Wichitopekington

Sometimes we can’t fit it all in the paper… Here’s a story Eagle reporter Deb Gruver wrote to accompany The Eagle’s Sunday story about city manager candidate Pat Salerno, who is currently negotiating a contract with the city.

The city of Wichita spent about $4,100 on travel, food, beverages and other expenses for meetings regarding and receptions for city manager candidate Pat Salerno during April and May, records show.

Charges from April 10 to May 19 include a party at the Wichita Art Museum where the city ordered canapes (appetizers) and dessert from the museum’s cafe for $16.50 per person. The charges also include a $342.42 tab at Southwinds for steaks, salads and drinks enjoyed by the candidate and his wife, Wichita’s interim city manager and his wife, and Steve Martens and his wife.

The city also paid for Salerno’s $297 stay at the city-owned Hyatt and flew City Council members Sue Schlapp and Carl Brewer to Sunrise, Fla., at a cost of $691 each. Salerno paid for his plane ticket to come to Wichita; the city will reimburse him later.

In April and May the city also paid $7,000 to The Mercer Group for its role as a search consultant. Mercer billed the city $5,000 on April 8 for supplying the names of four additional candidates for the city manager search. On May 5, Mercer billed the city $2,000 for essentially a finder’s fee because Salerno had been recommended as a candidate to the council.