Public Works Director and City Manager Pro Tem Nikki Messenger was designated as the final candidate for the position of city manager at the Roseburg City Council meeting on Monday night.
Council President Tom Ryan made the motion to select Messenger in a process that lasted about 30 seconds and had no comments from other members of the council. The motion passed on a 6-0 vote. Councilor Ashley Hicks arrived at the meeting right after the vote took place. Councilor Andrea Zielinski did not attend the meeting.
Messenger, who has worked for the City for over 20 years, has had the pro tem role since Lance Colley retired at the end of April. After months of searching for a new leader, the previous final candidate Paul Eckhert withdrew his name from consideration May 1st. In September of 2018, Colley announced his plans to retire from the job in February. Colley stayed on longer than originally planned as the first search for a new manager didn’t yield any candidates the council wanted to move forward. After Eckhert withdrew following a second search, Mayor Larry Rich asked the council to let Messenger continue to lead for a couple of months before looking at the issue again. Rich said he wanted Messenger to have time to see if she wanted to “throw her hat in” for the position on a permanent basis.
The motion directs Human Resources Director John VanWinkle to discuss the terms of the contract with Messenger and bring the matter back to the council for their final decision.