The Albert Lea City Council, city staff and community members on Friday got their first opportunity to meet the five city manager finalists.

In the morning, the candidates — Dean Torreson, city manager of Macomb, Ill.; Jim Norman, interim city manager in Afton; Alan Lanning, city manager in Pines North, Colo.; David Torgler, former city administrator of Leavenworth, Wash.; and Greg Sund, former city administrator of Spearfish, S.D. — began their day with a bus tour of the city with Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Susie Petersen.

After the tour, the finalists ate lunch with department heads, and then the council met in small groups with the candidates.

From 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., there was a public reception at City Hall to give the community the opportunity to meet the finalists and ask questions on a more informal basis. Afterward, the finalists and the council were scheduled to eat dinner together.

“I think it’s been a great day,” 1st Ward Councilor Vern Rasmussen said. “All these candidates have different strengths and different enthusiasms, and all are very qualified individuals.”

Several of the councilors said they think the city would benefit from any of the candidates.

“We’ve got five very capable people,” Mayor Mike Murtaugh said. “Just from talking with them in small groups, I think we are going to have a hard decision.”

Fifth Ward Councilor Larry Anderson said he thinks The Brimeyer Group — the consultant firm hired to lead the search — was successful in bringing the city talented candidates.

“I think no matter who we make the decision with he will be an asset to the community,” 2nd Ward Councilor Larry Baker said.

While Friday was a more informal day for the candidates, on Saturday, they will go through a series of formal interviews in front of the council, staff and a citizens panel. A decision about the new city manager could come as early as Saturday afternoon.

During the public open house on Friday, several of the candidates said they were excited about their first day in Albert Lea and what they’ve learned about the community thus far.

Torreson said while Albert Lea is an obviously beautiful city, he was impressed with the natural resources in the community, the parks system and especially the downtown.

“The downtown looks like it belongs to a much bigger city,” he said.

He also pointed out the broad employment base in the city and the varied interests that can bring.

“There seems to be a spirit here — a can-do spirit here — that I really like,” he said. “People pair together to make things happen.”

Lanning said he was pleasantly surprised with what he had seen in Albert Lea his first day.

“I think there’s so much potential here,” he said.

He noted there was a lot of “nice conversation” with the department heads during the lunch.

Torgler said he thought there had been good dialogue between the candidates and the council, communicating expectations and goals.

What stuck out to him about Albert Lea was “its commitment to keep moving forward in this downturned economy.”

He, too, noted the diversity of the local industries and also commented about the revitalization of the downtown.

Sund said he liked the diversified industrial economy in the city and described this as “a sign of a healthy community.”

He said he liked the layout of the community and enjoyed meeting staff and the councilors Friday.

Norman said he thinks Albert Lea combines the elements of two of the locations he was previously employed at — one of being a regional center like Montevideo and the second of being a comparable organizational size to Ramsey.

Community member Jo Jimenez, who moved back to Albert Lea with her husband in September 2009, said she talked with the candidates about being progressive.

She said three candidates stuck out to her.

She pointed out the sincerity and knowledge of one of the candidates and the ability another candidate seemed to have to get along with everyone.

Jimenez said she supported how the council went about finding a new city manager in hiring a consultant firm to organize the search.

“They brought the best,” she said. “A group like this, they know what the city is looking for.”

About 70 people applied for the position, which was advertised with a salary range of $83,663 to $108,762. The applicants were narrowed down to 10 by The Brimeyer Group, and then the council narrowed the list down to five.

The search comes after the resignation of former City Manager Victoria Simonsen who accepted a new job as town manager in Lyons, Colo.

She had been in the position for six years.

Look to AlbertLeaTribune.com for more coverage of the Saturday interviews.