HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – One local candidate and two hopefuls from suburban Detroit are vying for the vacant Holland City Manager’s position.
A search committee announced on Monday that Ottawa County’s Deputy Administrator, Keith Van Beek, along with Novi’s Assistant City Manager Victor Cardenas and Redford Township Supervisor Tracey Schultz Kobylarz, have emerged as the top three finalists to be the Tulip City’s operational leader. There were 60 who submitted applications, from which seven were sifted out and these three surfaced as the front-runners.
Van Beek moved back to Holland when he assumed his current position with Ottawa County nine years ago. The Zeeland native and Holland Christian High graduate has also spent 12 years in Kentwood city government, including nine as a top appointed administrative official.
Cardenas has a background in municipal government as the village manager of Brooklyn in the Irish Hills, known more as the home of Michigan International Speedway, and was the assistant city manager in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park before coming to Novi. He has a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State and is a member of the GVSU Board of Trustees.
Schultz Kobylarz was elected to her spot in Redford 10 years ago and bring three decades of administrative experience, including 15 in local government public service. She can also point to her background of handling a 57 million-dollar budget for the Detroit suburb as a selling point for dealing with Holland’s spending plan, as that is part of the city manager’s responsibility.
The three finalists will be in Holland next Wednesday, February 14th, to tour the Tulip City and meet with members of the city’s leadership team and staff. That will be followed by interviews the next day before the search committee, council members, city staff and residents selected by retained consultant Amy Cell. A two-hour reception at 5 PM in Council Chambers will be a chance for all residents to meet the hopefuls before a February 16th search committee meeting to recommend a final candidate for council to consider on February 21st.
Police Chief Matt Messer is currently the Acting City Manager after the seven-month contract of Interim Manager Greg Robinson expired last Wednesday; the post has been vacant since Ryan Cotton stepped down last June 30th.
