Chris Hladick, who was previously the regional administrator for Alaska at the Environmental Protection Agency, rose to the top of the list of four interim manager applicants last month.
Councilmember Annika Woods said on Nov. 20 that Hladick mentors other managers in Alaska and is the best candidate for the Kodiak job.
“In my opinion, Chris had the strongest application by far and he interviewed the best. I thought his answers were the most thorough," Woods said.
The city council unanimously agreed to move forward with Hladick over a previous finalist for Kodiak’s city manager job, Blaine Oborn, the former mayor of the Kodiak Island Borough, Scott Arndt, and a former interim manager in Bethel named Alan Lanning. The council publicly interviewed each of them on Nov. 20. To listen to the full recording of the interviews with all four of the interim manager candidates, go online to the city of Kodiak’s website.
During Hladick’s interview, he told the council he does not plan to be in Kodiak full time. He said he’ll fly in for a couple weeks each month and work remotely the rest of the time.
“So at least to be at one of the city council meetings," he said. "I do have other clients, and they do have things going on. But I managed the EPA from a living room in Magnolia during COVID. I had 3 $1 billion plus projects going on. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it can be done with the right people on the island.”
After the interviews, several council members expressed their reservations about the amount of time Hladick would spend in Kodiak but still agreed he was the best candidate for the interim manager job.
The city council is slated to approve his employment agreement at its regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 4. Based on city code, Hladick would be the interim manager for at most nine months or until a permanent manager is hired, whichever comes first. Details about his potential start date and pay were not publicly available as of Dec. 1.
The last permanent city manager, Randy Robertson, was only on the job for seven weeks. Deputy City Manager Josie Bahnke has been the acting city manager since Nov. 1 and requested the council hire an interim manager as soon as possible.
Editor's note: And, for transparency, KMXT employee Terry Haines is also the Kodiak City mayor, who presides over the city council. As KMXT’s morning host, Haines makes editorial decisions about what airs in local newscasts but he did not edit or review this story before it was published.
Under KMXT’s policy on editorial independence, KMXT is working to be more transparent about the roles elected officials hold as staff members at this radio station, now and in the future.
