The Miami Lakes Town Manager Selection Committee officially submitted the names of the top five candidates for council members to interview to determine the best person for the job.
At its final meeting last week, the committee picked North Miami Beach City Manager Anna Garcia; Bell City, California Manager Howard Brown; Bay Harbor Island Assistant Town Manager Juan Jimenez; veteran firefighter Edward Pidermann; and Miami Lakes’ Chief Financial Officer Ismael Diaz, the five candidates who scored the highest marks during their interviews.
Pidermann and Jimenez are Miami Lakes residents.
But the committee decided not to include the two alternates, PGA West (California) General Manager Scott Randall and Wilmington, North Carolina interim City Manager John Bauer, after their background checks revealed some problems with their previous employers.
The alternates were chosen to replace any of the top five candidates should they drop out of the running for the top executive position.
At the October 2 Town Council meeting, Town Attorney Raul Gastesi presented lawmakers the list of the finalists who are seeking to run the day-to-day operations of the 6.5 square mile town.
Council members will start to interview candidates following the November 6 elections, when three new faces take their seats on the dais.
Council members Tim Daubert and Cease\ ar Mestre are term-limited this year and Vice Mayor Frank Mingo is vacating his seat to run for state representative.
Attorney Jefferey Rodriguez and business owner Xiomara Pazos are vying for Daubert’s seat, and education leader Carlos O. Alvarez and former government administrator Esther Colon seek to take over Mestre’s chair.
Attorney Joshua Dieguez automatically won Seat 4 at the end of the town’s qualifying period, as he replaces Mingo.
Council members might chose to interview the candidates one-on-one or as a group and pick the winner by December. They hope to have the new town manager on board sometime in January in case Town Manager Alex Rey leaves early to take another job.
Rey, whose resignation is effective in March, said he has applied for other jobs.
He’s is retiring from Miami Lakes to take advantage of the government Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), which would pay him a high amount on his pension plan.
Rey has worked in government for more 30 years, starting with Miami-Dade County and served as Miami Lakes town manager for over 14 years.