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The recruiting is over, now comes the hard part.

With 61 people submitting their applications by Monday’s deadline for the soon to be vacant Naples city manager position, Naples City Council must now whittle the list down to no more than 18 semifinalists.

Those candidates will then move on to a screening phase, before a smaller group of candidates is asked to return for interviews in late October.

“I think there’s some good candidates in there,” said City Councilman John Sorey.

Council is expected to make its final decision on Oct. 23, with the new city manager taking the helm by the end of the year.

Mayor Bill Barnett said he wasn’t surprised with the volume of applications the city received.

“I’ve always maintained that the city of Naples is a diamond,” Barnett said. “To be a city manager in Naples, Florida, is probably a pretty desirable job.”

City Manager Bob Lee is resigning Oct. 19 after four years on the job to take a teaching position at Florida State University.

While the majority of the applicants are coming from out of state, several Floridians are hoping to be selected to return for the Oct. 22 interviews.

At least four Southwest Florida residents have applied for the job, including two city managers, an assistant city manager and a county administrator.

On Monday Marco Island City Manager Bill Moss announced he would be applying for the position. Moss told Marco Island City Council that he made the decision over the weekend, and that he would stay on as Marco city manager if he were not chosen as a semifinalist or finalist.

“I’ve been very happy (on Marco Island) and I’m still very happy here,” Moss said.

Moss isn’t the only island city manager who is hoping to move to the mainland. Sanibel Island City Manager Judith Ann Zimomra also submitted her resume. Zimomra has served as Sanibel’s city manager since 2001. Prior to being hired on Sanibel, Zimomra was the chief of staff for the city of Cleveland.

Cape Coral Assistant City Manager Hector Rivera Sr. is hoping that he can make the city of Naples his own. Rivera has been Cape Coral’s assistant city manager since April 2007. Prior to being appointed the assistant manager, Rivera spent three years as the national director of ARD Inc., an agency that deals with international development.

Joseph Schmitt, a Collier County administrator, is the only other local candidate for the city manager position. Schmitt has served as administrator of community development and environmental services in Collier County for the past five years. In his application, Schmitt said his time with the county and knowledge of the area would be an asset if hired.

“My record over the past five years within the local community clearly attests to my ability to work effectively with the community and in developing and motivating customer-oriented teams to serve the community and the standards and codes directed by our elected officials,” Schmitt wrote in his application.

Also among the applicants is a former city manager hoping to get a fresh start in Naples.

Former Largo City Manager Susan Stanton submitted her application for the job. While Stanton held her position as city manager for 14 years, she may better known for losing her job.

Stanton, formerly Steve, was fired in March after she told Largo city officials she was taking steps toward becoming a woman.

“As you know, my life has become a little more complicated six months ago with the public interest of my gender transition,” Stanton wrote in her cover letter. “I anticipate some initial sensationalized interest by the local media if I am granted an interview for this position, however I am confident the media’s interest in me will be short lived and I will resume my life as a professional city manager.”

Barnett said he planned to look over the resumes this weekend.

“I have just scratched the surface, (but) there are some terrific, terrific candidates in here,” he said. “I’m very impressed.”

Naples City Council will begin discussing the city manager candidates at 10 a.m. Monday.

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Sixty-one people applied for the Naples city manager position by Monday’s deadline. City Council will narrow the list down to no more than 18 semi-finalists during this upcoming Monday’s City Council workshop.

• Mack Anthony, production scheduler for various San Lorenzo, Calif., organizations.

• Pamela Barber, city attorney in Silt, Colo.

• Jerome I. Baron, former director of finance for the city of Cranston, R.I.

• Paul G. Beecher, former city manager for the city of Kingman, Ariz.

• Shawn David Boyle, finance officer for the Oldham County Fiscal Court, LaGrange, Ky.

• Michael Cantrell, north regional director of detention services for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Tallahassee

• Matt Carlson, city manager for the city of Delafield, Wis.

• John R. Conklin, Northhampton County administrator, Easton, Pa.

• William J. Cooper, former city manager for Mount Clemens, Mich.

