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City search may be split for leaders By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission may go a separate way from City of Ashland staff when it comes to choosing a recruitment firm to fill two top city posts. Recruitment firms vying for the tasks of finding a new parks director and a new police chief have offered discounts on their services if they win both head-hunting jobs. The parks commission will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday in the Ashland Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St., to choose a recruitment firm to search for a new parks system director. Commission Chair Jim Lewis and Commissioner Mike Gardiner, who looked closely at recruitment firms, are recommending that the commission choose California-based Bob Murray & Associates. "One of the important parts of it is getting a profile of who we want as a director," Lewis said. "That's one of the key things that Bob Murray & Associates felt was important. It's an important part that each commissioner have a say in the type of person we want. The group as a whole will be interviewed, too, and the public at large will have input," he said. Former Ashland Parks and Recreation Department Director Ken Mickelsen started a job as head of the Maple Valley, Wash. parks system earlier this week after serving 24 years as Ashland's parks director . Bob Murray & Associates was the firm that recruited Mickelsen to the Maple Valley position, according to City Administrator Gino Grimaldi. Grimaldi has chosen California-based Shannon Executive Search to find a replacement for Ashland Police Chief Scott Fleuter. Fleuter, who has been diagnosed with the auto-immune disorder lupus, is stepping down from his post June 28. Grimaldi said Shannon Executive Search has assembled firm members - including a former police chief - with experience in law enforcement and community policing to conduct the search. "A lot of it was the team they brought together," Grimaldi said. The firm has extensive experience in recruiting for a variety of positions, including police chief and park director roles, he said. Shannon Executive Search's fee to recruit a new police chief is $18,000. Expenses, not included in the fee, could range from $6,500 to $9,000, he said. Firm members will be in Ashland June 30 and July 1 to interview police department personnel and other community members about their wishes for a new police chief, according to Grimaldi. "We will be organizing a public event where citizens can come in and talk to the consultants as they're developing the profile," he said. Shannon Executive Search has offered a discount of at least $1,000 on the police chief search if it also wins the parks director recruitment job, according to Grimaldi. The firm would discount their $13,500 parks director search fee by $500 if chosen. Expenses for that search range from $2,300 to $4,750, according to a written proposal submitted by the company. Bob Murray & Associates would charge a $14,500 fee for the parks director search, with expenses estimated at $2,000, according to that firm's proposal. Recruitment firm services generally include developing a profile of attributes and qualifications for candidates; identifying candidates, including those who are not looking for a new job; conducting reference and background checks; presenting a short list of qualified candidates and facilitating interviews. In other business Monday night, the parks commission is scheduled to: * review a design plan for the Calle Guanajuato stairway project; * appoint Parks Superintendent Steve Gies as interim director; * accept the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for the parks department for the 16th consecutive year. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -