PORT ANGELES — North Olympic Library System trustees won’t release the name of the finalist they’ve chosen in their search for the system’s new executive director until a contract with that person is approved.
The board, which decided on the secret finalist last week, is expected to vote on the contract at its regular board meeting this coming Thursday.
The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
“If it’s accepted [by the candidate] and then voted on at that time, [then] we will have ended our search,” board president Don Zanon said Friday.
“The board has chosen not to announce any names at this time,” he added.
Zanon has said the person interviewed was the only person who applied and is a current NOLS employee.
The public agency oversees the Port Angeles, Sequim, Clallam Bay and Forks public libraries.
Zanon said the board’s decision not to release the candidate’s name until a contract is approved was made out of respect to the person.
“This was the process we chose this time for recruitment,” he said.
Contract negotiations
Zanon said the board, during a special meeting last Thursday, approved the finalist for the position and authorized contract negotiations to begin.
The vote followed a closed-door executive session of the board during which the candidate was interviewed, Zanon said.
An ad hoc personnel committee comprising Zanon and another trustee, Catharine Copass, will meet with the candidate this week to discuss the details of the contract, said Paula Barnes, the library system’s current executive director.
Current boss to retire
Barnes intends to retire this summer after seven years at the helm of the North Olympic Library System.
She oversaw the expansion or renovation of all the system’s branches and a successful 2010 campaign to increase the system’s tax levy to combat declining revenues.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.