MOUNTAIN HOUSE — The Mountain House Community Services District Board of Directors met with the final candidates for the community’s general manager position during two closed session meetings this week.

Interviews were conducted Monday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 19, inside a conference room at the district office at 230 S. Sterling Drive. But board members refused to disclose how many people were invited or what was discussed.

During a lunch break Tuesday, board President Celeste Farron said the interviews were “going fine,” but declined to comment further.

Mountain House directors have sought a permanent general manager since the contract for ML Gordon was voided in August after a prolonged medical absence. Rich Ramirez was hired in mid-December to be interim general manager.

Along with the directors at Tuesday’s meeting was a representative of Sacramento-based recruiting firm Peckham & McKenney, which is conducting the general manager search.

A seven-person panel of Mountain House residents and professionals was also scheduled to meet the candidates. Each board member selected a person to sit on the panel, and interim General Manager Rich Ramirez and community services district attorney Daniel Schroeder each appointed one member.

It wasn’t made public who the panel members were.

Candidates interviewed in the district office lobby Tuesday declined to give their names or discuss details about their qualifications.

One woman said it was standard procedure not to talk to the media when interviewing for a job outside their current employment.

A man interviewing for the job in the early afternoon said he works as a general manager for a smaller special district and that he was looking for a “bigger challenge.”

The man said he believed Mountain House has “huge growth potential” and that he was made aware of the position through the recruitment firm’s candidate database and listings on Internet employment websites.

Another man said he applied because he liked the neighborhood aspect of Mountain House and the board’s commitment to the environment and high technology with a priority for community service.

Schroeder said there was no reportable action from the closed session after the board returned to open session at 2:35 p.m.

According to the recruitment protocol, a permanent general manager is expected to be in place sometime in April.

• Contact Denise Ellen Rizzo at 835-3030 or drizzo@tracypress.com.