Residents to discuss next Merced city manager

With Merced sitting on what could be a cusp of new growth, residents expect the next top administrator to have wide-ranging skills and experience.

A meeting set for Monday will ask residents to share their ideas of traits that should be prized most as the City Council interviews candidates. The more than 30 applicants are expected to be whittled down to about 10 before the interview process at the end of the week.

Merced appears to have large changes coming in the near future with UC Merced moving into its second phase of growth, the high-speed rail station taking shape and plans for a nearly 80-acre retail center moving forward, among other projects.

A Merced Sun-Star survey of a few active Merced residents found a number of traits they hope to see from a candidate. The most common thread was that the city manager must be approachable and willing to meet with residents and organizations.

Rachelle Abril, the founder of Distinguished Outreach Services, said she intends to be at the forum. “We want somebody that is down to earth,” the 50-year-old said. “Someone that’s going to listen to the needs of the community, as well as south Merced – not just north Merced.”

A south Merced resident herself, Abril works with young people, particularly underprivileged children on that side of town. So, she said, the candidate also needs to be sensitive to the needs of young people from diverse backgrounds.

“Someone that’s concerned with the investment, or should I say lack of investment in youth support,” she said.

The City Council has so far not committed to allowing any residents of local groups be part of the formal interview process. Abril said she wants that to change.

North Merced resident Rick McMillion, 68, said Merced needs a city manager with some experience in dealing with homelessness. The chief engineer for Radio Merced said he realizes that homelessness is “a big issue” but the city has not so far been successful in addressing it.

“If you go downtown and look, you just see new faces there just about once a week,” he said.

Merced’s homeless population has grown in recent years, according to an annual tally taken in January by homeless advocates.

McMillion also said the city should consider hiring an assistant city manager.

Daniel Kazakos, 34, a longtime small-business advocate, said his primary concern is that the candidate has experience with revitalizing a smallbusiness sector such as Merced’s downtown.

He said the city’s current staff is too focused on drawing big-box stores while visiting trade shows. “Well, that really hasn’t been successful,” the south Merced resident said. “But there (could be) a lot of opportunities for people who are here who want to start a business.”

The candidate would also do well to have experience from working a college town, he said. “There’s so much interlinked between the two of us – between the UC, the community and the city,” he said.

Still another resident said she wants the next city manager to be open to talking to the medical community before making decisions.

Marilyn Mochel, 64, a nurse who works with Building Healthy Communities and other groups, noted that city managers in general get reports from many sectors of the community before making decisions, but don’t often survey physical and mental health experts on the ramifications of city policies and decisions.

“There are formal and informal assessments that can be done,” the north Merced resident said. “So, we definitely hope for somebody that will consider the health and mental health impact of decisions.”

The next city manager will likely be the highest-paid employee of local taxpayers. That person needs to be aware of the city’s diversity, Mochel said, and figure out how to reach out to the different communities who may not go to regular council meetings.

“This is a very important position,” she said. “There are just so many opportunities for the entire community to be involved and active to make this a community that we’re all really proud of.”

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Residents to discuss next Merced city manager."