Bessemer to offer interviews to three manager applicants

By P.J. GLISSON

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Bessemer — After a closed session on Monday evening, members of the Bessemer City Council voted to offer interviews to three persons who are among 26 applicants for the position of city manager.

Afterward, Mayor Adam Zak told The Globe that the city will not be sure which of them will be interviewed until it is clear which ones accept the offer.

“None of them are from Gogebic County,” said Zak, who explained that two of them are from Michigan and one is from the eastern United States.

Interviews are expected to be conducted at a special meeting on Oct. 9 at 5 p.m. in the council chambers of the Bessemer City Hall.

Applications will remain open until the position is filled.

Sept. 22 was the last day of employment for former City Manager Jennifer Adams, who also recently had been serving as interim clerk/treasurer.

In related news, the council also voted on Monday to remove Adams as the signatory for city banking business. Mandy Lake of Wakefield will assume that role when she starts as the new clerk/treasurer on Monday.

“We’re really excited about her starting,” said City Secretary Samantha Dorr, who was acting in the role of clerk at Monday’s meeting.

The council also voted to approve a request from Todd Meinke of Meinke Construction in Bessemer to purchase Tilden Location Lot 2 for $1 as part of a municipal program in which the city sells its unwanted land at a nominal cost with an associated requirement for construction.

In his Sept. 18 letter to the council, Meinke said he will install a driveway in 2024 after a site evaluation and clearing. He added that — no later than the spring of 2025 — he also intends to construct a 3-bedroom house of 1,200-2,400 square feet with a detached garage.

The council’s vote included all of the stipulations that Meinke outlined for himself.

He said he expects the house to be for sale by spring 2026.

Council members also:

—Voted to extend for one year the Oct. 12 deadline for construction on property owned by Michael Wolfe on Colby Hill. In an undated letter, Wolfe said he has cleared the property and roughed in a driveway, but has faced contractor delays in relation to having the construction poured for his pending home. Wolfe also is a beneficiary of the city’s land sale program.

—Voted to approve several withdrawals from U.S. Department of Agriculture funds or from Michigan’s Drinking Water Asset Management Program or from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for bills relating to ongoing city utility and road construction. The council also approved USDA change orders associated with water and wastewater.

All of Monday’s votes were unanimous with Councilman Terry Kryshak absent.

The council’s next regular meeting will be on Oct. 9 at 6 p.m., directly after the earlier mentioned special meeting at city hall.