January 23, 2006

Candidates for head of AFN to interview

City won’t release list of at least three finalists

By Vickie Aldous
Ashland Daily Tidings

Interviews with candidates to head the Ashland Fiber Network are being scheduled in early February, according to City of Ashland staff.

Probably at least three finalists will be interviewed by two panels on Feb. 6, according to Ashland Finance Director Lee Tuneberg. One panel will focus on technological aspects while the other will look at management issues, he said.

Tuneberg said he would not release the names of the finalists to the media. “It makes it difficult for the city to recruit candidates and go through the process. ... I’m trying my best to get talented people here to interview,” he said.

He also declined to say whether any of the finalists are local.

The search for the AFN leader — who will be called the Information Technology Director and will also have management responsibility over the city’s internal computer systems — stalled last year because of uncertainty over AFN’s future.

But the search resumed after the Ashland City Council voted in Dec. 2005 to work on plans to sell AFN or spin it off as a separate nonprofit organization. The Jefferson Public Radio Foundation, Charter Communications and Qwest have expressed interest in AFN.

A person would still be needed to manage the city’s computer systems if AFN separated from the city, according to city staff.

City staff had estimated in early January that the Information Technology Director finalists would be interviewed today, but the interview process is still being arranged.

Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@dailytidings.com.