Police chief Bill Adkins’ last day on the force is Jan. 1. On Monday, a four-member selection committee re-interviewed two candidates for the job. The Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Department is conducting background checks on those two candidates, according to Chris Eppley, city administrator.

Those candidates join a third man who also is being considered for the job.

“We had somebody that we had interviewed a second time, but after that process the full city council decided they wanted to see a couple of more people,” Eppley said.

He said he’s hopeful that background investigations will be complete soon. Then, council members will discuss the three candidates in executive session.

It is possible, Eppley said, that council members won’t make an offer to any of the three candidates.

“I don’t think they want to do that, but it’s not unheard of,” he said. “The goal here is to get a quality police chief in place who will work well for the community. If that means taking a little extra time, so be it.”

Eppley said all candidates are men. Two are from the Kansas City area, and the third currently works in Missouri. He said one is an instructor at a police academy, while the other two are “working outside their preferred field of employment but show a great deal of desire to get back in law enforcement.”

It will take time to get a new chief on board.

“I would say within three weeks of an offer being made, we could have somebody on staff who would be commuting,” Eppley said. “And, hopefully, 45 to 60 days after that, we could have somebody here in the community.”