PALM COAST — David Fraser and Michael McGlothlin shared their decades of city government management experience at their final interviews before the Palm Coast City Council Thursday afternoon, Nov. 13.
The two finalists vying to become Palm Coast’s next city manager, selected last month by the board, answered questions on several topics, including growth and management, infrastructure, and maintaining quality of life, as well as how they would approach the role during the first year.
Fraser and McGlothlin made introductory presentations, highlighting their career paths in city government agencies across the country.
Both finalists emerged after the five City Council members on Oct. 16 ranked their top three choices from a pool of six candidates. Fraser was ranked first in one ballot and second in four ballots, while McGlothlin ranked first in one ballot and third in two ballots. Although each councilmember ranked their top three choices, what mattered was the number of times each candidate was ranked. There was no weighted point system based on ranking order.
Fraser highlights 30-day ‘sprint’ to tackle city’s most pressing needs
Fraser’s presentation began with an overview of his experience working for governments across the country, including city and county government management roles in Colorado, Michigan and Wyoming.
He reiterated his first-year strategy laid out in his “vision paper” submitted to the City Council last month.
Part of his approach would focus on organizational alignment with staff; strengthening fiscal stewardship; managing growth and infrastructure; and enhancing communication and community engagement, among other priorities.
He described his first 30 days as a “sprint,” focusing on catching up on the city’s most pressing issues and needs.
Fraser answered a question about how he would try to secure funding for capital projects in the city. He spoke about his role in securing Brownfield grants through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during his time as city manager in Buchanan, Michigan — these are grants provided for communities to “assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse contaminated properties,” according to the EPA.
Those grants helped remediate industrial sites left by a company who sold the properties back to the city, Fraser said, taking with it more than 5,000 jobs to another state, thus posing an environmental and economic challenge.
He also touched on his experience leading traffic-improvement initiatives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, while praising Palm Coast’s current efforts.
Managing the city’s growth responsibly will be one of his priorities, Fraser said.
“The pressure for residential growth is bringing it right now,” he said, adding that it’s the city’s responsibility to ensure quality of life and public safety standards continue as growth happens.
Fraser has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in public administration from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management. He has a vast experience in local government, serving in management roles across several states, including Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and Michigan. He has been interim county manager for Adams County in Colorado since September 2024.
McGlothlin emphasizes need for infrastructure planning amid city’s growth
In his presentation, McGlothlin identified the challenges the city currently faces and those he considered high priorities. Highlights included growth management; infrastructure; Palm Coast’s western expansion; economic development; recruitment and retention of city staff; and working with a new City Council after next year’s election.
In answering Councilman Ty Miller’s question about how he would approach growth management, McGlothlin said he would prioritize infrastructure planning. He said securing funding from grants, impact fees and bonds would be a significant part of making infrastructure improvement efforts successful.
McGlothlin said that the partnership he has built with state and even federal officials over the years is something he would leverage to ensure the city “has a seat at the table” during discussions about policy-making and home rule, especially given the recent controversy around Senate Bill 180.
That same networking, he said, would be an advantage for the city to secure funding opportunities from higher agencies.
Councilman David Sullivan asked McGlothlin what he thought about the city’s agreement with the Flagler County Sherriff’s Office to provide public safety services to the city.
“In the research that I have conducted, it shows that everyone is very happy with the services that are provided,” McGlothlin said.
McGlothlin was a division commander at the Zebulon Police Department in North Carolina from 2000-09, around which time the city’s population was approximately 4,000, according to Census data.
From then until 2028, McGlothlin served as city emergency manager in Columbia City, Oregon, while also serving as chief of police; he then became city administrator and served until 2023. Most recently, McGlothlin was town administrator in Redington Shores, Florida.
What’s next for the Palm Coast city manager candidates?
At the end of the candidates’ interviews, the board voiced its gratitude for city staff’s work throughout the process. Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston has been in the post since the board fired Denise Bevan in March 2024.
A previous city manager search fell through in May when the city fired search firm Strategic Government Resources after the two finalists dropped out. Neither gave a reason for withdrawing from the search, which took place during the same time Mayor Mike Norris faced an ethics complaint from Councilman Charles Gambaro and Gambaro faced a lawsuit from Norris. The city spent $17,000 on SGR at that time, according to a May News-Journal story.
Following the interviews, both candidates participated in a community meet-and-greet from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The City Council is expected to make a final decision during its next meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 9 a.m.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast city manager finalists face questions, meet residents ahead of final decision
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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