Council picks city manager

Job offered to

Gramentz

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- The New Ulm City Council is offering Hudson, Wis., city administrator Brian Gramentz the New Ulm city manager's position, following a day of interviews with five finalists for the job.

Gramentz, who is originally from Springfield, is being contacted by Jim Brimeyer of the Brimeyer Group, the executive search consultant hired by the city, to negotiate a contract offer.

Gramentz would replace City Manager Dick Salvati, who is retiring this year after 32 years on the job.

Salvati's length of service was cited by one candidate as a reason for pulling out of the search. Bret Jones, city administrator in Guthrie, Okla., told councilors at the end of his interview that he had concerns about stepping into a situation where he would deal with long-time city staff used to a former manager's way of doing things. Asked if he were withdrawing from consideration, Jones told the council, "You might want to consider other candidates."

New Ulm City Council and Public Utilities Commission members said they were pleased with the quality of the candidates they interviewed Saturday. A councilor and a PUC member paired up to interview each candidate individually in the morning, then gathered together as a group to interview each candidate one last time in the afternoon.

After the group interviews, councilors and PUC members named their top two picks in an unofficial vote. Graments and Larry Hansen, city administrator in Stewartville, eached received seven votes. Matthew Hylen, city administrator in Luverne, received four, and Don Sandor received two votes.

The council reconvened by itself at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the finalists. In the end, their decision focused on the style and personalities of Gramentz, Hansen and Hylen.

Hylen is younger than the other two candidates, and said he would bring great energy to the New Ulm position, promising to give a "jump start" to the job.

His energy level was apparently too high for some of the council members. "At the end of our interview session this morning, I was physically exhausted," said councilor Ron Fleischmann. "I don't think he was aware that he had exceeded my comfort level, and that kind of awareness is important when you are dealing with employees."

Councilor Clark Tuttle said he felt the same about Hylen at first, but in looking at personality profiles of Gramentz and Hansen, he said he realized the council would be hiring more of "the same," that is, someone similar in style and temperament to Salvati. "Not that that's a bad thing," he added. Tuttle wondered if the city didn't need someone different, someone who could shake things up and provide leadership in new directions.

Other councilors, however, felt there was nothing wrong with steadiness, or hiring someone who could fit the successful style of Salvati.

Ruth Ann Webster said Hansen was the steadiest of the candidates, but a candidate who said he was actually looking for a challenge. Hansen had told councilors he took a calm approach to his job, but that his calmness didn't mean he didn't want to accomplish things.

"Perhaps we need to vote on whether we want to pick excitement or steadiness," said Tuttle. "If we want steady, I could go with either one of the two (Gramentz or Hansen)."

The council's sentiment went with steady. "Of the five candidates, Hylen was my least favorite," said Council President Dan Beranek. While he felt Hylen was qualified, "his style drove me nuts. Of course, I'm not going to be here forever."

Councilors felt they could go either with Gramentz or Hansen, and spent some time looking for differences.

Gramentz has had some more experience working with a utility. He had been city administrator in Sioux City, Iowa, which had an electric utility as well as sewer and water. He has also negotiated with three labor unions in Hudson, similar to New Ulm's situation.

Hansen has dealt with growth issues in Stewartville, including three annexations in the past few years, experience that would be useful as New Ulm looks at expanding for residential development.

In the end, Tuttle said it was a simple "gut feeling" that made him prefer Gramentz, and he made a motion to offer him the job. Fleischmann seconded the motion. After rejecting the idea of thinking their choice over for the rest of the weekend and voting on the decision Monday, the council voted 5-0 to select Gramentz.

Gramentz is making $76,000 in Hudson. Salavati is currently earning around $88,000 in New Ulm. Brimeyer will work out a compensation package that will pay him somewhere around what Salvati is making. Since Hudson is currently making an 11 percent contribution to Gramentz's retirement fund and Minnesota law limits the city's contribution to a little over 5 percent, the council authorized Brimeyer to make adjustments in the compensation level, and to offer a severance package of 6 months compensation in his first two years, four months in his third year, and three months thereafter.