Salina, KS – August 20, 2025 – The Salina City Commission voted Tuesday to appoint Jacob Wood as the new City Manager at a salary of $235,000. The motion passed unanimously, 5–0.
Earlier in the meeting, resident Ben Windholz addressed commissioners during public comment. He stated that, according to a reliable source, the two out-of-state finalists previously offered the position had declined, and he questioned whether the commission would move forward with the remaining candidate or restart the hiring process.
Following the comment, Mayor Greg Lenkiewicz asked Commissioner Mike Hoppock, “Do you wanna address that or just let it go?” Hoppock shook his head no, indicating to move forward without responding.
Commissioners then entered into five separate executive sessions on the city manager topic, lasting 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 10 minutes respectively.
After the final executive session, commissioners returned to open session and voted to approve Wood’s appointment.
Before adjournment, Commissioner Mike Hoppock addressed the public regarding speculation about the process.
“I know there's a lot of false information out there, as we heard earlier today, so I want the public to understand that we take this very, very seriously as a commission when it comes to hiring a city manager,” Hoppock said. “We did a national search, and we had approximately 40 candidates apply for this job. … We made the decision that evening as a group as to who we wanted to hire as our city manager, and that would be Mr. Wood, but time was needed to put together an agreement.”
Hoppock noted that candidate interviews that were conducted the week of August 11th was when commission determined that Wood was the correct candidate for the job. He added that Wood “brings fresh perspective to the job.”
Hoppock went on to say that claims suggesting the two out-of-state finalists were offered the job and declined were “totally false.” He emphasized that only the five commissioners had direct knowledge of the deliberations and added he intends to speak with Windholz about the comments.
Hoppock concluded his remarks by congratulating Jacob Wood on his appointment.
Mayor Greg Lenkiewicz also commented following the vote, stating, “Outstanding. Well, I have no doubt that you are the man to take us to that next step in an evolution for this city. So congratulations, and I’m very pleased with our selection.”
With the appointment finalized, Wood is set to assume leadership of the city organization, marking the beginning of his tenure as Salina’s next City Manager.