IDA banks on Baenziger's experience

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Colin Baenziger supposedly has a knack for placing the right people in the right position at the right time.

Now, members of the Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority are banking on that talent.

The board on Feb. 10 hired Baenziger to conduct the search for a new executive director for Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. The position, which is being vacated by its current director Bob Fernandez Feb. 18, is one that will require a unique set of skills — one he or she will need to guide a community still in transition while overseeing daily operations and the operations of its homeowner’s associations, among other responsibilities.

Baenziger, based in Wellington, beat out The Mercer Group and Slavin Management Consultants for the job after presentations from each company last week.

Of the three contenders, Baenziger brings the most experience unique to Florida and was the only candidate with experience in managing a special district that oversaw homeowner’s associations as well.

“That kind of sold me,” IDA Supervisor Jean Stewart said.

IDA Chairman Tom Green agreed.

“They just seemed to have a better understanding of the type of individual we are looking (for),” he said.

Baenziger and the IDA board wasted no time getting started. Immediately after the vote, Fernandez called Baenziger to notify him of the selection and to see if he could come to get started. About 20 minutes later, Baenziger returned at Town Hall to discuss details about the community, expectations and desires for a future executive director.

The IDA also scheduled meetings between Baenziger and homeowner’s association representatives and Lakewood Ranch Community Development District supervisors Feb. 21. Baenziger will use the information collected at those meetings, along with the IDA’s input, to develop a candidate profile and begin the recruiting process.

“This isn’t really a city or a county,” Baenziger said. “It’s a special district. The complexity of the financing and its structure make it different.”

At the urging of IDA members to get a new executive director as quickly as possible without jeopardizing quality, Baenziger already has written a new timeline for the search — speeding it up from 90 days to about 60 days.

The shortened timeline may prove challenging, but Baenziger said it is possible.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Baenziger said. “It’s going to be an interesting search. It’s going to be a challenging search.”

Baenziger came to Florida from the Washington, D.C., area in the fall of 1993. After working in a variety of jobs, he took a position managing the ACME Improvement District, which later became the city of Wellington, because of his prior experience managing the water billing operation for the District of Columbia. Over three years, Baenziger guided the community as it developed into a city.

“In a lot of ways, it was very similar to the Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority,” he said.

Baenziger started his executive recruiting firm in 1997 and conducted his first search in 1998. At first, he limited his services to businesses in Florida — wanting to stay close to home as a single dad with two young sons — but now has expanded to 18 states.

Since May 2005, Baenziger’s company had conduced about 70% of city and county manager searches within the state of Florida — 61 of 85. Additionally, two-thirds of the city managers Baenziger has placed since 2000 are still where he placed them.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].