OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sitka Assembly Special Meeting: Municipal Attorney Interviews and Next Steps - August 22, 2024

City and Borough Assembly — Thursday, August 22, 2024
BodySitka, Alaska
SessionCity and Borough Assembly
DateThursday, August 22, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Uh Thursday, August twenty second, twenty twenty four.

0:03

Please join me for a flag salute.

0:08

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:15

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:25

The Assembly of the City and Borough of Sitka would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional first people of Sheetka.

0:31

With gratitude, we proceed on Clinkett Ani.

0:35

Sarah Roll call, please.

0:38

Mayor Eisenbeis.

0:39

Present.

0:40

Mr.

0:40

Mosier?

0:41

Here.

0:41

Mr.

0:41

Pike.

0:42

Here.

0:42

Mr.

0:43

Yestad.

0:44

Here.

0:44

Mr.

0:44

Christensen.

0:45

Here.

0:46

Ms.

0:46

Carlson.

0:46

Here.

0:47

And Mr.

0:47

Selene.

0:48

Here.

0:51

Uh, thank you.

0:52

That'll bring us to our new business tonight.

0:55

Uh, as I indicated earlier, um, we're here tonight to interview two municipal attorney um applicants.

1:02

Um first we'll have a uh John Wolfe, and then second this evening will be uh a Cheryl McKay.

1:08

Um Josh, do you have some uh general thoughts for us this evening as we proceed?

1:15

Thank you.

1:26

Good evening.

1:27

Josh Brantuber, human resources director for the city.

1:31

Uh Mr.

1:31

Mayor, similar to uh an assembly, similar to last time.

1:34

I provided um as a as a uh read ahead some general questions.

1:40

There were a couple modifications uh with some asterisks on there um as it as last time, those are proposed questions in general.

1:49

The more um the more that we keep the process uh uh equal across the board for questions, the better.

1:59

Um, but as as last time you're able to ask questions that are important to you and that you value.

2:04

Uh also I sent a read ahead um same as last time for uh questions to avoid, things to avoid related to discriminatory uh factors and um just to make sure we're uh staying applicable uh in alignment with applicable law.

2:21

Um as Mr.

2:22

Mayor, as you already said, we have two tonight.

2:24

Um I've uh kind of gave a a uh general guideline of uh about an hour per interview and as needed, uh whatever you guys need after that for each one.

2:41

And I have both applicants standing by for uh my contact to get started.

2:47

That's all I got.

2:49

Uh any questions for HR before we begin this process?

2:54

Uh any questions the assembly has tonight.

2:56

I know we've done this several times now, we should be pretty comfortable with it, but okay, thank you, Josh, and uh we can get our first applicant um on the line.

3:25

Some Jeopardy music.

4:41

Uh good evening, John.

4:42

How are you?

4:45

Good, how are you doing?

4:47

Good, good.

4:48

We got a little bit of lag, but hopefully that'll clear up as uh as we go on this evening.

4:52

Uh good to see you.

4:53

Thanks for joining us this evening, and uh thanks for your interest in becoming uh the municipal attorney.

5:00

Um so tonight's process uh we do have uh some questions that the assembly would like to ask you.

5:05

Um during at the end of it, we'll give you an opportunity to ask the assembly any questions that you may have.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████37%
Legal Department██████████████████████22%
Procedural███████████11%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Public Safety██████6%
Public Engagement█████5%
Public Records████4%
Subsistence Rights██2%
Pending Litigation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Sitka City and Borough Assembly Special Meeting: Municipal Attorney Interviews and Next Steps - August 22, 2024

On August 22, 2024, the Sitka City and Borough Assembly held a special meeting at 6:00 PM to interview two applicants for the Municipal Attorney position: John Wolfe and Cheryl McKay. The Assembly also discussed next steps, including advancing candidates to a second round of interviews.

Interview with John Wolfe

  • John Wolfe (via Zoom) was interviewed by the Assembly. He summarized his background as a general practice attorney, former prosecutor in Oklahoma and Alaska, and retired district court judge. He discussed limited experience drafting ordinances but emphasized his diligence, legal judgment, and small-town values.
  • Following the interview, the Assembly entered executive session from 6:40 PM to 6:48 PM to discuss matters that could prejudice Wolfe's reputation and character, as he consented.
  • After reconvening, the Assembly did not advance Wolfe to the next round.

Interview with Cheryl McKay

  • Cheryl McKay (via Zoom) was interviewed next. She described her current role as Acting Deputy Municipal Attorney for Anchorage, prior private practice representing Alaska Native entities and rural communities, and a clerkship on the Alaska Court of Appeals. She expressed enthusiasm for Sitka's community and arts scene.
  • McKay requested that any discussion of her application be held in public. The Assembly publicly deliberated her candidacy.
  • Assembly members praised her communication style, mediation skills, and experience with tribal governments, but some noted concerns about the breadth of work in a smaller municipality. The majority supported a second interview.

Key Outcomes

  • The Assembly reached consensus to advance Cheryl McKay and Rachel Jones (previously interviewed) to a second round of interviews scheduled for Thursday, September 5, 2024. This round will be via Zoom.
  • John Wolfe did not progress to the next stage. The Human Resources Director will notify him.
  • The Assembly opted for a second Zoom interview before any potential in-person meet-and-greet, to ensure fairness and allow deeper questioning.
  • The meeting adjourned at 7:59 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Uh Thursday, August twenty second, twenty twenty four. Please join me for a flag salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. The Assembly of the City and Borough of Sitka would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional first people of Sheetka. With gratitude, we proceed on Clinkett Ani. Sarah Roll call, please. Mayor Eisenbeis. Present. Mr. Mosier? Here. Mr. Pike. Here. Mr. Yestad. Here. Mr. Christensen. Here. Ms. Carlson. Here. And Mr. Selene. Here. Uh, thank you. That'll bring us to our new business tonight. Uh, as I indicated earlier, um, we're here tonight to interview two municipal attorney um applicants. Um first we'll have a uh John Wolfe, and then second this evening will be uh a Cheryl McKay. Um Josh, do you have some uh general thoughts for us this evening as we proceed? Thank you. Good evening. Josh Brantuber, human resources director for the city. Uh Mr. Mayor, similar to uh an assembly, similar to last time. I provided um as a as a uh read ahead some general questions. There were a couple modifications uh with some asterisks on there um as it as last time, those are proposed questions in general. The more um the more that we keep the process uh uh equal across the board for questions, the better. Um, but as as last time you're able to ask questions that are important to you and that you value. Uh also I sent a read ahead um same as last time for uh questions to avoid, things to avoid related to discriminatory uh factors and um just to make sure we're uh staying applicable uh in alignment with applicable law. Um as Mr. Mayor, as you already said, we have two tonight. Um I've uh kind of gave a a uh general guideline of uh about an hour per interview and as needed, uh whatever you guys need after that for each one. And I have both applicants standing by for uh my contact to get started. That's all I got. Uh any questions for HR before we begin this process? Uh any questions the assembly has tonight. I know we've done this several times now, we should be pretty comfortable with it, but okay, thank you, Josh, and uh we can get our first applicant um on the line.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com