After two rounds of interviews, Haines Borough manager David Sosa last week offered the community and economic development director job to Bill Mandeville of Tumwater, Wash.
Mandeville has worked for Washington’s Department of Commerce since 2006. He manages a $6.5 million revolving loan fund designed to redevelop sites with environmental hazards into productive commercial and industrial properties.
Mandeville worked as interim city administrator in Nenana from 1992-1993. He also worked as Delta Junction’s city administrator from 1984-1988.
“Mr. Mandeville is a highly qualified applicant with over 20 years of experience working in state and local government,” Sosa said. “His experiences have required a significant amount of grant writing, administration, and management and also served to develop a detailed working knowledge regarding the variety of financing options available to municipalities.”
Mandeville hasn’t accepted the job. He said he wants to visit Haines before taking it and agreed to split travel costs with the borough.
Sosa said he expects Mandeville’s visit to coincide with the assembly’s Jan. 13 meeting.
In his cover letter, Mandeville wrote he and his family visited Haines often when they lived in Alaska. “The prospects of working in Haines and becoming part of the community pique my interest in this position,” he wrote.
A committee comprised of Sosa, assembly member Diana Lapham, school superintendent Ginger Jewell and clerk Julie Cozzi elected to interview five applicants via Skype including Mandeville, Christina Baskaya of Haines, Joe Poor of Haines, Jim Kallenberg of California and Harry Staven of North Carolina.
Poor, who offered to do the job on a volunteer basis, missed his interview because of a calendar mix-up and was eliminated from consideration.
“I flat-out blew it,” Poor said. “I asked for another opportunity, but it wasn’t given. That’s all I can do.”
The hiring committee selected Mandeville and Kallenberg as the top two candidates and on Dec. 8, Sosa and Mayor Jan Hill interviewed them via phone.
The borough has budgeted $62,000 in salary and $34,000 in benefits for the position, which was created this year.