Last city administrator candidate interviews tonight

The Finance Committee will hold its final interview for McMinnville?s vacant city administrator position tonight. The last applicant to be interviewed is Donald W. Whitman.

Whitman is from Caney, Kansas., and has been serving as city administrator there since January, 2004. His education includes a master?s degree in public administration and a bachelor?s degree in history.

In Whitman?s current position, he has supervised the personnel in all city departments in this full-service Southeast Kansas community of 2,100 residents. This includes police, fire, streets, water, sewer, parks, cemetery, pool, sanitation, landfill, city clerk and economic development.

He has overseen the construction of a new $2.1 million water treatment plant, a $540,000 new municipal complex, upgraded city parks with new equipment and has constructed a new skate park facility.

Recent past experience includes city manager for the city of Monroe, Ohio from January 1998 to March 2003; city administrator for the city of Pottsville, Pa., from August 1996 to January 1998; borough manager for the borough of Phoenixville, Pa., from July 1994 to March 1996.

What placed Whitman in the running for McMinnville?s city administrator job is the position he held as the village manager from 1986 to 1991 in the village of Liberty, N.Y. During that time, according to his r?sum?, he established a Main Street revitalization project to offer low-interest loans to Main Street merchants for building facade improvements.

The interview will begin at 4 p.m. at McMinnville City Hall. After this interview has been completed, discussions of which applicants to invite back for a second interview will begin.