Guymon To Search For Interim City Manager

After Thursday night’s stunning Guymon City Council decision to terminate City Manager Ted Graham’s contract, the city was scrambling Friday to set a date and time for a special meeting to look for an interim city manager.
The meeting will take place Wednesday at 6 p.m. in city council chambers.
The council voted 3-1 on Thursday night to remove Graham, who had been with the city for more than six years. Council members Larry Swager, Kim Peterson and William King voted to remove Graham, John Van Meter voted no and Mayor Jim Norris was absent. Prior to the executive session, Van Meter made a motion to table the issue until Norris could be present. The motion died for lack of a second, and the board voted to go into Executive Session.
Wednesday night’s special meeting will include an Executive Session to choose an interim city manager, with the council voting on that individual in open session.
Vice-Mayor Peterson said Friday that he couldn’t say anything other than what was said in the open meeting Thursday night — that the council voted to terminate Graham’s contract.
“We’ve got to get somebody in place,” Peterson said. “It could be somebody from staff that basically can act as a signatory or receiving agent, or execute things they’ve got to do.”
Peterson said that at either a regular meeting or another special meeting, the council will decide how to proceed with finding a permanent city manager.
Thursday night’s Executive Session lasted more than 90 minutes, and took some in the audience by surprise.
But Peterson said there was nothing he cold say publicly about the decision to remove Mr. Graham.
“There’s nothing pleasant about it,” Peterson said.