The Washington City Council has reached the home stretch in its search for a new city administrator.
Council held a closed session Wednesday to interview the two finalists for the job.
The chosen finalist could be recommended for the leadership position by Mayor Lilija Stevens at the council's Dec. 15 meeting. The council must approve the appointment.
Washington has been without a full-time city administrator since Jim Snider resigned in August 2024.
Former Mayor Gary Manier and city department heads shared city administrator duties for several months after Snider stepped down. Stevens appointed City Engineer Dennis Carr the interim city administrator in May.
It isn't known if Carr applied to be the full-time city administrator.
The search has been led by Jim Arndt of Charleston-based Arndt Municipal Support and what he dubbed "Team Washington," made up of Stevens, Maureen Chambers and Amanda Roberts.
Chambers is the city's human resources manager. Roberts is the city's communications specialist.
Arndt is being paid $19,500 by the city for the search. He was hired in July.
The council met for its regular meeting Monday and appointed Nicholas Cohen to the Planning & Zoning Commission and Jean Montgomery to the Cemetery Board of Managers.
Cohen and Montgomery will fill vacancies caused by the resignations of Bob Linsley and John Shelton, respectively.
'Christmas at the Plaza' replaces meeting
Here are highlights from department heads' reports to the council:
• Instead of holding its monthly committee of the whole meeting next Monday, the council is inviting residents to the inaugural "Christmas at the Plaza," a tree lighting at the new 26-foot tall Christmas tree at Washington Plaza. The 5:30-7:30 p.m. event is sponsored by the city (which purchased the tree as a bicentennial gift for the city), Washington Park District and Washington Chamber of Commerce. The District 50 band and choir will perform, there will be reading of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," at the Washington District Library's Sunnyland Branch, and a special showing of the movie "Elf" at the AMC Classic Sunnyland 10 theater in the plaza.
• Five Christmas trees have been placed in front of City Hall so they can be decorated by students from the city's four school districts and St. Patrick School.
• The city's Historic Preservation Commission approved certificates of appropriateness for exterior renovations at the former Foster's Jewelry at 104 N. Main Street and Brunk's Sports Center at 122 N. Main Street. New businesses are planned at both locations.
• A farm lease agreement between the city and John Guth for the seven-acre Memorial Gardens property south of Glendale Cemetery has been extended until 2027. The agreement dates to 1995. City staff discovered recently that even though the land has been farmed by Guth since 1995, the last lease extension expired in 2002. The city has received $630 annually in revenue from the lease since 2004. Hay has been grown most years on the property, and beans planted once every 10 years so no corn stalks or taller vegetation will blow across the cemetery.
• Crisis24 has purchased CodeRED, the city's vendor for emergency alerts. Sending alerts is temporarily more labor intensive for the city, so Crisis24 will provide two months of service at no cost to the city in the next fiscal year.
• The North Street and Grant Street "Safe Routes to School" projects have been completed.
• The "Let's Talk Washington" session last week at the Brickhouse BBQ, Burgers and Brews restaurant attracted the largest crowd of any of the monthly sessions, which are hosted by Stevens. The date, time and location for the December session has not been determined.
