The Crookston City Council on Thursday tabbed Amy Finch as the next City Administrator for Crookston. Finch was a blind vote by the council receiving five votes, while Dana Schoening was second with three votes.
Liza Donabauer from David Drown Associates shared feedback with the City Council from Wednesday’s community meet and greet before the vote. Among the comments from the community about Finch were that she could be a strong leader, is an excellent money manager, seems to build connections, that she could improve the city and provide real leadership. A couple of questions were also poised in the community feedback about how creative she would be in the big picture, and how good she’d be as an agent for change.
Councilman Steve Erickson said he believes Finch stood out from the others and will be a good fit for Crookston. “I think it was a good choice,” said Erickson. “Her resume stood out and she knocked her interview out the park. I believe she is going to be a good fit for Crookston. I look at the things she said in her interview are very important to where we want to go as a council. I think the public had the same kind of feedback from the meet and greet, so it tells you the public was involved a lot too. They had the same decision we made today.”
Erickson also noted during a discussion after the blind vote that he was impressed with the fact he saw and heard about Finch using her downtime on Wednesday to visit the high school, RiverView Health, and other places around Crookston to learn more about the community. “Once we got done with the door, was discussing things in the parking lot with a friend of mine and saw her pull up,” said Erickson. “Then I seen her making her rounds to the hospital and everything. She went out and about on her own, took that next step, and that impressed me.”
Councilman Jake Fee said he was incredibly impressed with Finch and thought Crookston would be very fortunate to have her. “I’m very excited,” said Fee. “I really think we got the right person for the job. She has a lot of experience in city government on the finance side. She interviewed very well both last night during the meet and greet, and for the formal interview today. A lot of the public’s comments matched up with what the council felt too. That she is an emerging leader and very bright. I think we’re going to be in very, very good hands in the City of Crookston.”
Councilman Joe Kresl said he was really impressed with the questions Finch asked about Crookston and thought people were really impressed with her at the meet and greet. “I think she’s going to be a good fit,” said Kresl. “I know yesterday on our tour she did a nice job of asking questions, and she’s very excited about being here in Crookston, and asking questions to bring her sons here to go to school. I know last night at the meet and greet she really went up the list for me. Her table was full all night, and people were really impressed. That’s a big thing that the community had support, and today she knocked it out of the park. I think we got a good one and she’s going to do very well for Crookston.
Councilman Clayton Briggs said he was impressed how much she knew about state statutes and local government aid, which Crookston relies heavily on. “We had some good candidates and it was a tough decision,” said Briggs. “She showed concerns, not only for herself but as far as her family being in the right place. Wanting to be here because of our schools, city, being safe, and stuff. She knew about state statutes and LGA. She seems compassionate in what she wants to do, very knowledgeable, and as I said before she blew me away. She was an excellent candidate. I think she’s going to do very well for our city.”
Stainbrook said he believes Finch will be a great hire. “I think it’s a great hire,” said Stainbrook. “Looking through her profile when we were going through candidates, she expressed me. Last night I spoke to her for about five minutes and she answered every question without thinking twice about it. This morning she was spot on with her interview. She had a great answer for every question that was on there. I think she’ll be a great fit for our city.”
As the Ways & Means Committee, the councilmembers voted unanimously to recommend Finch as the next City Administrator. After a quick transition, the City Council then voted unanimously to begin contract negotiations with Finch. The full City Council will hold a closed session on Monday, August 17 to set an opening offer, and then a committee consisting of Donabauer, Mayor Stainbrook, Councilmen Dylane Klatt, and Fee, and Interim City Administrator and Finance Director Angel Weasner will conduct the negotiations.
