Ames City Manager Steve Schainker is in the process of selecting a permanent director for the city’s Planning and Housing Department.

Three finalists, Doug Pollock of Burr Ridge, Ill., Don Gross of Council Bluffs and Matt Flynn of Champaign, Ill. have been invited to speak on their professional experiences and visions for Ames.

The presentations will allow city government officials and the community to have input on the selection, said Julie Huisman, director of human resources for Ames.

“The public forum will provide a feedback mechanism,” Huisman said. “This is a critical position in the community because of the breadth of the director’s influence on growth.”

The new director’s job will be to lead the Planning and Housing Department in all areas, including community development, transportation, annexation, subdivision and short and long-term planning, Huisman said.

The new director will have several issues confronting him as soon as he begins she said, including the recent changes to the Land Use Policy Plan that could lead to the building of a new mall in east Ames and “smart growth” issues raised by many in the community in the wake of the mall debate.

“Certainly the land use plan is on the forefront of the issues,” Huisman said. “Moving that process forward will be a big job for the new director.”

The new director must bring innovative and creative ideas as well as a strong background in city planning and technical skills, Schainker said.

“Contentious issues need creative solutions to satisfy the desires of our diverse community,” he said. “The director will need to develop credibility among diverse groups.”

Pollock spoke on his experiences and qualifications Thursday. He is presently the community development director of Burr Ridge, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The division between some Ames citizens and the city council over the recent mall issue is similar to a situation in Burr Ridge, he said. At the beginning of his term, a developer proposed a 30-screen movie theater in the center of the town of 10,000. While the city council was supportive of the proposal, he said, the town’s residents were strongly opposed, with 2,000 residents participating in community forums. The developers dropped their proposal and the theater was not built.

Gross is currently the director of community development in Council Bluffs, a position he said has many similarities to the opening in Ames. He began working in Council Bluffs in 1986, about the same time a new regional shopping mall on Interstate 80 replaced a smaller mall in the city, he said.

Though he is not familiar with the regional mall debate, he said, his experience with the situation in Council Bluffs may serve him well.

“The decision [for the new mall] was made already when I arrived,” he said, “but I did work on the community development side of the issue.”

Flynn works now as the principal planner the city of Champaign, Ill., home of the University of Illinois. His 15 years of experience working as a planner in a college town benefit him, Flynn said.

“I’m attracted to Ames’ university setting,” he said. “We’ve had the same issues here, such as maintaining and fostering a Campustown and dealing with housing issues and affordable housing.”

The earliest Schainker will make a final decision is the week of Feb. 23, Huisman said. Gross will speak on his experiences and qualifications Feb. 17, and Flynn will make a presentation Feb. 19.