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A crowd of about 25 people attended Thursday's City Commission meeting.
Commission hires Sam Demel as city manager; interim John Matthews is out
By Annie Doyle Grove, annie@boynecitizen.com
After eight months of searching, the Boyne City Commission voted Thursday to hire Sam Demel of Oklahoma as the city’s next manager, concluding a lengthy and sometimes rocky process that included 42 applicants, 15 interviews and two declined offers.
Around 25 residents attended the 4 p.m. special meeting, which also served as the final special session for outgoing incumbents Mayor Tim Nemecek and commissioners Marty Moody and George Lasater. Sitting in the audience were the newly elected commissioners Bridget Foltz, Rebecca Houser and Jennifer “Beano” Hampton, who will be sworn in as the new majority next Tuesday, Nov. 11 after winning their seats in Tuesday’s city election.
Demel, a veteran public administrator with more than 25 years of experience in Kansas and Oklahoma, will begin work Dec. 1 with a salary of $140,000 and a $10,000 relocation allowance. Joining the meeting by Zoom, he said he was “excited about the possibilities,” but noted that finding housing in Boyne City has been difficult.
Demel said he was eager to begin and had already been in contact with city officials about finding housing, which he described as a challenge. Mayor Nemecek asked residents to assist in locating a short-term rental for Demel and his family, noting they are seeking a three-bedroom home with a backyard for their large Great Pyrenees dog.
The vote to approve Demel’s contract came just 48 hours after the election upset that unseated Mayor Tim Nemecek and shifted the commission’s balance of power.
In the same motion, however, commissioners also acted on the status of Interim City Manager John Matthews, voting to terminate his employment effective immediately — a surprise move that leaves Boyne City without a manager until Demel takes over on Dec. 1.
“I’m shocked,” Matthews said during the meeting, visibly taken aback by the decision. Matthews, who has served as interim since June, had previously said he planned to remain through the transition. The vote for his dismissal followed the reading of a letter from a city staff member expressing support for Demel’s hiring on behalf of many city employees.
In the letter — which Nemecek said he received only hours before the meeting — staff members wrote: “We are in favor of moving forward with the hiring of Sam Demel. His extensive municipal experience and demonstrated leadership style align with the professional and forward-thinking direction that Boyne City needs.” The letter described Demel as “collaborative” and “well-suited to lead both staff and the community.”
In the Boyne Citizen's video of the meeting, Nemecek reads the letter at 21:48, and adds that he also asked city staff members if they thought that Matthews should continue until Demel arrived, or if "today should be John's last day." He said, "Multiple staff members indicated to me that if today was John's last day that that would be most helpful to them and their operations."
Commissioner Marty Moody made the motion to approve Demel’s hiring and to end Matthews’ employment “effective immediately,” saying the move would provide “a clean slate” for Boyne City. Moody, whose term ends next week, said the decision allows the city to “turn the page.”
Commissioner Bob Ferrell questioned the lack of overlap between Matthews’ departure and Demel’s start date, citing the importance of continuity during ongoing negotiations with surrounding townships over the city’s financially strained EMS department. “I’d like the opportunity to complete that,” Ferrell said.
During public comment, which came after the hiring decision was made, Commissioner-Elect Bridget Foltz argued that the decision should have been left to the incoming commission. “Citizens have spoken at the previous meeting suggesting that the newly elected commission be tasked with hiring a new city manager,” Foltz said. “It seems like common sense, but this commission decided otherwise.”
Others in attendance commended the outgoing members for finishing what they described as a careful, deliberate process. According to Nemecek, since the search began in March the commission held 32 public meetings and deliberated 21 times on the city manager position. “We didn’t rush the process,” Commissioner Sandy Pritchard said. “We made offers along the way and kept working to find the best fit.”
Nemecek said the city is preparing to publish all city manager interview recordings from the past eight months on its website, boynecity.com. Thursday’s meeting was not livestreamed by the city, but the Boyne Citizen recorded a video of the 44-minute meeting.
Demel’s hiring brings closure to one of Boyne City’s most closely watched issues of the year. The new commission will take office next Tuesday, when members are expected to elect a new mayor and begin what many described as a new chapter for city government.
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