More than a year after the city’s last manager Mike Tvenge left the position at the end of April, 2024, Kodiak is set to hire its next fulltime city manager.
Last week on June 19 and June 20, two finalists visited the island for a public meet and greet and in-person meeting with the Kodiak City Council. Approximately 40 candidates applied for the city manager job, which was then narrowed down to five candidates by the hiring firm Colin Baezinger & Associates.
Earlier this month the council agreed to bring up Randy Robertson and Blaine Oborn for a visit before making a final decision. Neither Robertson nor Oborn have lived in Kodiak before, but Robertson has Alaska experience from his time working in Cordova as the city manager from 2013 to 2016.
Tuesday evening, June 24, during a special session which included an executive session, the council authorized the city attorney to negotiate an agreement with Robertson. Councilmember John Whiddon was absent at Tuesday's meeting, but the rest of the council unanimously agreed to move forward with Robertson after coming out of executive session.
No specific information about Robertson’s contract and salary was discussed during the public portion of the meeting. The job posting online listed the average salary for the position at $175,000 annually.
According to deputy city manager Josie Bahnke, the city would like him to start as soon as possible.
Based on city code, Robertson will be required to find a place to live within city limits in order to fulfill the city manager’s residency requirement. The Kodiak City Council will have to formally approve Robertson’s contract during an upcoming meeting.
