A.L. city manager to decide on Colo. job by Monday
Published 9:25 am Friday, December 11, 2009
Albert Lea City Manager Victoria Simonsen told the members of the Albert Lea City Council on Thursday she hopes to make a decision about her job offer as the new town administrator in Lyons, Colo., by Monday.
Simonsen, who was one of 44 applicants and four finalists for the position, apologized to the councilors that she was not able to tell them personally about the situation before the news reached local media. She said she had hoped to tell them about it at the regularly scheduled preagenda workshop on Thursday.
A quick search of the Longmont Times-Call newspaper’s Web site, www.timescall.com, reveals on Nov. 12 the newspaper had printed the four finalists. That story told residents about a chance for members of the public to visit with finalists on Nov. 14 at Lyons Town Hall. It means her application has been public — and on the Internet — for about a month.
Simonsen also noted that the Lyons mayor called her earlier in the day apologizing for the way a Wednesday story in the Times-Call made it seem as if the job offer was already accepted.
The Lyons Town Board approved her employee contract Monday night and made an offer — but she has not accepted it.
The reporter who wrote the story, John Fryar, said Lyons Mayor Julie Van Domelen never pointed that detail out to him when explaining the contract.
“The mayor did not explicitly tell me she had accepted the offer nor did she tell me she had not accepted it,” Fryar said.
Simonsen said she doesn’t want to make a rash decision, but she, her daughters and longtime boyfriend in Colorado have been talking about it since November.
Simonsen said applying for the job in Lyons had nothing to do with the satisfaction of her job in Albert Lea.
“It’s really more of a personal issue,” she said.
She has been city manager in Albert Lea since 2004 and was an administrator for Fort Morgan, Colo., from 2000 to 2004.
If she accepts the position in Lyons, she will start March 1 with an annual salary of $82,000. The board also approved $6,000 in relocation expenses for her.
Councilors offered words of support for whichever way Simonsen decides to go and thanked her for the things she has done here.
“Whatever you decide to do, do it for you,” 2nd Ward Councilor Larry Baker said. “What you’ve done here is appreciated. You are welcome and you are wanted in this community.”
The councilors also briefly discussed some of the negative comments on the Tribune’s Web site following the initial story about Simonsen being picked for the Colorado job.
First Ward Councilor Vern Rasmussen said he thinks the negative comments show that people are actually scared of her.
“You’re doing too many good things,” Rasmussen said.
Though he hasn’t always agreed with everything Simonsen’s done or said, he has appreciated what she’s done for the city, he said.
Simonsen said after a difficult day on Wednesday after the job offer became public, she had a better day on Thursday with calls of appreciation and messages of encouragement.
According to the Times-Call, the three other finalists for Lyons administrator were Julie Feier of University City, Mo., Tom Hale of Salida, Colo., and Linda Martin of Mead, Colo.