As the new year starts, Kenai is getting a new leader — though he’s no stranger to the inner workings of the city already.
Terry Eubank is stepping into the city manager role Jan. 10, following 15 years as the city’s finance director. He’s filling the job left by current City Manager Paul Ostrander, who said earlier this fall he would not be renewing his contract after six years on the job.
Eubank is a graduate of Kenai Central High School and the University of Alaska Anchorage. He’s raised three kids of his own in Kenai.
“My roots are here and they’re deep,” he said Tuesday. “And I’m really proud of this community, and just want to make sure that I can serve it well and try to make it better.”
The city started recruiting for the city manager job earlier this fall. It initially offered the job to Police Chief Dave Ross, but said it could not come to an agreement on the terms of that contract.
The city then offered the job to Eubank, who signed a contract with the city last week, on Dec. 22. The contract extends through 2028.
Eubank said he’s not looking to make any big changes off the bat.
“We’ve got a lot of big projects that are in the works, have been in the works for many, many years, but are really close to coming to construction and hopefully completion,” he said.
Like the hard-fought bluff stabilization project in town. That’s been a big goal for Eubank’s predecessors.
“We’re so close,” he said. “That’s something that has to get done.”
Eubank also said he’d like to see the city use more technology to interact with residents. He envisions an app people can use to give direct feedback to city employees about where there are potholes, for example.
As finance director, Eubank supervised a staff of six and filled in for Ostrander when he was absent.
“We have a lot of experts in a lot of different areas of the city,” he said. “And I plan to be a facilitator, to make sure they have tools they need and the resources they need so they can get the jobs done correctly.”
Eubank’s salary for the next fiscal year is $161,000, according to his employment agreement with the city. Any raises would come from the Kenai City Council.
The job also comes with a $300 per month automobile allowance and 40 hours of administrative leave in the first six months, as well as an additional 40 hours after six months and 40 hours annually for every year after that. That allotment could go up to 80 hours per year, conditional on a performance review.
The city manager is an at-will position — meaning the Kenai City Council can suspend or discharge him any time, without determination of cause, with 120 days of severance pay in the first three years and 180 days in the last two. The city manager, in turn, can terminate his employment for any reason.
Meanwhile, the city is recruiting for Eubank’s successor, as finance director. Applications were due for the position last week. Eubank said he’ll be working both jobs until they find his replacement.
