Freeborn County commissioners will pursue a contract with county administrator candidate Ronald R.

Monday, July 30, 2001

Freeborn County commissioners will pursue a contract with county administrator candidate Ronald R. Gabrielsen after two other finalists withdrew themselves from consideration.

The board reconvened Friday but withdrew to closed session to discuss options following Thursday’s withdrawal of favored candidates Mark Luberda and Melvin Ruppert, Jr.

Earlier in the week, board members said Ruppert was a clear favorite for the position, but Commissioner Dan Belshan questioned Ruppert’s requested salary. They scheduled Friday’s meeting to give an executive search firm time to discuss salary with Ruppert before offering him a contract, but Ruppert withdrew his application in that time, said Chairman Dave Mullenbach.

&uot;Mel said at this point in his career it wouldn’t be in his best interest to move,&uot; Mullenbach said.

Earlier Thursday, Luberda withdrew because he wasn’t impressed with the county, he said.

Neither Luberda nor Ruppert was available for comment.

On the advice of County Attorney Craig Nelson, the board called a closed session to discuss the remaining three finalists: current Department of Human Services Director and Interim County Administrator Darryl Meyer; former Barron County, Wis. Administrative Coordinator and Finance Director Bambridge Peterson; and Gabrielsen.

Gabrielsen is currently the Price County Administrative and Human Resource Coordinator in Phillipp, Wis., where he has managed human resources staff and served as the de facto administrator since 1998.

In Price County, Gabrielsen oversees 206 employees in 17 departments. He has dealt with land conservation and shoreline development, long-range planning and zoning development, and served as a liaison between the county and small cities within it, according to the Brimeyer Group, which is administering the search process for the county. He also negotiates labor contracts and collective bargaining, and handles employee grievances.

The board authorized Mullenbach to pursue a contract with Gabrielsen subject to board approval. They recessed the meeting until Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., in the county commissioners room.