Thirty-six people submitted applications by the Nov. 13 deadline to become Pickerington's next city manager.

According to a tentative schedule set by Mayor Mitch O'Brien, city administrators will rate the applicants next week in hopes of selecting the top five candidates the week of Thanksgiving.

Several of the candidates have familiar names in central Ohio: Susan Crotty, deputy director of the Office of Workforce Development, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, was Pickerington's economic development director from July 1995 to May 2005; Odis Jones, director of urban development, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, was development director in Obetz for several years and also worked for Columbus Urban Growth; and Ron Stake, president of Financial Benefit Corp. in Reynoldsburg, is a current member of Reynoldsburg City Council.

Candidate interviews will follow the holiday, and city officials hope to present their top three applicants to Pickerington City Council in time for council to make a selection to replace former city manager Tim Hansley at its Dec. 7 or Dec. 15 meeting.

The city began advertising for the position on its Web site on Oct. 28. The position also was advertised on Web sites of the Ohio Municipal League, the International City/County Management Association and the Ohio City/County Management Association.

Hansley, who served as Pickerington city manager for 17 months before being fired Oct. 20, was paid an annual salary of $105,000 at the time of his dismissal. The city will pay the new city manager $90,000 to $100,000 annually plus benefits, depending on qualifications.

The other candidates are:

• Jeffrey Beebe, information technology manager, Ashland County, Ohio, Technology Department.

• Gary Beggrow, pro racing sponsorship implementation manager, the American Motorcycle Association (Pickerington) from 2000 to 2008.

• Nancy Benroth, assistant village administrator, Bluffton, Ohio.

• Jeffrey Bishop, executive director of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, Coos Bay, Ore.

• Brandi Braun, assistant city administrator, Gahanna.

• Michael Brillhart, economic and strategic development director and capital improvement manager, St. Lucie County, Fla.

• Patrick Brobeck, performance audit manager, Ohio Auditor's Office.

• Joseph Bulzan, environmental manager for Smurfit-Stone in Coshocton, Ohio.

• Mark Cozy, city manager, Canal Fulton, Ohio.

• Donald Doering, city administrator, Teague, Texas.

• Dale Dougherty, executive director Walterboro-Colleton County, S.C., Recreation Commission.

• Jason Eckley, city manager intern in the Cumberland, Md., Economic Development Department.

• Daniel Evers, township administrator, Deerfield Township (Mason, Ohio).

• Robert Farmer, director, Delaware County Emergency Medical Services.

• Barbara Fleming, deputy village manager, Ruidoso, N.M.

• Alan Grindstaff, city manager, Jasper, Texas.

• Tasha Hill, U.S. Census office manager, Columbus office of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

• Benjamin King, assistant city administrator and director of public services, Pataskala.

• Jackson Kinney, director of community development, Oshkosh, Wis.

• William Mayhew, senior program attorney and guardian ad litem, Office of the Guardian ad Litem, 6th Judicial Circuit, Clearwater, Fla.

• Wayne O'Neal, county administrator, Hendry County, Fla., from April 2007 to July 2008.

• Dennis Recker, village administrator, Whitehouse, Ohio.

• Edward Ryan Jr., substitute teacher, Cape Henlopen, Del., school district, and town administrator, Milton, N.H., from January 2008 to June 2008.

• Robert Schaumleffel, city manager, Conneaut, Ohio.

• Joseph Scherer, city manager, Nelsonville, Ohio.

• Matt Selhorst, Columbus regional manager and senior project manager, Tetra Tech (Gahanna).

• Diana Smith, director of strategic planning, Camden County Board of Commissioners, Woodbine, Ga.

• Timothy Smith, county manager, Otero, County, N.M.

• Jill Stotridge, manager of fiscal operations and community funding, Ohio Department of Mental Health.

• David Tatko, director of sales, DEX Corp. Northeast (Lockbourne, Ohio) from 2006 to 2008.

• Rodger Upp, rate analyst and tariff publication manager, R+L Carriers Inc. (Wilmington, Ohio).

• Ralph Wise, city manager, Russell, Kan.

• Craig Zins, public service director, Green, Ohio, from May 2005 to September 2007.

nellis@thisweeknews.com