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Record of Proceedings

Special Meeting: Municipal Attorney Interviews and Decision - September 5, 2024

City and Borough Assembly — Thursday, September 5, 2024
BodySitka, Alaska
SessionCity and Borough Assembly
DateThursday, September 5, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

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.

0:16

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

0:23

With gratitude, we proceed on Clink at Any.

0:32

Mr.

0:33

Mosher.

0:33

Here.

0:34

Mr.

0:34

Pike.

0:35

Here.

0:35

Mr.

0:36

Yestad.

0:37

Here.

0:37

Mr.

0:37

Christensen.

0:38

Here.

0:38

Ms.

0:39

Carlson.

0:40

Here.

0:40

And Mr.

0:40

Saline.

0:44

Thank you.

0:45

So tonight we are here to conduct round two of uh municipal inner municipal attorney interviews.

0:54

Uh we have two um interviews tonight.

0:57

Uh first will be a Cheryl McKay, and then second will be our other applicant, uh, Rachel Jones.

1:03

Uh so Assembly, tonight is a uh ability for us to dig a little deeper.

1:07

Uh, we kind of got to know the candidates on the first round.

1:10

Uh, this one to me is a deeper dive to see how uh the candidate is going to fit into the community and uh the municipality.

1:19

Uh so we do have some questions in front of us that were posed by department heads that are uh important to them.

1:25

Don't feel limited to those.

1:28

Uh, feel free to use any questions from the round one that you may not have answered or anything that you come up with on your own.

1:34

Um I think I pretty much did all your job for you.

1:38

Do you need to add anything else tonight?

1:40

I don't know, Mr.

1:41

Mayor.

1:41

I'm ready to make the phone call.

1:44

Awesome.

1:45

Uh anything else?

1:46

Anything from the assembly tonight, questions?

1:51

Okay, great.

1:52

Uh we can proceed with round one then.

6:28

Hello, Cheryl.

6:29

I think you can uh hear us now.

6:32

I think I can hear you too.

6:34

Awesome.

6:35

Um nice to see you guys.

6:37

Sorry, it took me a minute to get on board here.

6:39

Yeah, yeah.

6:40

You remember last time how I touted how good our internet services were in Sitka and how we're a fully connected community and all that.

6:49

Um yeah, I'm sure you've read the news.

6:53

Yes.

6:55

And I think it's really funny that that was exactly one of my questions at our first meeting.

7:01

But yet we're persevering.

7:03

We're still here.

7:04

We're we're still zooming through this.

7:07

So uh thank you for joining us this evening.

7:10

I do appreciate your time on uh kick off Thursday for uh football.

7:15

Uh if you're a football fan, I do apologize for that.

7:18

Um I'm a football fan and and I messed that up.

7:22

Yeah, yeah.

7:23

Um so we uh we have uh another round of questions for you tonight.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Legal Department█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
Procedural█████████████15%
Public Safety██████████11%
Personnel Matters█████6%
Harbor Operations████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Public Records███3%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Education And Training█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Special Meeting: Municipal Attorney Interviews and Decision - September 5, 2024

The City and Borough of Sitka Assembly held a special meeting on September 5, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the Assembly Chambers to conduct second-round interviews for the Municipal Attorney position. Two candidates, Cheryl McKay (via Zoom) and Rachel Jones (via Zoom), were interviewed. The Assembly then entered executive session from 8:04 PM to 9:00 PM to discuss the candidates. The consensus was to advance Rachel Jones to a community meet and greet, while Cheryl McKay was notified that the process would not continue for her.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made on agenda items. A brief comment was made about the Human Resources Director's coat, but it was not substantive.

Discussion Items

  • Interview with Cheryl McKay (via Zoom): The Assembly asked questions covering maritime law, experience with Anchorage municipal government, task prioritization, relationship with the municipal administrator, police and fire legal risk mitigation, library First Amendment issues, constitutional law, public records expertise, timeliness of application materials, school district experience, code interpretation, and federal land use law. McKay expressed strong commitment to the code, independence, and experience in Anchorage. She noted she would need outside resources for maritime law and emphasized her judgment and 30 years of legal experience.
  • Interview with Rachel Jones (via Zoom): The Assembly asked questions about supporting commissions, First Amendment defense, police and fire legal risk mitigation, managing remote work (including a month away per year), task prioritization, professional red lines, maritime law, code administration, risk management, school law, relationship with the municipal administrator, public records and open meetings experience, business functions of the municipality, contract disputes, interpreting outdated code, home rule issues (cruise passenger limits), contract review, handling criticism, employment law for fire departments, condemnation, social media policies, and anticipated outsourcing of legal work. Jones demonstrated deep knowledge of municipal law, referenced her experience as a magistrate judge and contract attorney, and showed ability to research unfamiliar areas.

Key Outcomes

  • The Assembly voted 7-0 to enter executive session to discuss the candidates' reputations and character.
  • After executive session, the Assembly reached consensus to move Rachel Jones forward for a community meet and greet.
  • The Assembly directed the Human Resources Director to send a letter to Cheryl McKay thanking her for her time and indicating she would not proceed further.
  • The Assembly will work with the Human Resources Director to schedule a community meet and greet for Rachel Jones and then meet again for final steps and potential hire offer.

Meeting Transcript

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 Clink at Any. Mr. Mosher. Here. Mr. Pike. Here. Mr. Yestad. Here. Mr. Christensen. Here. Ms. Carlson. Here. And Mr. Saline. Thank you. So tonight we are here to conduct round two of uh municipal inner municipal attorney interviews. Uh we have two um interviews tonight. Uh first will be a Cheryl McKay, and then second will be our other applicant, uh, Rachel Jones. Uh so Assembly, tonight is a uh ability for us to dig a little deeper. Uh, we kind of got to know the candidates on the first round. Uh, this one to me is a deeper dive to see how uh the candidate is going to fit into the community and uh the municipality. Uh so we do have some questions in front of us that were posed by department heads that are uh important to them. Don't feel limited to those. Uh, feel free to use any questions from the round one that you may not have answered or anything that you come up with on your own. Um I think I pretty much did all your job for you. Do you need to add anything else tonight? I don't know, Mr. Mayor. I'm ready to make the phone call. Awesome. Uh anything else? Anything from the assembly tonight, questions? Okay, great. Uh we can proceed with round one then. Hello, Cheryl. I think you can uh hear us now. I think I can hear you too. Awesome. Um nice to see you guys. Sorry, it took me a minute to get on board here. Yeah, yeah. You remember last time how I touted how good our internet services were in Sitka and how we're a fully connected community and all that. Um yeah, I'm sure you've read the news. Yes.

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