There is officially a new city manager in training for Vernal City, though a formal announcement has yet to be made. According to Vernal City Mayor Sonja Norton, eight applicants were interviewed in May for the position in the second hiring attempt. After several decades serving as the Vernal City Manager, Ken Bassett officially made the announcement last August of his retirement scheduled for June 2017. The job announcement was posted in the fall and the Mayor and hiring committee narrowed down the pool of applicants by mid February. A final announcement was expected to be made by the middle of March but the council remained split over the final selection and the process was started over. The second hiring attempt has been a success and Mr. Bassett will be available to help with training and the transition for at least several weeks after his last official day as city manager. Mayor Norton says that while the new city manager has been selected, details are being finalized and the official announcement will be made next Wednesday at the Vernal City Council meeting.
