The Suttons Bay Village Council will hold a special meeting Saturday at 1 p.m. to conduct public interviews with the top three candidates who applied to fill the vacant position of village manager.

Chuck Stewart resigned as village manager in January after more than four years on the job and was slated to receive an annual salary of $66,393 in 2008. The job opening attracted 30 applicants, whose credentials were reviewed by a committee of village council members before preliminary interviews were conducted and the committee recommended the top three candidates.

The three candidates to be interviewed by the full village council Saturday are Jill Eyre of Gladwin, Wally Delamater of Lakeview and Tom Youratt of Harbor Beach.

Village council president Larry Mawby, who has been serving as "interim village manager" since Stewart’s resignation, said the three candidates each have between six and 15 years of experience as municipal managers.

Mawby said that although the village council could make a decision on which of the three candidates to hire at Saturday’s meeting, it was more likely the council would make its decision at its next regular meeting, on March 27. Mawby added that there would be an opportunity for public comment Saturday, and council members expected to hear from constituents about their hiring preferences before the March 27 meeting.

Village council meetings are held in the Suttons Bay Township office located in the commercial plaza at 321 St. Joseph Ave. (M-22) in downtown Suttons Bay.