The Wayzata City Council took a significant step forward Thursday evening February 5th in its search for the city’s next city manager, reviewing nine semi-finalist candidates and narrowing the field for first-round interviews with consultants MGT Impact Solutions, LLC. During a lengthy work session, council members—guided by executive search consultants—focused less on rankings and more on shared impressions, leadership temperament, and overall fit for Wayzata’s highly engaged and complex civic environment.
During the work session, the City Council reviewed anonymized summaries of each candidate, referring to applicants by number to protect confidentiality. Executive search consultants Ellen Hiniker and Pam
Dmytrenko presented highlights from résumés, interviews, and reference checks, after which council members discussed strengths, potential concerns, and overall fit. The council then worked collaboratively to narrow the field, identifying candidates to advance to first-round interviews and outlining next steps in the selection process.
Below is a high-level overview of each candidate as presented to the council:
Candidate #1 has nearly 30 years of local government experience, including senior municipal leadership roles in Minnesota. The candidate has worked across community development, budgeting, personnel management, and city operations, and has led complex redevelopment projects, including a mixed-use development that integrated a new city hall with housing and commercial space. Currently serving as a city manager in another state, the candidate expressed interest in returning to Minnesota for family reasons.
The candidate is described as a collaborative, consensus-oriented leader with strong communication and analytical skills. References cited a modern management style, visibility in the community, and an ability to address conflict directly while remaining open to feedback and innovation.
Candidate #2 brings more than a decade of city management experience across multiple states, including Minnesota, and has worked in communities of varying size and complexity. Their background includes serving as a city manager for approximately 10 years, preceded by senior experience with a large Midwestern city that provided broad operational exposure across municipal departments. The candidate has managed highly engaged communities with strong political dynamics and public expectations.
The candidate has led organizations through crisis response, trust-building efforts, and major reforms, including police accountability initiatives. In a recent role, they managed an all-funds budget of roughly $110 million and addressed fiscal and organizational challenges shaped by state-level constraints. References described the candidate as highly visible, data-driven, and an effective communicator with a collaborative but accountable leadership style and a strong focus on community engagement. The candidate expressed interest in leading a dynamic, engaged community and cited ongoing professional and personal ties to Minnesota.
Candidate #3 is currently serving as a city administrator and brings experience across large cities, suburban communities, and county government. Their background includes municipal administration, human resources, operations, and large-scale organizational response management, providing exposure to both complex urban systems and smaller, resource-limited communities.
In their current role, the candidate has led significant organizational restructuring, rebuilding staff and advancing community and economic development initiatives. They have pursued outside funding, managed contentious redevelopment efforts by convening stakeholders, and are overseeing a complex environmental challenge involving PFAS, including water system coordination and legislative engagement. Prior roles include serving as HR and operations director for a large city and as a county coordinator, where the candidate guided a rare and high-pressure school district dissolution process. References described the candidate as strategic, analytical, relationship-driven, and effective in politically sensitive environments. The candidate expressed interest in leading a highly engaged community with strong service expectations and civic involvement.
Candidate #4 brings more than 25 years of progressively responsible local government experience, including service as a city administrator in two smaller, similarly sized communities and, more recently, as a senior administrative leader in a larger city. Their background includes municipal operations, redevelopment, organizational leadership, and regional collaboration.
As a city administrator, the candidate led commercial and industrial redevelopment efforts, including a major commercial project and the strategic use of a municipal liquor enterprise to support broader development goals. Other experience includes overseeing a multi-year fire service consolidation across multiple jurisdictions and leading the purchase and retrofit of a large facility for public works. In their current role as director of administrative services, the candidate oversees human resources, the city clerk’s office, communications, and facilities. References described the candidate as steady, analytical, ethical, and dependable in times of conflict or crisis, with an approachable, people-focused leadership style. The candidate cited strong interest in Wayzata’s engaged community, high service expectations, and collaborative civic culture.
Candidate #5 currently serves as a public works director and brings experience overseeing multiple operating and capital budgets, with a strong background in infrastructure and capital project management. The candidate described their career path as evolving beyond traditional public works functions after gaining exposure to broader municipal operations and administration.
The candidate highlighted experience managing complex, multi-jurisdictional infrastructure projects, including contentious roadway and county-led initiatives, and emphasized a people-centered, calm approach under pressure. Other projects included collaboration on an assisted living development and sustained public engagement efforts during economically constrained periods. The candidate described their leadership style as service-oriented and community-focused, with an emphasis on transparency and resident involvement. Council members noted general familiarity with the candidate’s work and indicated that further evaluation could occur if the candidate advances in the process.
Candidate #6 brings experience across both city and county government, currently serving as a county administrator in Minnesota after earlier roles as a director of public works and in municipal administration. The candidate has led a county organization of more than 200 employees with oversight of an operating budget reported at approximately $46 million, a role described as comparable in scope to managing a mid-sized city.
The candidate emphasized an adaptive leadership style focused on transparency, procedural fairness, and consistency, particularly during complex or high-interest projects. Experience includes departmental reorganizations, labor and contract negotiations, regional water infrastructure projects, redevelopment initiatives involving multiple public and private partners, and public communication during periods of fiscal pressure. References described the candidate as calm, professional, highly visible, and effective at translating complex operational issues into clear information for elected officials. The candidate expressed interest in returning to city management and cited the transferability of county leadership experience to municipal operations.
