Wells Community Development director Zoa Heckman is a finalist for the administrator position.

The 20 applicants for the position of Wells city administrator have been narrowed down to just two names, it was announced last week.

The two finalists are Diane Miller of Canby, and Zoa Heckman of Wells. Miller is currently the city administrator in Canby, and Heckman is the economic director in Wells.

The city actually had over 20 applicants for the position, as some came in after the deadline. A committee narrowed the choices down to these two.

“Both of these finalists were interviewed and we are currently having our police department do background checks on them,” Mayor Dave Jacobson said last week.

Jacobson expects that the council could make a motion to offer the job to one of the two finalists at the next regularly scheduled council meeting which is July 14.

“I really don’t think any action will be taken on the matter until then,” Jacobson said. He added that it will take time to get the background checks done. With the July Fourth long weekend, the council packets won’t be ready until the following week.

“I don’t think we will have a special meeting for this,” Jacobson said. “I think it will be done at the regular meeting.”

Miller has served as the Canby administrator for less than a year. She was hired last July and started work in August.

She has also been the administrator of Siren, Wis., as well as working for the Metropolitan Transit Authority in the Twin Cities.

Heckman works with the economic development authority and the planning and zoning commission in Wells.

She has been the community development director in Wells since 1999 and previous to that was on the HRA board for nine years. She has lived in Wells since 1986.