; however, the city advertised the vacancy for several weeks in professional publications and through the League of Oregon Cities.

Dorrah asked Pope if he was willing to work with Bogart to draft a proposed contract.

Pope and Bogart agreed to do so, and to have the proposal ready before the Council’s next meeting, on Aug. 10.

Although Dorrah complimented Pope for his contract suggestion, the mayor also took offense at Pope’s comment regarding the number of responses to the letter.

“I do not consider two applicants to be paltry,” Dorrah said. “I would have liked to have seen more but considering what (Bogart) said the last meeting that they receive three or four of these types of letters a week I think any response at all is significant,” Dorrah said.

He went on to chide Pope for comments he has made regarding the Council’s decision to fire Brocato — Pope, along with Sam Bass and former Councilor Andrew Bryan, were on the losing side of that 4-3 vote.

“I believe that the negativity that has come from your mouth for the last year is maybe one of the reasons for only two responses,” Dorrah said. “And I believe that as a councilman, elected by the citizens of this community, it’s time for you to start thinking positively and looking ahead. You should start thinking more about this community and less about your ego.”

Dorrah granted Pope’s request that he be allowed to respond.

Pope started by saying that Dorrah’s anger is “no greater” than his own.

But when Pope said that he remembered sitting in Brocato’s office the afternoon of June 9, just several hours before Brocato was fired, Dorrah rapped his gavel several times and told Pope he was out of order.

Pope disagreed.

Dorrah then called a five-minute recess.

During the recess Bonebrake approached Pope and asked why he was opposed to the Council interviewing the two applicants.

“Oh go to hell,” Pope responded.

Pope argued that he was not allowed to express his anger toward other council members, and he accused them of not being trust worthy.

The arguing continued through the recess and ended only after Bogart reminded council members that once the meeting resumed, they still had business to conduct.

When Dorrah called the meeting back into order, the council members voted 6-1, with Pope opposed, to interview the two candidates.

In other business Tuesday, the council unanimously approved the first reading of a revised version of the 1985 tree ordinance.

The ordinance includes a list of tree species that can be legally planted in the park strip between the street and sidewalk.

That part of the ordinance doesn’t affect existing trees. The city already has the authority under the current ordinance to order the removal of hazardous trees, including ones on private property, that pose a threat to people.

Jenny Long of the Planning Department said a list of trees that can be planted will be available on the city’s Web site, www.bakercity.com

The council will hear two more readings prior to approving the ordinance.                                                       

Councilors also voted unanimously to appoint J. Daniel Smithson to the airport commission, Sarah LeCompte to the historic district design commission and Mike Clarke to the tree board.