Ten candidates up for CU Board selection

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

City Council will interview 10 candidates for four positions opening on the Board of Public Utilities.

Council narrowed down a list of 27 applicants to 10 candidates at a meeting Oct. 25. The 10 candidates are Ken Carter, Shara Cash, Sheila Collins, Jim Cox, Larry Folkins, Curtis Graff, Susan Kirkman, Dan Manna, Eric Peil and Philip Wannenmacher.

Council members will now interview those candidates and choose four Board of Public Utilities members to replace outgoing members Dan Chiles, Tom Barr, Bill Reser and Gordon Elliott.

The new members normally join the board in December, but the old members serve until new members are chosen, said City Clerk Brenda Cirtin. If the candidates are not interviewed by then, the new members may not be approved by City Council in time to begin serving in December.

"In the past we've had members serve past the December cutoff, and if we don't make it this year, it won't be any different than those years," said Councilman Bob Vanaman.

Council had not determined the dates for the interviews at press time. Once the Committee of the Whole, which comprises all nine members of council, makes its decision, then the slate of new members must be approved after two readings by City Council. Council has two meetings in November and only one in December.

Councilman Gary Gibson said the candidates represented a good "cross mixture of backgrounds," representing banking, education and various business interests.

"The most important qualities these candidates should have is the ability to understand a financial statement, to know what's happening with regard to deregulation of the utility industry, and we need a couple more women on the board for diversity," Gibson said.

Gibson said he will want to ask questions that pertain to finances and deregulation during the interview process and he added that he will also be concerned about the issue of City Utilities' general manager's retiring.

"We need to understand what the process might be for replacing the current general manager if he chooses to retire in the next three to six years," Gibson said.

Though CU General Manager Robert Roundtree's current contract expires in 2001, he has not given the utilities board any communication about his retirement plans, according to a statement from board chairman Bill Reser.

"We are very pleased with his performance and have no plans to handle any personnel issues related to the CEO position," Reser said in the statement.

Councilman Bob Vanaman said his concern is for someone to be appointed to the board who has no previous affiliation with CU as part of its Citizens' Advisory Council or in any other way. He added that he is disappointed that no candidate represent his council zone, Zone 1.

Vanaman said he is also concerned about the financial concerns of the utility.

"In the utility industry, it takes big bucks to do anything, and that's why you've got to have money on hand to take care of those potential problems and expenses," Vanaman said.

Councilwoman Shelia Wright agreed.

"I think it's unfortunate that there are people in the community who want to drive down CU's reserves. We need those for emergencies and other contingencies," Wright said.

Councilwoman Teri Hacker, who in the past expressed concern for board members being independent thinkers, said she was pleased with the applicants.

"I think the number of applicants this time was much better than it has been in years past because of the four positions opening up," Hacker said.

The following are brief profiles of each candidate for the Board of Public Utilities. The board cannot be comprised of more than six people from one political party. Independent is not considered a political party, Cirtin said. Because of the makeup of the board, only three Republicans can be appointed, Cirtin said.

Ken Carter is a Republican who lives in Zone 2. He is chairman of Commerce Bank and has served on both the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors and as president of the Springfield Business and Development Corporation. He has also been president of the Partnership Industrial Center Administrative Council.

Shara Cash is an independent who lives in Zone 4. She is chief financial officer at the dental office of Jerry F. Cash. She has also been a teacher and served on the Springfield R-12 Board of Education from 1992-1998.

Sheila Collins was general manager of Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation and is a Republican from Zone 3. She has served on Ozarks Technical Community College's Workforce 2000 Committee and its bond issue committee.

Jim Cox is an attorney and Democrat from Zone 4. He is a member of the board of the Downtown Springfield Association.

Larry Folkins is a Republican from Zone 2. He is a retired educator who served as state supervisor of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Curtis Graff is an independent from Zone 4. He is the retired president of NationsBank who has been president of the chamber board and has served on the Springfield Business and Development Corporation.

Susan Kirkman is an independent from Zone 3 who works in marketing for Commerce Bank.

Dan Manna is an independent from Zone 4. He is president of Paul Mueller Company and has served as board member and chairman of the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport Board.

Eric Peil is a Republican from Zone 4 who is a vice president and loan officer for Great Southern Bank. He has served on the Springfield Industrial Development Authority and on the board of a municipally owned utility in Sikeston.

Philip Wannenmacher is a Republican from Zone 4 who was once a state representative. He is now a senior financial consultant for Merrill Lynch.