• John H. Culbreth, former director of the Department of Parks, Recreation, Entertainment & Conservation for the city of Jacksonville.

• Albert J. D’Alessandro, facilities support manager for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Pittsburgh.

• Newall J. Daughtrey, chairman Newall J. Daughtrey & Associates, Miami

• Roger S. Dixon, public works director for the Town of Eatonville.

• Charles O. Dobbins, Jr., former senior vice president, Colin Baenziger & Associates, Marshall, Mich.

• Michael E. Feeney, chief administrative officer for the city of Bridgeport, Conn.

• Kenneth Fields, former executive administrative officer for the Seminole Tribe of Florida

• Daniel W. Fitzpatrick, city manager for the city of Peekskill, N.Y.

• Edward Gil de Rubio, county manager, Sullivan County, N.H.

• John A. Giordano, chief of trial court/security administration for the Unified Court System/Office of Court Administration, New York, N.Y.

• Mark A. Glover, interim finance director, Casselberry.

• Gregg Griffin, director of electric utility for the city of Green Cove Springs.

• Samuel E. Grove, city manager, Cartersville, Ga.,

• William G. Hinchey, town manager, Chatham, Mass.

• James A. Jackson, Director of the Wayne County Department of Public Services/Assistant County Executive Officer

• Randy B. Knight, assistant city manager, Winter Park

• Jim Koshmider, part-time instructor at the Emerging Leader Development Program in Washington, D.C.

• Marc Landry, town manager, Bouctouche, New Brunswick

• Randy Lawson, information techonolgy manager for the city of Germantown, Tenn.

• Kevin L. Mackey, city manager, Vassar, Mich.

• John W. Manuel III, senior adviser to chief of Mission Assurance and Security Services at the Internal Revenue Service.

• Thomas L. Mattis, city manager, Kyle, Texas

• Matt McKillip, mayor of Kokomo, Ind.

• Thorn Mead, former Seekonk, Mass., town administrator

• Dave Miller, mayor of Elkhart, Ind.

• William Moss, city manager, Marco Island

• Kent Myers, Hot Springs, Ark., city manager

• Samuel R. Oppelaar, Jr., retired United States Air Force lieutenant colonel. Oppelaar is a senior systems engineer at L-3 Communication-Titan, Inc., Panama City

• Michael P. Pounds, Glendale, Mo., city administrator

• Sergio Purrinos, Doral City manager

• Tanya W. Quickel, deputy director of the Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District

• Robert Reardon, public works director, Wrenthamm, Mass.

• David L. Recor, deputy city manager, Fort Pierce

• Hector Rivera, Sr., assistant city manager, Cape Coral

• Bruce St. Denis, town manager, Longboat Key

• Susan A. Stanton, former city manager Largo.

• Joseph K. Schmitt, Collier County administrator for community development and environmental services division

• Patrick G. Salerno, city manager, Sunrise

• Robert A. Schaunmleffel, Jr., city manager, Creedmoor, N.C.

• Timothy C. Smith, town administrator, Wellfleet, Mass.

• Michael L. Stampflier, owner/managing partner of Civicquest Consulting

• Frank Thomas III, city manager, Mulberry

• Hal M. Tinsley, United States Air Force colonel. Tinsley serves as the executive manager for Installation Geospatial Information Systems for the Secretary of Defense, Huntington, Md.

• Linda Lovvorn Tucker, chief administrative officer, Isle of Palms, S.C.

• Henry M. Underhill, township manager, Sparta, N.J.

• Bogdan Vitas, Jr. , vice president of community municipal economic development programs for America’s Development Foundation, Bettendorf, Iowa

• Dale M. Walker, deputy city manager and director of finance, Cadillac, Mich.

• Terence Wall, borough manager and public safety director, Keansburg, N.J.

• Jeffrey D. Williamson, chief operating officer for XSLENT Technologies, Gilbert, Ariz.

• Christopher K. Wilson, city administrator, Southaven, Miss.

• Anthony E. Woods, director of affordable housing division for the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority VIII, Gulfport, Miss.

• Judith Ann Zimomra, city manager, Sanibel Island