By way of conversation and a coin toss, Haines Borough officials organized two community meetings with manager applicants.

Residents will get to ask questions of applicants and provide written feedback to the assembly.

Manager finalists are interim manager Brad Ryan and Haines Chamber of Commerce executive director Debra Schnabel.

Beginning 9 a.m. on April 24, borough staff will interview Schnabel. Ryan’s staff interview is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. The community meeting will begin later that day starting with Ryan at 5:30 p.m. and Schnabel at 7 p.m.

The assembly will conduct final interviews with Schnabel and Ryan the following day at 5 p.m. April 25, and hold a special meeting after deliberations to make the hire.

The borough assembly’s personnel committee met Monday to nail down details for the final interview process. Those included whether or not anonymous questions should be allowed, how citizens can provide feedback and if the applicants should be able to participate in each other’s meetings.

Committee members Margaret Friedenauer and Ron Jackson also flipped coins to determine the order applicants would be interviewed during borough staff and community interviews.

Borough assembly member Heather Lende suggested the meetings be moderated and said Friedenauer ought to fill that role.

“It involves interview and how you ask questions and judging which questions might follow the next one, and I think you’re very good at that and you’re fair and I think you could handle it very well,” Lende said.

Friedenauer will moderate both meetings. Each meeting will run an hour. During that time candidates will have up to 10 minutes to introduce themselves and explain why they’d be a good fit for the job.

Afterwards, Friedenauer will read submitted written questions, which can be anonymous, and moderate individual questions.

On Monday, Friedenauer and Jackson discussed whether anonymous questions should be allowed. Borough clerk Julie Cozzi said individuals would probably like the option to ask questions anonymously.

“I think there’s more concern about the actual questions, (with) people having some really difficult questions that they really would like to have answers to, but if they can’t submit a question and have someone else read it, they’re just not going to ask the question,” Cozzi said.

The committee agreed to allow anonymously written questions, but said signatures would be required on feedback forms.

After the hour is up, individuals will have 30 minutes to fill out those forms, which ask what positive aspects each candidate has that make them a good fit for the borough and community, and in what areas they may need development or growth, among other questions.

Feedback forms will be submitted to the assembly.