Helena names three finalists for city manager post

The Helena City Commission announced Monday the three finalists to fill its city manager position.

After nearly two months of a turbulent recruitment process that included an ongoing lawsuit, the commission selected Janet Hawkinson, the town manager from Palisade, Colorado; Douglas Schulze, most recently the city manager of Banning, California; and Helena’s Alana Lake, the current executive director of the Montana Public Service Commission.

The Helena City Commission will begin public interviews of the candidates on Monday, Dec. 8, at the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Ave. Schulze will be the first interview from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., followed by Hawkinson’s interview from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Later that day, the public will have the opportunity to ask questions of the two out-of-town finalists during town hall meetings on the second floor of the Montana Club, 24 W. Sixth Ave. Schulze’s town hall will be from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by Hawkinson from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the commission will hold its public interview of Lake from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Her town hall will be in the City-County Building’s commission chambers from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The city has provided online meeting links for each interview and town hall meeting, which can be accessed on the city commission’s Zoom hub.  

The commission will hold its final deliberation on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the commission chambers from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hawkinson has been the town manager of Palisade, a town with a population of 2,600 as of 2024, since 2018. According to the city press release, she previously served as the director of community development for Minturn, Colorado. She holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture and urban planning from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fort Lewis College.

Schulze has more than 36 years of experience in municipal leadership, according to the city release, and has led city governments in Sandstone, Minnesota, and the communities of Medina, Normandy Park and Bainbridge Island, all in Washington state. Most recently, he served as city manager of Banning, California, a city of approximately 32,000 people, although he was placed on indefinite paid leave from that position last February, according to the Riverside Record. It’s unclear if that paid leave is ongoing. The mayor of Banning told the local newspaper that Schulze was not under an investigation but that it was ” … a matter of looking at some concerns.”

Schulze holds a master’s degree in urban studies and a bachelor’s degree in public administration, although the city release doesn’t specify where he earned those degrees. 

Lake joined the Montana Public Service Commission, the state board that regulates shareholder-owned utilities, as its executive director this past March. According to the city release, she has more than 10 years of experience in military and federal law enforcement, including work with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. She has led teams across the globe that involved criminal investigation, security, and counterintelligence operations, gaining experience with interagency coordination and planning. 

Lake previously served as a counterintelligence officer at the Idaho National Laboratory, advising senior officials on national security risks, guarding infrastructure and expanding intelligence programs, the release stated.

Lake graduated from Montana State University and earned her master’s degree in business administration from Boise State University. The release stated that she is currently attending the Command and Staff College through the Marine Corps University. 

The release comes after current City Manager Tim Burton announced in September that he planned to retire at the end of this year, jumpstarting the commission’s process in finding his replacement. 

That search sparked a lawsuit brought against the city by a former commissioner, who alleged that a commission subcommittee had violated Montana’s open meeting laws when initiating the recruitment process. The city responded to the lawsuit in November, claiming that the subcommittee, comprising City Mayor Wilmott Collins and Commissioner Sean Logan, had not violated any open meeting laws because the committee is not a “governmental body” or agency.

Additionally, the city also maintains that the lawsuit is void since the city revised its process to include all members of the commission in further meetings regarding the recruitment and hiring of the new city manager.

In a recent court filing, lawyers for the plaintiff have argued that the city’s change to involve all commission members does not resolve their original request for a preliminary injunction. They’ve also asked the court to disband the subcommittee.