The search for the next city manager in Whitefish is underway and four finalists are gathering in downtown this week for an open house.
Chuck Stearns, the city manager for the past eight years, will retire Jan. 6, 2017. He announced his plans to step down in March.
The Whitefish City Council, a community interview committee and a staff interview committee will conduct in-person interviews with the four finalists for the full-time position on Sept. 15, at the interim Whitefish City Hall. An open house with the public at Casey’s Bar is scheduled for 7-8 p.m., Thursday. The mayor and city council will select a candidate after the executive session.
One of the four finalists in the pool recently withdrew from the application process. The mayor and city council have extended an invitation to another finalist to interview for the position, Kim Park of Wolcott, New York.
Park will join three other finalists Ken Decker, Edwin Meece and Chuck Winn on Thursday.
Kim Park has served as an elected town supervisor for the town of Wolcott and as an elected county supervisor for Wayne County, New York. Before serving in elected positions, Park served as the county administrator for Wayne County for approximately two years while also managing her own small business. Park holds a bachelor of science in marketing, bachelor of arts in psychology, masters of public administration and masters of science in education.
Decker has worked for Caroline County, Maryland, for five years as the county administrator. He is a Libby native and holds a degree in economics and journalism and a master of public administration and is credentialed through the ICMA voluntary credentialing program. Before his tenure with Caroline County, Decker worked as the town manager for Hampstead, Maryland, for 12 years.
Meece previously worked in Livingston as the city manager. He holds a degree in political science and a master of public administration. Before his tenure with Livingston, Meece worked for Louisville-Jefferson County Metro as the assistant director of public works and general services administration and has held multiple city administrator and management positions.
Winn has worked for the city of Bozeman for 32 years, serving the last eight years as the assistant city manager. Winn spent most of his career as chief of the Bozeman Fire Department, assistant director of public safety, deputy chief/fire marshal, and as a firefighter. He attended Montana State University with an emphasis in sociology and criminal justice.