The Pike County Commission has narrowed down their search for a new county administrator and has called a special meeting to interview the final candidates.

Chairman Robin Sullivan said the remaining five candidates will be interviewed in executive session to protect good name and character of each prospective official.

Sullivan said the majority of the meeting will be behind closed doors with only the opening and closing of the meeting being public and no action to be taken until a regularly scheduled meeting.

The field has already been narrowed down from about 20 applications that were sent in at the end of March, Sullivan said.

“A lot of applicants just weren’t qualified – that was the easy part,” Sullivan said. “Each commissioner went through it at home on their own. What we did is we went by a cut list. Everybody sent in a cut list and any name with more than three votes was cut.”

The county is seeking to replace longtime administrator Harry Sanders, who retired near the end of March. Sanders served in the role for the past 16 years and commissioners and county personnel said he will be missed. Hiring someone to fill his shoes is an important duty, Sullivan said.

“The way I see it is that whoever the hire is will be the face of the commission for the next 10 to 15 years,” Sullivan said. “He’s the person you call when you need to call our office.”

Interim administrator McKenzie Wilson said the starting salary for the position is $79,000 a year, but that the commission and the new hire will determine the final rate.

Sullivan said the commission could be ready to make a hire as soon as their June 12 meeting, but could also take longer if they so choose.