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Based on the preceding evaluation of the interview panel, I recommend and appoint, subject to <br />Council concurrence, Campbell Knutson as Roseville's City Attorney. Here are additional <br />observations about the four firms. <br />Details <br />Our panel interviewed two firms in the morning and two in the afternoon. From the morning <br />interviews, the panel selected Ratwik and Roszack as the stronger applicant. 7ensen Bell was <br />excellent. They ha�e good city attorney experience in Ramsey County and great knowledge of <br />Roseville legal history. But Ratwik Roszack impressed the panel with a customer-oriented, <br />resident-focused approach to legal services. 7ay Squires of that firm was particularly impressive. <br />Unfortunately, Mr. Squires is committed to attending Red Wing City Council meetings on the <br />first and third Mondays of each month; were his firm selected another member of that firm <br />would ha�e to cover other Roseville council meetings. The panel viewed this division in <br />meeting attendance and attorney responsibilities as a significant drawback. <br />In the afternoon, the panel evaluated Campbell Knutson as the stronger applicant of the two law <br />firms interviewed. Kennedy Gra�en is plainly an excellent firm. But the attorney proposed as <br />Roseville's City Attorney lacks city attorney experience for a community our size. In addition, <br />their answers were not as crisp and comprehensive as Campbell Knutson's. <br />Then, in comparing Campbell Knutson to Ratwik Roszack at the end of the day, the panel felt <br />that Campbell Knutson's experience with city law ga�e them a decisive edge. Ratwik Roszack is <br />an excellent firm that specializes more in school law than city law. In addition, Campbell <br />Knutson has a stronger connection to the Minnesota League of Cities; Mr. 7amnik worked at the <br />MLC for many years. That kind of legal networking was deemed a strong positive by the panel. <br />Fiscal Impact <br />Sufficient funds are budgeted in our current Council-approved 2002 budget and in the <br />preliminary Council-approved 2003 budget to pay for city attorney services. <br />Council Action Requested <br />Motion to concur with the City Manager's appointment of Campbell Knutson as City Attorney, <br />subject to negotiation of a final legal services agreement. <br />