Salina City Manager Jason Gage is a finalist for a similar job in Missouri.

According to the city of Springfield, Gage is one of two finalists for the the city manager position in their community.

Gaga is no stranger to the Show Me State. He graduated from Missouri Southern State College in Joplin with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Gage has served as Salina city manager for 13 years. Before that, he was the city manager of Stillwater, Oklahoma and De Soto, Missouri. He had also served as the assistant city manager of Salina.

Salina has 480 employees and an annual budget of $137 million, serving a city of 49,000 residents.

Gage’s biography highlighted his experience with economic development. He helped lead a $155 million project to renew Salina’s downtown area. Partnering with the business community, Salina developed a downtown athletic tournament fieldhouse, a “premier” hotel and conference facility, a vintage automotive museum, a family entertainment venue, loft and apartment housing, enhanced streetscape and niche retail and restaurant development.

He is currently overseeing a $30 million Smoky Hill River renewal project that includes restoring a stream bed, making downtown river walk improvements and developing a sidewalk and trail network for hiking and biking and bridge replacements.

Gage has also established a program in the city of Salina to improve efficiency and reduce costs, called Continuous Process Improvement.

The other finalst for the job is Wayne Pyle, who has served as the City Manager of West Valley City, Utah since 2002.

Both Gage and Pyle will be in Springfield for a series of events on Sunday and Monday.

The Springfield City Council has created a schedule of the visiting finalists that includes numerous opportunities for engagement with the community. The schedule is as follows:

Sunday, May 20, 2018
4 – 4:25 p.m. – Jason Gage Live Stream Town Hall Event
4:30 – 4:55 p.m. – Wayne Pyle Live Stream Town Hall Event

Tune into CityView.SpringfieldMo.Gov or Facebook Live: CityofSGF

Dinner and meetings with the City of Springfield Leadership Team

Monday, May 21, 2018
7:30 a.m. – Community Stakeholder Breakfast at Springfield Art Museum
Representatives from a wide array of community stakeholder groups, including, but not limited to: ALAS, Council of Churches of the Ozarks Board of Directors, Greene County Commission, Millennial SWAT Team, NAACP, Prosper Springfield Cabinet, Rosie, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Springfield School Board are invited to meet the finalists.

9 – 11 a.m. – Meetings with City of Springfield employees and final interview rotation with City Council.

11 a.m. – Media availability with Jason Gage

11:30 a.m. – Media availability with Wayne T. Pyle

Noon – 1:30 p.m. – Lunch

2-4 p.m. – Community Tours for the Candidates

6:30 p.m. – Candidates attend City Council meeting