Candidate #7 brings a public service career that began in parks and recreation before transitioning into law enforcement, where they served 27 years with a large department and advanced to deputy chief. In that role, the candidate held a senior administrative position overseeing departmental operations, budgets of up to $9 million, and teams of up to 300 employees, including sworn officers and civilian staff. Responsibilities included hiring, internal investigations, capital projects, and organizational management.
Since 2017, the candidate has also served as an elected official and planning commissioner, gaining direct experience with land use, redevelopment, and intergovernmental decision-making. Notable work includes leading a multi-year regional effort to resolve a fire service dispute, participation in redevelopment projects converting vacant commercial properties into housing, and remediation of environmentally impacted sites. References described the candidate as ethical, methodical, and calm under pressure, with strong communication skills, visibility in the community, and the ability to manage high-stakes situations with professionalism and transparency.
Candidate #8 brings a career largely centered in community and economic development, with experience serving as a deputy administrator and interim city manager. The candidate has managed multi-million-dollar budgets, including budgets of up to approximately $26 million, and overseen complex grant portfolios, debt structures, and redevelopment initiatives in communities of varying size.
The candidate’s background includes statewide redevelopment and job creation work, service in a city of roughly 36,000 residents, and leadership during periods of transition, including a challenging fire services study and early-stage redevelopment planning. The candidate emphasized a collaborative, relationship-focused leadership style, with an emphasis on transparency, data-driven analysis, and early engagement with residents, businesses, elected officials, and developers. References described the candidate as a strong communicator and organizational stabilizer during transitions, effective at facilitating dialogue and managing controversy, though the consultants noted comparatively less direct experience in full civic administration than some other candidates.
Candidate #9 brings a blend of formal public administration training and municipal experience across both large, well-resourced cities and smaller, resource-constrained communities. Earlier in their career, the candidate worked in public works and, for the past six years, has served as a deputy city manager overseeing finance, community services, communications, data and planning functions, and providing direct organizational support to the city council.
The candidate has led or played key roles in complex infrastructure projects involving layered financing tools, including TIF, bonding, and private contributions, and has been closely involved in staffing decisions, labor and contract negotiations, and financial management during the COVID-19 period. As interim city manager, the candidate oversaw a budget of approximately $23 million and led capital improvement planning and long-range financial forecasting. References and interviewers described a collaborative, service-oriented leader with strong communication skills, consensus-building ability, and a focus on transparency, fiscal stewardship, and translating council priorities into operational action.
The Field, Narrowed to Six
Following the review of all nine candidates, the Wayzata City Council and its executive search consultants moved into a consensus-building discussion focused on narrowing the field for first-round interviews. Rather than relying strictly on matrix scoring, the council emphasized shared impressions, professional judgment, and areas of emerging agreement.
Early in the discussion, council members identified two candidates as likely eliminations based on concerns raised during the review. From there, the group worked methodically to sort the remaining candidates into informal “tiers,” weighing strengths, perceived gaps, and overall fit for Wayzata’s highly engaged and complex civic environment. Several candidates were clearly supported for advancement, while others were discussed as “bubble” candidates—individuals who prompted interest but also raised questions the council felt could only be resolved through an interview.
Throughout the conversation, council members emphasized the value of interviewing candidates who were difficult to eliminate, even if they did not present as obvious front-runners, noting that an additional interview round required limited time but could prevent overlooking a strong fit. The consultants offered guidance based on their interviews and reference checks, but deferred final judgment to the council, reinforcing that the process was intended to surface judgment, temperament, and leadership style rather than produce a purely mechanical ranking.
By the end of the discussion, the council reached consensus on advancing six candidates to first-round interviews, with the goal of narrowing the field further to two or three finalists. Candidates 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 were the individuals advanced to the next stage of consideration.
The consultants will now prepare standardized interview questions, coordinate logistics, and notify selected candidates, with the next phase of the process expected to include public disclosure consistent with state data practices law.
Input from Staff and Community Members
As the city manager search moves forward, the Wayzata City Council confirmed the formation of two advisory panels that will participate during the finalist stage of the process: a citizen advisory committee and a city staff advisory panel. Both groups will provide observations and feedback to the council but will not have decision-making authority.
The citizen advisory committee includes Tom Schaver, Terry Huml, Lucy Penfield, Lisa Fenwick, Chris Planton, and Tori Schalkle. Council members said the group was selected to reflect a balanced mix of residents, business owners, and individuals with prior civic or advisory experience, as well as a range of perspectives and backgrounds.
In parallel, the city will convene a staff advisory panel composed of city employees, intended to provide insight into leadership style, organizational culture, and day-to-day management approach. Council members emphasized that feedback from both panels will be advisory in nature and designed to inform the council’s evaluation of finalists, with final hiring authority resting solely with the City Council.
The search process began with 36 applicants, which was narrowed by the council and its consultants to nine semi-finalists reviewed during this meeting. Following the discussion, the council advanced six candidates to the next stage, with the goal of identifying approximately three finalists. Each of the six candidates will participate in 45-minute first-round interviews on Thursday, February 12, 2026, as the council continues to move toward a final selection. Final interviews are scheduled for February 24, 2026.
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