From 12 candidates, the list of finalists for Islamorada’s next manager dwindled to five during a May 19 special meeting of the village council. It then was cut to four after one candidate withdrew his name late last week.
Inside the Founders Park Community Center, council members read aloud their top five choices to hiring consultant Colin Baenziger, who attended via Zoom. Interviews will start early next month.
In the end, candidates Andrea Agha, Guillermo Olmedillo, Gregory Oravec, Terry Suggs and David Baird were selected as finalists. Baird, district coordinator for the Sussex Conservation District in Georgetown, Delaware, withdrew his name from consideration on May 21.
Agha is the former village manager for Key Biscayne, the barrier island of about 13,000 residents located a little more than 80 miles from Islamorada. For the past three years, she’s led a team of 200 employees with a $34 million-plus annual budget.
Olmedillo served as manager of Surfside in Miami-Dade County for five years before taking an expert land use and development position last August.
Oravec enters his sixth year as mayor for the city of Port St. Lucie, while Suggs approaches his fourth year as Putnam County administrator.
Council members had the option to select an alternate candidate in the event a finalist backed out before the interviews. Baenziger told the dais that an alternate would get an invitation for an interview should someone drop out.
“You might argue having (David) Ritz as backup because he’s a local, and you just have to call him up and say, ‘Hey, can you be there?’ Where someone else might have to make flight arrangements.”
The dais decided against picking another finalist during the special meeting. Council members haven’t picked an alternate with Baird backing out late last week. Mayor Buddy Pinder told the Weekly on May 25 that the council intends to interview the four remaining finalists.
“I think all four candidates are very strong,” Pinder said. “I think we had a very good pick.”
Councilman David Webb said ‘no’ to bringing in another candidate.
“We’re good to go. The next highest person on the short list only got two endorsements from council members,” he said. “The next highest person doesn’t even have a majority of support now from the board and I don’t think that’ll change.”
Webb said he has specific priorities he’s seeking in the next village manager that include major infrastructure programs and engaging with the community. He said he hopes the council is unanimous when picking the next manager.
“That may not be possible but that will certainly be my goal,” he said.
A nationwide search for Islamorada’s next manager comes following the resignation of Seth Lawless last summer due to health reasons. Maria Bassett, current finance director, took the helm on an interim basis. Initial recruitment of candidates saw just over 80 applying for the position.
Interviews and selection of the next village manager is set for June 2. Each council member will have the chance to interview finalists one-on-one in the morning. A special village meeting will start at 1:30 p.m. inside the community center where the dais will conduct further interviews. Baenziger will guide the council through the process.
The village council encourages community members to join them for a meet-and-greet for the village manager finalists event. The event will be held outdoors at the Ron Levy Aquatic Center at Founders Park, 87000 Overseas Highway, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 1, the evening prior to the interviews. Beverages and light appetizers will be served.
