The Yachats City Council, some city staff and chairs of the four city commissioners have met with two city manager candidates – so now it’s the public’s turn.
Manager candidates Gretchen Dubie and Helen Anderson, both of Yachats, went through three hours of interviews Thursday and Friday. They first scheduled time with some city staff, then had one-on-one in-person interviews with council members, and then spent an hour with chairs of the Parks & Commons, Planning, Public Works and Streets, and Library commissions. Some scheduling difficulties has Dubie coming back this week to meet with staff.
Now, Mayor Leslie Vaaler has set times for two “meet and greets” with the public. One is for people comfortable with an in-person gathering; the other is a virtual meeting via Zoom.
Anderson and Dubie will be available to chat with people and answer questions from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22 in the Pavilion behind the Yachats Commons.
Both will participate in a Zoom meeting from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25. Dubie will be on the meeting from 7-8 p.m. and then Anderson from 8-9 p.m.
Anderson has been on the Planning Commission for eight years and worked for four years as a contractor taking minutes of meetings, doing the city newsletter and helping develop the city website. She has been an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Arizona, an engineer for Westinghouse, a project manager various organizations in Tucson, and a strategic planning consultant. She went to work as a legal assistant in the office of a Waldport attorney after leaving as a city contractor in 2020. She is also the founder and board president of Yachats Pride.
Dubie has 27 years experience in executive and leadership roles in social service agencies. She spent the last 12 as executive director of the Eugene-based program that provides services for 89 adults with disabilities in 18 group homes. It has 200 unionized employees, an eight-member board. Dubie began working remotely after she and her husband, who works at the Angell Job Corps Center, bought a house just north of Yachats last October. She resigned her Eugene position in July.
In response to a question from former councilor Max Glenn during a council meeting Wednesday, Vaaler said she wasn’t sure when councilors would meet in executive session to discuss who to hire.
“It’s a work in progress at this point,” she said.
Gretchen is a high energy, get it done type of person. On top of that, she is a great person and a perfect fit for Yachats.