The City Council has officially directed staff to begin contract negotiations with Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen for the position of City Manager.
The Council held a special meeting on Thursday to conduct follow-up interviews for two of the five internal candidates for the open city manager position, Lauritsen and Director of Engineering Micah Siemers. The interviews were conducted during an executive session, which are not open to the public, in accordance with Oklahoma law.
The Council returned to the open portion of the meeting late Thursday evening and voted to direct City staff to begin contract negotiations with Lauritsen for the position, which was vacated in August following the resignation of former city manager Mike Bailey.
Lauritsen has 30 years of experience in civil engineering, with 26 of them as a public administrator for City of Bartlesville. He began his career with the City in 2000 as a staff engineer. He was named director of Engineering in 2005 and director of Water Utilities in 2013. He holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, as well as certification in floodplain management and an Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Class C Water and Wastewater License.
The Human Resources Department will begin the negotiation process immediately.