Beach cities search for administrators

Orange Beach expects to interview next week, Gulf Shores' consultant culling candidates Wednesday, May 14, 2008 By RYAN DEZEMBERStaff Reporter

More than 50 people have applied to become Orange Beach's next city administrator, and Mayor Pete Blalock said elected officials hope to begin interviewing the top applicants as early as next week.

Meanwhile, in Gulf Shores, Mayor G.W. "Billy" Duke III said city officials are waiting on a consultant they've hired to bring them a docket of qualified candidates to vet for that city's administrator job.

On Monday evening, the Orange Beach City Council met in executive session to discuss some of the more promising prospects to replace Jeff Moon, who left last month to take a city manager's position in the Atlanta suburb of Woodstock.

Moon was hired by Orange Beach in 2001 after holding ad ministrative posts in Riverdale, Ga., and Daleville, which is near Dothan.

Blalock said the council was still whittling down the field of applicants and would probably choose five or six to interview.

The Orange Beach mayor said the City Council may hire someone before the Aug. 26 municipal elections, if the right person is available. But, Blalock said, if elected officials complete the interview process and no one stands out, they may turn to a headhunting firm, as neighboring Gulf Shores has, to cull can didates.

Moon was brought to Orange Beach's attention by a consulting firm, Blalock said.

"I think it's important that we hire someone that has administrative experience," Blalock said. "I don't think Orange Beach is the type of city that can afford to be a training ground for someone that's never had a job before.

"In saying that, there's a good majority of those (50 applicants) that have not had the

experience. We have had some that have."

The salary Orange Beach will offer depends on experience, Blalock said, but the range will likely be between $100,000 and $125,000 a year, which is what Gulf Shores officials have said they too will offer.

"You've got to be competitive," Blalock said.

In Gulf Shores, elected leaders are looking to fill that same position, which has been open since last fall when Ernie Smith returned to his old job of economic development director after serving as city administrator for about 2cm HALF years.

Duke appointed Smith to the position to replace Tony Rivera, who had held the city's top non-elected post for

13 years.

Earlier this spring the Gulf Shores City Council agreed to pay Norcross, Ga.-based Slavin Management Consulting to find candidates to fill the position.

The company's president, Robert Slavin, "has some applicants and we're waiting on him to get those to us so we can begin screening them, and then we'll be going through our interview process," Duke said Monday.

Like their counterparts in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores officials have said they want someone experienced, but not so experienced that they're looking to come to the beach to work a few years and retire.

"I think we're looking for someone that's got a strong financial background, someone who's a very people-oriented person," Duke said. "Hopefully, we can find someone who's already been through some of the things that we're going through to help guide us through some of those."

Those, Duke said, include "growing pains," and also the development of a walkable downtown district centered on the public beach at the intersection of Alabama highways 59 and 182.