Larry Collins
It will be one of three. The next Great Bend City Administrator will go through interviews and public meet-and-greets this week as the City announced the three finalists.
Candidates include: Larry Collins who served as Fire Chief and Interim City Administrator in Ann Arbor Michigan, Kendal Francis who served as City Manager in Coffeyville, KS and City Administrator in Lakin, KS and Scott Hildebrand who currently serves as the City Administrator for Valley Center, KS.
Kendal Francis
Each of the candidates will attend two days of interviews and and they will participate in a variety of city tours, interviews and sessions. The schedule is set and Chamber members are invited to attend the Chamber Meet & Greet at the Great Bend Events Center on Thursday, June 28 at 10:30 a.m. The public is invited to meet the candidates during a Public Gathering at the Great Bend Events Center on June 28 from 4:30 p.m. -6 p.m.
Director of Human Resources Randy Keasling said, “We look forward to the opportunity of meeting with each of the candidates over this two-day period as well as giving business and community members the chance to meet and learn more about these candidates.”
Scott Hildabrand
Slavin Management Consultants is the company in charge of the official search for candidates. In February, the Great Bend City Council moved forward with hiring Slavin Management Consultants to conduct the job search for $15,505 plus travel and office costs.
The City of Great Bend has been without a permanent city administrator since Howard Partington announced his early retirement on August 16, 2017. Interim City Administrator George Kolb was hired on a short-term basis only to fill the gap until a permanent candidate was found.
Partington spent 36 years at City Administrator but stated he retired early because of “actions of a loud and malicious minority.” Partington got caught up in the community backlash of the suspension of former Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch last summer. Couch claimed acts of misconduct from Partington and former Mayor Mike Allison. The City claimed Couch was suspended because of not following an order from Partington, among other reasons. Couch was reinstated but eventually resigned from the position noting a “target on his back.” Partington stated he was bullied, harassed, and threatened and that the “harassing attacks have been the most difficult challenge I have faced in my life.”