COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene City Council agreed Tuesday night to reopen discussion of replacing the city administrator position.

During the May 20 council meeting, the mayor appointed Finance Director Troy Tymesen as the interim city administrator while the city set up an open application process.

At that May meeting, Mayor Steve Widmyer said he wanted to discuss recruitment options for the city administrator position with the city council. He suggested the city could begin an open recruitment in July with the intent to fill the position by Oct. 1.

Widmyer said Tymesen was amenable to an open recruitment and agreed to throw his hat into the ring.

Councilman Dan Gookin said Wednesday that an open recruitment is a good idea, and that if an internal candidate gets the job it would confirm that person was the best fit for the job.

But at Tuesday's council meeting, Councilman Woody McEvers made the case to reopen that discussion to consider foregoing the selection process and hire Tymesen.

"I don't think we should have to prolong this process until October," McEvers said after listing a number of accomplishments Tymesen has been associated with over the past decade.

Widmyer appeared stunned by McEvers' request, and a discussion ensued.

"This comes as quite a surprise," he said. "I wish we would have talked about this before the meeting."

Amy Evans questioned whether the council should be discussing the topic in an open session because it was a personnel issue.

City Attorney Mike Gridley said it was the council's decision to discuss the matter in open session or not, and clarified that the administrator's appointment was the mayor's responsibility and the council's role is to confirm that position after the appointment.

Councilman Steve Adams said he would be uncomfortable with changing the process at this point because the council had already determined a course of action.

"I will not be supporting this," he said.

After a little more discussion, the council voted to go ahead and reopen the discussion at its next regular meeting on June 17. Adams was sole dissenting vote, and Gookin and Councilman Ron Edinger were not in attendance.

In an interview Wednesday, Widmyer said the discussion will be held, but he doubts the council will change its mind. He is not sure if it will take place during the public portion of the meeting or in executive session.

"We made a decision two weeks ago to do it this way," Widmyer said. "In fact, Troy was the one who suggested we do it this way.

"Troy is very confident in his ability to compete for this job, and so am I."