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Manager Choices Down To 3

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

DADE CITY - City commissioners have selected three candidates they want to interview for the open position of city manager.

Since Harold Sample retired July 1, Finance Director Jim Class has been acting as interim city manager. Class told the commission Tuesday evening that after long consideration, he had decided against applying for the permanent job.

Then the five commissioners compared their top choices among about 20 applicants. Board members hope to interview these candidates the last week in November:

•Bruce C. Behrens of Clermont, a consultant who previously worked as city manager of Minneola in Lake County.

•Matthew D. Brock (no relation to Mayor Hutch Brock) of Melbourne, who was interim manager of Chiefland and has other experience in small communities.

•Robert T. Mearns of Fernandina Beach, where he was city manager from 2002 to 2005. He is now a consultant.

Before deciding on the three candidates, board members briefly discussed a suggestion from Commissioner Camille Hernandez to wait until April to appoint a city manager. That would delay the hiring process until after municipal elections in March, when three commission seats are up for re-election.

But Commissioner Scott Black persuaded the panel to move forward with the selection process now, saying that city employees and others want to see leadership established.

On another aspect of municipal leadership, commissioners reviewed potential changes to the city charter. Hernandez suggested a discussion of whether the mayor should be elected by residents rather than by fellow commissioners. She also suggested term limits for commissioners.

Mayor Hutch Brock asked the city attorney to research the ideas for further discussion at the next meeting. Neither of the ideas was forwarded by the recent citizen advisory panel that drafted suggested changes.

Also Tuesday, the commission voted 5-0 to approve ordinances establishing architectural guidelines for new construction or substantial renovations downtown, and creating a board to enforce those standards.

The guidelines are meant to preserve the city's architectural heritage and ensure that new buildings blend in with existing structures.

The commission needs to hold another hearing and vote before the ordinances can go into effect.

In another matter, commissioners discussed a developer's proposal to put a mix of town homes and single-family homes on 60 acres behind the Hampton Inn on U.S. 301. The plan has created controversy in the neighborhood to the north. Residents have specifically complained that the most recent proposal - for up to 300 homes - is much too dense a development and that traffic problems will result.

Black said he thought reducing the density would help its chances. Black and Hernandez said they think the now vacant land will be developed at some point, and the addition of town homes could help older residents and workers who cannot afford a single-family home.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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