Waterville council slated to appoint city manager search committee

WATERVILLE — The City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to appoint members of a search committee to find a new city manager to replace Michael Roy, who plans to retire at the end of the year.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in Mid-Day Cafe at the Mid-Maine Technical Center at Waterville Senior High School and will be preceded by an executive session at 6:15 p.m. to discuss real estate negotiations.

The public may also view the meeting via a link on the city’s website, www.waterville-me.gov.

The council will make the ultimate decision on choosing a new city manager. A council subcommittee comprised of Mayor Nick Isgro and city councilors Mike Morris, D-Ward 1, and Claude Francke, D-Ward 6, met Wednesday and recommended all seven councilors serve on the search committee and that each councilor appoint someone from their wards to serve as well.

The city received 70 applications for the position and the applicants are narrowed to a manageable number that the council will interview. David Barrett of the Maine Municipal Association will be at Tuesday’s meeting to answer questions about his role in the process.

Roy said Monday that members of the public may also comment or ask questions about the search process Tuesday.

Roy recommended city employees serve on the committee: Police Chief Joseph Massey; human resources Officer Bobbi-Jo Greene; Sarah Bowen, executive assistant to Roy and Isgro, as an ex-officio, or nonvoting member; City Clerk Patti Dubois; and City Solicitor William A. Lee III. The council will decide Tuesday whether to approve Roy’s recommendation.

Roy said several people expressed interest to him in serving on the committee, and the council will consider them as possible members. They are Marilyn Canavan, Phil Bofia, Cindy Jacobs, Jay Coelho, Rien Finch and Paula Raymond.

As part of the vote Tuesday, councilors will consider adopting a timeline for the process that says the search committee during the month of September would review resumes and recommend final candidates to the council for interviews; that the council would start interviewing final candidates in October; and that a candidate would be selected by Nov. 1.

In other matters Tuesday, the council is scheduled to consider authorizing Roy to award a $101,159 contract with Protection Professionals of Falmouth for a complete municipal fire alarm system. As part of the vote, Waterville fire Chief Shawn Esler would be authorized to spend an amount on additional fire alarm boxes from Protection Professionals, not to exceed the total project cost of $200,000.

“This new fire alarm system replaces a very antiquated fire alarm system which consists of buried cable,” Roy said Monday. “When Main Street work started with the Kennebec Water District piece, they disturbed some of the fire alarm cabling, so we knew it was coming. We’re going to move sooner rather than later in putting in an alternate system.”

Councilors Tuesday also are slated to consider taking a final vote to adopt an emergency powers ordinance that gives the city manager power to declare an emergency when a disaster or civil emergency exists or appears imminent, and take action necessary to prevent loss of life and property in the city.

The council will consider awarding a contract of $55,725 to Lakeside Landscaping to repair Two Cent Plaza at Head of Falls off Front Street. Funds would come from the city’s waterfront bond and capital improvement reserve fund. The council also will consider taking a final vote to authorize the work. Damage to the paving stone walkway is believed to have been caused by winter maintenance through the use of salt and the sidewalk plow, according to the agenda item. Vandalism also was done to the metal railing near the concrete steps, it says.

The council will consider requests to sell a lot in the Airport Business Park on Airport Road to Daniel Smith for $60,000; extend outdoor dining for the Lion’s Den restaurant in Haines Park on The Concourse to April 1, 2021; and authorize a municipal election for Nov. 3 and establish hours for voter registration.

Councilors are scheduled to discuss the need for continuing to hold council meetings via Zoom. They also will discuss exploring the possibility of using the former Congregational Church on Eustis Parkway for council meetings with the understanding that when the Children’s Discovery Museum needs to use the space, the city would seek an alternative site.

Until the coronavirus pandemic struck in March, the city was using Colby College’s Chace Community Forum at the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons downtown. Since then, the council has been meeting at Mid-Day Cafe.