Scandia hires familiar fill-in

Anne Hurlburt, a Scandia resident and small business owner who served as the city administrator from before the city’s incorporation until retiring in 2012, has been hired as an interim administrator.

Along with the hiring, the Scandia City Council announced last week that it has reached a mutual separation agreement with City Administrator Ken Cammilleri. The agreement was reached during a closed-session annual performance evaluation in October.

Cammilleri will leave office on Dec. 31.

City Attorney Chris Nelson said Cammilleri will receive two months of wages and benefits, plus a health care benefit payout of $1,953, per the agreement.

Cammilleri was hired in October 2019, after a lengthy search yielded four candidates who all were offered the job but declined. Cammilleri, the former Pine City administrator, was chosen from among a second group of five finalists.

The departure was not entirely unexpected.

Cammilleri had been named a finalist for a city manager position in North St. Paul in August, and it was well known that has been searching for other employment.

Council and planning commission members had also privately expressed concerns about the city’s working relationship with Cammilleri, even before a testy public exchange between him and City Prosecutor Mike Welch last August. That exchange led the city to put out a request for proposals for prosecutorial services. The council ultimately chose to retain Welch last week.

Nonetheless, both Cammilleri and Mayor Christine Maefsky indicated the separation is reasonably amicable.

“Ken’s got a lot of good qualities,” Maefsky said. “This is mutually agreed upon. It’s just time for something else.”

Cammilleri implied that he is already close to being hired elsewhere.

“I’m looking forward to the next adventure,” Cammilleri said. “I’ve really enjoyed the community and the people here. But it’s just time for me to move on to the next step.”

At last week’s meeting, the council reviewed proposals from four executive search firms for hiring a full-time replacement, with two of the proposals to be considered further at the council’s next meeting. The search is expected to take between 14-16 weeks to complete and cost between $22,000 to $26,000.

“It’s a lot of money, but I don’t know that we have an option,” Councilwoman Heather Benson said.

As the interim, Hurlburt will make $70 per hour and will work up to 20 hours per week, plus attending city meetings. She will likely start in early December and has agreed to serve until a new administrator has fully transitioned into the role.

Both City Clerk Brenda Eklund and City Treasurer Colleen Firkus gave their endorsement for hiring Hurlburt, as did Cammilleri.

Firefighter wage increases

At the behest of Fire Chief Mike Hinz, the council agreed to increase wages for the city’s on-call firefighters and officers.

Starting next year, the firefighters will make $17 per hour for a call with EMTs, officers, and firefighters who have earned their Firefighter II certification making $18.

The firefighters currently make $11.33 per hour, a rate that Hinz noted is less than the city’s skating rink attendants and seasonal parks employees.

The department’s officers also will receive a bump in their monthly compensation. The assistant chief will make $300 per month, the captains will make $200 and the engineers $125.

Hinz vouched for the work the department’s officers do and said the increases were well justified.

The last time the firefighters received a wage increase was in 2017, and even then were paid less than their peers in nearby cities.

“It’s been a long time, long overdue,” Hinz said.

The pay increases will cost the city around $30,000 overall.

“I don’t know how we are going to get people to want to work that job if we don’t raise the wages,” Benson said.

Bliss variance

The council tabled a variance request from Richard Paulsen, at 18558 Langly Ave, in the Bliss neighborhood, to rebuild an existing house, driveway and two septic tanks all within the wetland setbacks.

The council members indicated their desire to deny the request and instructed city staff to compile findings and a resolution for the denial.

“Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should do it,” Councilman Steve Kronmiller said. “I don’t have findings ready for denial, but I’m not in favor of recommending approval.”

The city’s planning commission had recommended approval of the request earlier this month.

Other business:

• Public Works Director Charles Fischer and members of the Parks & Recreation Committee announced that the city received a $3,500 grant from Midco in support of the Scandia Community Center playground project.

• The council hired Sarah Firkus, Ian Schaefer, and Cameron Zuniga as rink attendants at the returning employee pay rate of $13.75 per hour; and Nicholas Helland, Tristan Hegland, and Carter Marincel as new employees at $13.50 per hour.

• The council accepted two donations from residents Vicki Mendoza and Lynnette Welsch for two memorial park benches to be placed in Lilleskogen Park.

• The council granted tobacco license renewals to Federated Co-op and Scandia Olde Towne Liquor and liquor license renewals to Scandia Olde Towne Liquor and Meister’s Bar & Grill.

• The council set a budget workshop meeting for Nov. 22 at 11 a.m.

The next Scandia City Council meeting will be held Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m.