ID Officials Approve Fire Chief Who Never Applied

Nov. 11—Boise's new fire chief will be a man who didn't even originally apply for the job.

The Boise City Council on Tuesday night approved Mark Niemeyer, currently the chief of the Meridian Fire Department, to take over the job effective Nov. 30 — but not before a lengthy conversation about how he was selected.

Mayor Lauren McLean named Niemeyer to the role in a surprise move last week. The city had previously announced — and publicly interviewed — two other finalists, Adrian Sheppard of Richmond, California, and Scott Walker of Phoenix. Niemeyer was never among the publicly announced candidates for the job.

Seth Ogilvie, McLean's spokesperson, later told the Statesman that Niemeyer was not included in that process because he did not initially apply for the job.

"However, throughout this process, the mayor's office heard from the public what it wanted in its fire chief," he said in an email. "It became clear that what they wanted was a candidate like Chief Niemeyer. At that point, the office reached out to him."

Some members of the Boise City Council did not expect the move, including those who were originally part of the selection process. The mayor appoints department heads, as she did earlier this year with now- Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee, but those appointments must be approved by the council.

McLean addressed the selection process while introducing Niemeyer. She said she talked to Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling, who told her that a leader must hear what the community wants and learn from it.

"Ultimately, I believe that, while it wasn't what any of us expect, the process did work," McLean said. "It helped me understand that we need partnership, that our employees and department leaders wanted a partner, that our firefighters and deputy chiefs have wanted someone to work with to mentor them. ... In Mark, I see someone that will be a true partner."

Council Member Holli Woodings said she had been kept awake for the past week by the fact that Boiseans weren't given the chance to evaluate Niemeyer before he was announced for the role.

"There are a lot of front-line staff, a lot of hardworking firefighters, and we need to make sure that we have a capable, conscientious chief who has a proven track record of ethical leadership, integrity and the ability to protect the public safety and trust," she said. "I don't feel like I was able to answer those questions in the way that I wanted to, but I have been assured by Mayor McLean that her process has given her confidence in Chief Niemeyer to lead out department."

Council President Elaine Clegg said she took some of the blame for the way Niemeyer's selection was announced, and also suggested that McLean was partially to blame, but said, "we'll all get better." Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton said that in his experience, there was no "linear fashion" to find perfect candidates.

All members of the council praised Niemeyer for his accomplishments and the conversations they'd had with him since McLean's announcement. They went on to unanimously confirm him.

After the vote, Niemeyer spoke to the council, thanking the members for their encouragement. He said he was looking forward to working with the city's various departments and with the firefighters union.

"I'm looking forward to ... bringing my 29 years of experience in public safety to that team, and working together to find great solutions for the challenges we face ahead," he said.

He identified COVID-19 as "the greatest threat that we face," saying he would continue to work to protect firefighters' physical and mental health as the pandemic continues.

Niemeyer will replace Dennis Doan, who left the city in March. It is still not clear what happened, but McLean put Doan on paid leave over an undisclosed "personnel issue." Doan said that was a political move after he supported former Mayor David Bieter during the December mayoral runoff election.

The council later held a special meeting during which it had an executive session discussing Doan's employment, but he formally resigned before any decision was reached.

Deputy Chief Romeo Gervais served as interim chief after Doan left.

Niemeyer has been fire chief in Meridian since 2009. He also serves as Meridian's emergency operations manager to help the city manage COVID-19. He is on the board of both the Idaho Fire Chiefs Association and the Western Fire Chiefs Association, according to a memo provided by the city of Boise.

___

Visit The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho) at www.idahostatesman.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.