Kerns

UNION — The city of Union may be a big step closer to landing its next leader.

The Union City Council voted on Monday, Oct. 2, to offer Holly Kerns, the planning director for Baker County, the position of city administrator for Union. The city council will now enter into contract negotiations with Kerns and if they are successful she will be named Union’s next city administrator, according to Mayor Sue Hawkins.

“She is well rounded and has experience in all areas of city government,” Hawkins said of Kerns.

Hawkins said she was impressed with how prepared Kerns was for her interviews with the city council and Union’s staff and how much she knew about Union. She said Kerns’ questions revealed an in-depth understanding of many areas of Union’s city government.

Kerns, a graduate of Oregon State University, has worked for Baker County for 17 years and has been its planning director for nine years after serving as its interim planning director for one year.

She is one of 37 candidates who applied for the Union position, which became open in late August when Doug Wiggins resigned after five years to take a similar position in Toledo. Kerns was one of four finalists interviewed on Sept. 29 by the city council and Union’s staff. The four finalists met with the public at a meet-and-greet at city hall following the interviews.

The Union City Council voted to offer Kerns the city administrator position in an open session after meeting in executive session on Oct. 2 to discuss the interviews and the public input received. Executive sessions are closed to the public.

The council put a backup plan in place at the meeting in the event it is not able to hire Kerns. The councilors voted to offer the position to Ignacio Palacios, if this happens.

“Ignacio would be a wonderful administrator,” Hawkins said.

Palacios is the financial controller of West Coast Beet Seed Company in Woodburn, a firm he has worked for since 2014. He graduated from Oregon State University in 2001 with a degree in accounting. He has also worked for several accounting firms conducting audits of public entities, including municipalities and school districts. He has served as the finance director for a pair of Oregon communities — Woodburn and Milwaukie.

The other two candidates among the four finalists are Celeste Tate, the chief finance officer at Blue Mountain Community College, and Christopher Warren, of La Grande, a retired Oregon National Guard financial officer.

Hawkins said the council voted to name Palacios as its alternate choice because this would allow it to expedite its effort to fill the city administrator vacancy in the event that Kerns is not hired. Otherwise, the council, she said, would have to go through its application and interview process a second time.

Hawkins said the quality of Union’s four finalists made the selection process quite difficult, but she said it was a good challenge to have.

“I wish every city had this problem,” she said.

Until Union brings in a new leader, the role of city administrator will continue to be filled by Roberta Vanderwall. She has served as Union’s interim city administrator since late August and was interim manager of Morrow County six months earlier this year before coming to Union. Vanderwall lives in the Haines and North Powder area.