The Cape Girardeau City Council shouldn't have any trouble choosing a qualified city manager, but it probably won't be a woman.

Mayor Al Spradling III said Thursday there are plenty of qualified candidates who have applied for the job.

"There are some very good people there that I would be proud to have as city manager here," he said.

While several women applied for the job, Councilman Richard Eggimann said none of them were experienced administrators.

"I don't want some greenhorn coming in here," he said.

Spradling hopes the council will meet the week of July 17 to choose the five finalists.

Spradling said the council could hire a new manager by mid-August and have that person on board by mid-September.

"I just don't feel it is in the city's best interest to let something like this linger," he said.

Eggimann agreed. "I definitely am ready for the fast track," he said. "We need to get him on board as fast as possible."

Originally, there had been 90 applicants, but two of them have withdrawn.

The latest to withdraw is a man whose wife is preparing to have twins, Spradling said. The applicant decided it would be unwise to relocate.

Spradling hopes council members will have read all the applications and come up with their lists of 10 to 12 candidates by Tuesday.

Spradling said about 25 candidates have returned questionnaires. Council members are looking at all the applications.

"I don't think it is fair to disqualify them if they didn't fill out the questionnaire," Spradling said.

The mayor wants the finalists to meet with city staff, the council and the news media by early August.

Spradling wants the finalists to get a firsthand look at city operations and meet with department heads.

The finalists would visit the city over a period of 10 days to two weeks. "We will try to get them in as quickly as possible," Spradling said.

After that, the council will meet to choose a successor to J. Ronald Fischer, who is retiring as city manager July 27.