Albertville Council Terminates Administrator's Contract

A divided Albertville City Council voted 3-2 to end its relationship with Albertville City Administrator Larry Kruse, effective May 1, at its regular meeting held Monday night at .

Despite comments in support of Kruse during the public comment portion of the meeting, Mayor Mark Meehan discussed openly a "closed door" Monday meeting he had with Kruse, where he said he raised several issues expressed to him by city staff members, local businesses and in particular council member Jillian Hendrickson.

"Larry serves at the will of the council," Meehan said. "There was a consensus, among a number of people" that Kruse was not able to do the job as the council desired.

In dissenting, members Dan Wagner and Larry Sorensen each expressed their surprise in the matter. Member John Vetsch, who wound up being the "swing" vote, said Kruse's inability to grow the city's business sector was his deciding factor.

"What has he really done since he got here," Vetsch asked.

The official motion stated the council wanted a "change in direction" at the leadership position, something Kruse himself suggested.

A complete breakdown of the three hour meeting will be posted later on St. Michael Patch.