The race is on to find someone to replace Franklin City Manager Elizabeth Dragon, who is leaving the Three Rivers City for the city manager position in Keene.
It’s going to take some time – interim mayor Scott Clarenbach estimated it will take a least a month to find a firm to manage the interviewing process and start searching for candidates. And even if they could find someone before Dragon’s expected departure in mid-September, those candidates will most likely have 45- to 60-day leave notice clauses in their contracts if they are employed elsewhere.
But even as the city will be facing another leadership upheaval this year with the mayor position up for re-election, city councilors aren’t concerned that Dragon’s departure will slow the city’s revitalization efforts.
Those efforts include renovating one of the city’s mill buildings for affordable housing, developing a white-water rafting park, opening new businesses and completing facade improvements to buildings owned by revitalization-focused nonprofit Perma-CityLife.
“I think that obviously the mayor’s position is a political one and the city manager position is an administrative one,” Clarenbach said. “But we have very capable department heads that have been here for a long time in the community, and a lot of things have happened under Liz’s tenure that have put our city in a good trajectory. The trick will be finding that proper administrator to guide us in the process of going forward.”
Clarenbach said Dragon’s replacement would have to be prepared to deal with the city’s unique status as the smallest city in the state with various urban issues, coupled with its small tax base.
“I think the challenge is going to be finding someone who is a quick study and a strong leader,” he said.
Clarenbauch noted that the council would most likely appoint an interim city manager in Dragon’s absence. He said the next step would be to have the council meet – hopefully before its soonest scheduled meeting on July 24 – to talk about options.
Dragon said she informed the Franklin City Council of the decision during a nonpublic meeting July 3; news of her departure become official Thursday night after the Keene City Council formally voted to hire her during a regular meeting.
She said she did not know former Franklin mayor Ken Merrifield would be stepping down to become the state’s new labor commissioner when she began the interviewing process with Keene, and she admitted the amount of leadership change that would be going on in the fall was a concern for her. But after seeing the city struggle financially at times, she was confident Franklin would be fine without her.
“There’s a great group of people and dedicated volunteers and officials here,” she said. “There’s been turnover in the city council, sure, but they’ve always been very supportive and empowering.”
Dragon, who has been with Franklin for nine years, said she views Keene as the next step in her administrative career. She landed her first management job in Plymouth, where she stayed for eight years as a town administrator before becoming Bedford’s town manager. She stayed on there for a few years before heading to Franklin.
Keene will be the biggest community she’s worked for, Dragon said, and called it “a great opportunity that I could not let pass me by.”
“Keene has been a leader in sustainability and has been extremely active in economic development,” she said. “I look forward to helping them implement their goals and vision.”
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)