City commissioners selected a finalist Friday to be Lawrence’s next city manager, but the public will not know who it is until negotiations are final.

The City Commission held a four-hour closed executive session Friday to interview the final three candidates and discuss whom to select. Before they publicly adjourned, commissioners passed a motion to have Ralph Andersen & Associates — the firm hired to help in the search — to enter into negotiations “with the finalist discussed in executive session.”

The motion said that the new city manager’s contract must gain approval from the City Commission during a public meeting. It was not specified when the contract would go before commissioners.

City commissioners will not meet Dec. 22 for their regularly scheduled weekly meeting because of the Christmas holiday.

The commission’s decision came one day after the three finalists met with hundreds of Lawrence residents at a public reception. The finalists were Rod Bremby, of Glastonbury, Conn.; Cheryl Harrison-Lee, of Gardner; and Tom Markus, of Iowa City, Iowa.

Bremby, 55, currently works as a commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services. Harrison-Lee, 53, is the city administrator of Gardner, and Tom Markus, 64, is city manager of Iowa City.

Markus and Bremby would not comment Friday on the outcome of their interviews. Harrison-Lee could not be reached by the Journal-World.

“We had further discussions with three outstanding individuals who are interested in being our next city manager,” Mayor Mike Amyx said after Friday’s executive session. “We’re grateful for their interest and enthusiasm for our city.”

The three finalists were selected from an original pool of 54 applicants, 32 of whom met the necessary qualifications.

Lawrence’s city manager position has been vacant since June, when former City Manager David Corliss left to take a job as town manager of Castle Rock, Colo. Diane Stoddard, an assistant city manager, has been serving as city manager in an interim role for the past six months.

The candidate selected will be required to establish residency in Lawrence within six months after his or her date of employment.