PORT TOWNSEND — Kate Burke has been displaced from her position as manager of Fort Worden State Park.
Burke, who has served as manager at Fort Worden since 2002, will wrap up her management duties by the end of the month and Allison Alderman will take over effective Feb. 1, the state Parks and Recreation Commission said today.
Alderman’s position as region operations manager in the State Parks Northwest Region Office was eliminated as part of an agency-wide cost reduction.
According to state personnel system rules, when a staff position is eliminated, the person in the position has tenure rights to certain other positions.
Alderman has been with State Parks for 21 years.
“I’m devastated by this process and realization in knowing this is how my career will end at Fort Worden State Park,” Burke said in a prepared statement.
“I put my heart and soul into the success of the Fort Worden as well as Fort Townsend and Rothschild House.
“I empathize with the other State Parks employees that are going through the same process.”
The agency must reduce its expenditures by $11 million in order to balance its budget and operate above the cash reserve minimum set by the state Office of Financial Management.
“We have been very fortunate to have Kate’s excellent leadership in managing Fort Worden for the past several years,” said Don Hoch, agency director.
“We also are very fortunate to have Allison on hand to take the next watch at Fort Worden State Park.”
Alderman said she is looking forward to working at Fort Worden.
“I don’t like getting the position in this manner,” she said in a prepared statement.
“I don’t like displacing Kate.
“But I am excited to be able to continue contributing to State Parks’ success.
“Fort Worden is a very special place with many dedicated stakeholders, and I will do my best there.”
During her career at State Parks, Burke — who holds a degree in business administration and management — worked closely with the park’s advisory committee in creating ties with the local chamber of commerce, city of Port Townsend and Jefferson County.
She led a public process to create a Lifelong Learning Center Plan for the park that includes partnerships with area colleges.
Burke served on the board of the Jefferson County Land Trust, participated as an ex-officio member of the Fort Worden Advisory Committee and the Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum, and was an advisory member of the Centrum Foundation Board and the city of Port Townsend Shoreline Master Planning group.
Alderman, a certified public manager whose formal education is primarily in management, is a graduate of the State Parks Law Enforcement Academy.
At the Northwest Region Office, she managed budgets and human resources and supervised half of the Northwest Region’s parks.
