Urban forester search quickly narrowed to four finalists

Hunting for McMinnville?s second urban forester might be a walk in the park compared to the city?s hunt for a new city administrator, as the hunt has already dwindled down to four candidates in a relatively short amount of time.

During a look at the nine finalists, the Building and Grounds Committee cut the list down to three in just 17 minutes. After a brief discussion one more was added to the list, bringing the number to the four.

In an effort to keep expenses down when it comes to rising interview costs, Mayor Royce Davenport will have a phone interview with each of the four finalists. During the interviews, Davenport will discuss the position?s responsibilities as well as the annual pay, which was not disclosed in the description.

?I think we should put the annual pay in with the description,? said Vice Mayor Patti Nunley. ?That might have stopped some from applying. One guy actually put his annual pay as $58,000, but he did state it was negotiable.?

The current salary for McMinnville?s urban forester is about $49,000, a rate that might not be acceptable to someone who is used to making more in a larger city.

Of the four remaining applicants, only one is from Tennessee. The remaining three are from Maryland, California and Texas.

One area not discussed in the job description, but brought up later, is the need for someone who is as interested in beautification as much as they are trees.

During the telephone interviews, Davenport will get an idea of each applicant?s interest in beautification and their continued interest in the position. If the applicants wish to continue with their requests to be considered, their names and credentials will be released for publication.