‘Think Tank’ hoped city manager would step down

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 9, 2003

A petition campaign meant to pressure the Albert Lea City Council to remove City Manager Paul Sparks had been kept behind the scenes. Now, just as organizers were preparing to go public, the petition is on hold until December.

A group calling itself the Think Tank, made up of more than ten Albert Lea residents and business owners, had discussed with city officials the possibility of offering Sparks a deal to step down, with the threat that it would circulate a petition by Oct. 15 if the council didn’t offer the deal.

But they decided to wait Tuesday night after John Doran of Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services told them of a plan in the works that he said could satisfy the petitioners. Doran is a member of the board of directors for Greater Jobs, Inc.

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It came after more than a month of debate about the negative impact that a petition would have on the image of Albert Lea and the negative impact some say Sparks has had on the city.

&uot;All you guys are going to do is raise the hopes of people and it’s not going to do one bit of good,&uot; said Doran. &uot;It’s going to be a lot more bad press.&uot;

Urging them to halt their petition plans, he said: &uot;I’m telling you, things are going to happen. I can’t tell you what the structures are going to be.&uot; He said he was sworn to secrecy, and wouldn’t comment on how the deal would affect Sparks.

But the secret plan was met with skepticism. &uot;If I don’t know nothing, I don’t trust nobody,&uot; Think Tank member Don Sorenson said.

Tony Trow, Sorenson, and other members of the group had approached some city councilors in September about the possibility of removing Sparks quietly to stop the petition.

Trow suggested offering Sparks a consulting job and health insurance for several years afterwards.

In an e-mail message to Mayor Jean Eaton, he wrote, &uot;I sincerely hope that Paul will like your deal and agree to make a public announcement stating that he loves the city and intends to remain here, will continue to to help us in any way he can but has decided that it is time for him to step aside to pursue personal interests and allow some new blood to lead the city into the new century.&uot;

Eaton has said she does not support a vote on Sparks’ removal, and said the city has no basis to fire him.

She said that Sparks is going to have a job evaluation at the end of the year, something that Sparks has never had.

Eaton said that she was looking into the possibility of appointing four or five people to investigate restructuring the city’s port authority, which is run by Sparks. The committee might include a member of the Think Tank, a council member and several community members, she said.

She warned Trow in an e-mail, &uot;Your group has a lot to lose (personal/business) also by going public.&uot;

She said she feared the plan would negatively affect chances for further development in the community.

She said that Sparks’ reputation for being controlling results from the fact that he controls both the city and the port authority, which is an economic-development arm of the city. With the dual responsibilities of regulating and being fiscally responsible for the city, and having to encourage economic development, he sometimes has to say no, she said. She said this conflict makes him look bad.

Brad Arends, president of Greater Jobs Inc., said the problem people have with Sparks is because of this conflict.

&uot;You could replace Paul Sparks tomorrow and you’d still have a system that impairs economic growth,&uot; he said.

Members of the Think Tank said they didn’t see how a system that still had Sparks’ finger in it could possibly change anything. Business owner Milan Hart of the group said Sparks could continue to exert influence.

Eventually the group agreed to wait, despite the fact that collecting signatures will be more difficult in the winter, when many people leave town.

&uot;It’s against my better judgement,&uot; said Milan Hart, a business owner.

Several city councilors did not return phone calls. Councilor Randy Erdman said he would not comment on how he’d vote on removing Sparks if it got that far.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock@albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)