2008-07-09 CC - Approved - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Centerville City Council Meeting July 9, 2008 Motion by Mayor Capra, seconded by Council Member Lakso, to table consideration of Res. #08-OXX - Adopting Assessments on Old Mill Road Improvements, until the next City Council Meeting. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. 2. Recommendation of Candidate to Fill Vacant Buildin.~ Inspector/Public Works Technician City Administrator Larson stated that candidates had been interviewed, and a written recommendation was emailed to the Council, and is also in the Council's packet, to hire Richard Chase, who lives in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. They had suggested an incentive of up to $4,000, to help him to move within 10 miles of Centerville within 18 months. He stated that he knows that Councilmember Lee, who is not present, is very much against giving him the incentive, but Councilmember Lee did agree that they should have a response time included in the hiring policy. City Administrator Larson stated that they have a response time concern for their City Works people, and it would be better to have someone closer. He added that, if the person is farther away, that would make the response time more of an issue. He stated, however, that the person Mr. Chase would be replacing lived 25 minutes away. He explained that the incentive would be to help Mr. Chase move closer to Centerville. The other alternative would be to say that it is not acceptable for this employee to live that far away. Mayor Capra stated that, with public employees, it is different than the private sector as far as rules and regulations go. City Administrator Larson stated, because public employees are part of a Labor Union, they would have to negotiate with the Labor Union. The restriction about how far away an employee lives is not currently part of the policy, and imposing the term and condition has not been negotiated. Councilmember Lakso stated that there is a probationary period, where the City could test that person's ability to respond quickly enough. City Administrator Larson stated that it would not be easy for Mr. Chase to sell his house and move his family. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that 1VIr. Chase seems to have everything the City is looking for. She suggested, however, that later they would need to look at the City's policy in regard to hiring in the future. She stated that they cannot do something retroactive. She recommended approving the hiring of Mr. Chase with the incentive. She stated that would be the reasonable thing to do for a highly qualified candidate. Mayor Capra stated that she can get to Woodbury in 25 minutes from Centerville. Page 8 of 14