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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – JANUARY 13, 2025 9 will only be here short-term. They’re going to want to move on to a larger management position in a bigger city. Mayor Grant said that is the nature of Arden Hills. Councilmember Holden agrees but she thinks it’s something to be conscious of when hiring because it doesn’t do the City any good to hire someone who will only be here a short time. Mayor Grant said this is not an entry level position. He thinks this may be a hard position to fill. He will expect the selected candidate will not be entry level. Councilmember Monson said once someone is hired, you can’t stop them from leaving. The goal should always be to get what you can from that person while you have them. There are a lot of reasons someone leaves a job. Mayor Grant said when we hire someone, we want them to succeed but we also want to develop them. They may choose to leave with their background, credentials and experience. We hope they have reasons to stay. He is proud of the Staff. A number of them have been internal hires and promotions from within. We want people to succeed. Councilmember Holden said she understands that anyone can leave at any time. She said we’ve always known who’s going to be a short termer. It’s important that we feel a commitment during the interview process. Mayor Grant asked if Council in agreement regarding this position. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said this item will be brought back to the February 10th meeting for approval to recruit for this position. At this time DDA is reviewing the proposed job description. Staff will get everything finalized and bring it back in February. Director of Public Works/City Engineer Swearingen asked if he could start the process sooner or if he has to wait until February 10th. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said Council must give authorization to recruit. Mayor Grant agrees. He would suggest adding it to tonight’s City Council agenda, but we’ve always agreed that when we discuss something at a Work Session it won’t be on the next agenda. Councilmember Monson wondered if it would be okay to put it on tonight, assuming there is a 5-0 consensus. Timeline is a consideration since there is no second meeting in January. She understands this goes against how things are usually done, but she is okay with it as long as no one else has an issue with it. Councilmember Holden is against it because she wants to see the final job description. Council just created a list of things they want included and she wants to make sure they are in there.