By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS — The Yachats City Council voted unanimously Thursday to hire Rick Sant as its interim city manager while they search to fill the position permanently.
Sant takes the helm on the heels of manager Heide Lambert’s resignation, which took effect Wednesday. He stepped into the breach after two candidates for the position fell through after landing jobs in other communities.
“When those fell through it sounded like they had nobody,” Sant said in an interview. “And we cannot not have a city manager. We have to have somebody there to make sure the wheels don’t come off the bus. Plus, that’s kind of in my wheelhouse, that’s what I’ve done in my career so I thought I could help.”
Sant, 68, a former newspaper manager who has lived in Yachats just over three years, was unable to attend the meeting due to prior commitments, but spoke with the YachatsNews via phone shortly after the council adjourned.
“Although I don’t need this job and I wasn’t looking for this job, I’m super excited about it,” he said. “I think we’re going to do some really great things in a short period of time, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The council voted 4-0 to hire Sant. Councilor Ann Stott arrived too late to vote.
Mayor Craig Berdie and council president Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessey met with Sant to work out the details of his contract, which include a monthly salary of $7,800. He is an “at will” employee with no benefits except for sick leave and who can be fired at any time but must give 21-days’ notice if he resigns.
In a work session preceding the council meeting, Berdie told council members that Sant had requested a listing of priority items they would like him to focus on. The mayor suggested three categories – the city hall office, public works and projects.
Councilman Greg Scott advised they not overload Sant from the get-go.
“Everyone will want a piece of his time,” Scott said while warning the council not to delve too deeply into operations. “We need to be cautious loading our expectations too high.”
Councilor Catherine Whitten-Carey suggested Sant look at staff and workload assessments and whether new staff needs to be hired. Berdie highlighted “actionable” items that need attention, like making sure water bills are out on time and taxes are collected.
“Looking at his resume, I believe he sees the big picture,” Scott said. “We’re fortunate to find someone locally with his qualifications.”
Sant worked for the Orange County Register in Santa Ana, Calif., as vice president of operations from 2006 to 2016. He worked as its director of distribution from 2002-2006 and in various roles with the company dating back to 1975. Prior to his hiring as interim city manager he owned and operated Sant Operations Group of Yachats, which helps organizations in a broad range of industries to pinpoint “process opportunities and potential revenue streams.”
Sant steps into his new role during a tumultuous time for the city, marked by two interim and one permanent city manager coming and going since March 2021. Lambert lasted 15 months before citing health, office staff turmoil and council interference as causes for her departure. Three temporary workers in city hall also quit in April after Lambert stopped a hiring process for advertised, full-time positions.
“My first priority is to get everybody in city hall in the same boat rowing in the same direction,” Sant said. “We can’t do anything unless we have that in place. And after that I kind of want to evaluate what people are good at. They may not be in positions that they need to be in.”
Talented people may be in jobs that are not a good fit, that they don’t like, he said. But once they find the right position and get dialed-in they can do amazing things.
“And hopefully we can grab ahold of a common vision that we can all work toward and kind of forget about what may have gone wrong in the past,” he added. “You spend your time doing that and you get nowhere.”
Sant is unsure off the exact number city employees and contractors, but figures there are about eight, along with some commissions that need to get plugged in and working as a team.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know why it’s been such a challenge,” he said. “I’ll find out when I get in there. But I think we can make a big impact.”
After that, Sant plans to move projects forward, some of which are not that complex so he’s not sure what has been holding them up.
Berdie expressed confidence Sant is the right person for the job.
“We trust that he’s going to engage with staff and the community and the commissions and help us move forward as best he can,” Berdie said after Thursday’s meeting. “He’s got strong, strong management experience. And he’s worked with lots of people, all kinds of people.”
The council, which is working with recruiting firm Jensen Strategies of Portland to find a permanent city manager, will address the next steps in that process at the following meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. June 14.
In other council business, it:
- Put off a hearing until June 14 on the city’s proposed 2023-24 budget because the complete, proper notice was not printed in the Newport News-Times;
- Talked but did not necessarily decide on having two council members, a staff member and 1-2 community members help with city manager search material for Jensen Strategies;
- Re-appointed Stott to the county’s new Homeless Advisory Board;
- Agreed to sign a memo of understanding with the Oregon Department of Transportation for a $40,000 project to install delineators along the west side of U.S. Highway 101 from downtown to the Yachats River bridge;
- Heard reports from water and streets supervisor Rick McClung on data gathering for a potential contract with the Southwest Lincoln Water PUD, and when work might start on major reconstruction of East Second Street. After expressing frustration that questions by Whitten-Carey on details of neighborhood notification and delivery interruption during construction were not the council’s role, Scott walked out of the meeting at 10:47 a.m. – shortly before Stott arrived.
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com