SLEEPY EYE — The Sleepy Eye City Council whittled eight city manager candidates to four finalists, to be named later Tuesday.

Liza Donabauer of David Drown Associates (DDA) polled the city council and five Sleepy Eye Public Utilities Commissioners (PUC) to cut the candidate number in half, on a motion by councilor Doug Pelzel, seconded by councilor Joann Schmidt.

The candidates, to be named as early as Wednesday by Donabauer, will be invited to tour, meet, greet and interview in Sleepy Eye on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 8-9.

Final interviews with city councilors are scheduled for 12:30 to 4 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. A city council decision on whom to offer the city manager job is expected to come at a 4:30 p.m. city council meeting that day.

Donabauer said she will contact the four city manager finalists Tuesday night and Wednesday morning before making their names public as early as Wednesday, July 3.

As they were last year, city manager finalists will be reimbursed up to $500 to fly or drive to Sleepy Eye and be reimbursed at the federal mileage rate and for lodging costs. Donabauer said just one of the candidates is much more than 100 miles from Sleepy Eye.

The executive recruiting firm will negotiate a contract with the finalist. The new city manager would begin duties Sept. 10.

City councilor Larry Braun asked Donabauer what the city manager selection criteria was. She said criteria came from the job description and from input from city councilors and PUC members.

The city manager position opened last summer when Mark Kober resigned after decades of service to Sleepy Eye. Kellly Truver of Arizona was hired earlier this year to succeed Kober. She resigned after several months on the job.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.