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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
July 02, 2012
FALLS CITY -- Residents of Falls City met the woman who could be their next city administrator Monday.
The city hosted its top candidate for the position, Amber Mathiesen, for a "meet and greet" reception on Monday from 4 to 6 p.m., after the Itemizer-Observer had gone to press.
Mathiesen is the current management analyst in the finance division for the city of Cornelius.
City councilors interviewed two people for the position on June 22 and met again on Thursday to discuss the candidates.
All discussion and interviews were in closed executive sessions, so Falls City Mayor Amy Houghtaling couldn't provide details about the selection process, except to say Mathiesen emerged as the top candidate.
"She has a lot of Oregon municipal experience," Houghtaling said.
Monday's "meet and greet" will be followed by another executive session in which the council will interview Mathiesen for a second time.
"It's an opportunity for city residents to meet our top candidate," Houghtaling said of Monday's reception. "And a chance to see how she interacts with community members. This gives her an opportunity to introduce herself."
Input from the public about Mathiesen was welcomed and could be a factor in the council's final decision, Houghtaling said.
She said last week no decision had been made before Monday's meeting, but if the second interview went well, the city would begin working on a contract.
Falls City has been without a city administrator since January, when former city administrator Gian Paolo Mammone was let go. Houghtaling has been filling in in the meantime.
The city began its search to fill the post in March, when it hired the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments to help recruit and vet candidates.
Houghtaling said the city is still hoping -- given all goes well with Mathiesen -- to have a new city administrator in place sometime this summer and would like to complete negotiations this month.
"It is happening quickly," she said. "We are trying to at least get the paperwork started."
The city could have a contract ready for the council when it meets on July 24.
"The hope is to approve a contract at that meeting," Houghtaling said.
More information on the reception and Mathiesen will appear in the July 11 edition of the Itemizer-Observer.
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