The Pacific Grove City Council could decide on a new city manager during Wednesday’s council meeting following months without having one.
The council will be discussing whether to approve Marina Assistant City Manager Matthew Mogensen, who has been serving in that position since 2018.
If approved, Mogensen would be paid $251,680 a year and start work on May 6. He would be taking over for Robert Perrault, who has been interim city manager since Nov. 6.
The city has been looking for a permanent city manager since last summer following the controversial separation agreement with former City Manager Ben Harvey. The council then created a city manager recruitment subcommittee comprised of Mayor Bill Peake, Mayor Pro Tempore Nick Smith and Councilman Luke Coletti to help with recruitment efforts.
Mogensen’s resume shows he’s been in the city planning sector for years, spending time in the city of Brea as an assistant to the city manager and Fountain Valley in planning and building.
Wednesday’s agenda does not state how many others applied for the position, only that a “diligent process” was followed to find an appropriate candidate.
The council will also discuss the Congress, Cedar and Sunset Intersection Safety Improvement Project. The city held several town hall meetings to get the community’s input on improvements for the area which is heavy in traffic and frequented by pedestrians and bikers, especially when school is out for the day.
According to city officials, the five-way crossroad is not as safe as it could be and could benefit from improvements.
During a council meeting Dec. 20, Pacific Grove Public Works Director Daniel Gho reported the city is in the process of looking at cost-effective options while simultaneously moving forward with approval from Caltrans. The next steps are for Caltrans to determine the correct approach for implementing the project and the city staff will bring updates as that occurs.
Also listed on the agenda is a recommendation to inform Monterey One Water that Pacific Grove intends to move the city’s billing for wastewater (sewage) charges to the Monterey Property Tax Bill.
The city council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Grove City Hall, 300 Forest Ave. and can be watched online via Zoom at cityofpacificgrove.org/Zoom_CC.
