PORT ANGELES — He arrived six years ago, not long after Rayonier Inc. shuttered its waterfront pulp mill and the city was figuring out how to stimulate economic development in the mill closure’s wake.
Now as he prepares for his last day as city manager on Oct. 12, Mike Quinn thinks the city is better off than when he arrived.
“Honestly, I think so,” he said.
The city has strong economic potential, a different climate than when he arrived in 1999, Quinn said.
It has grown since he arrived, and the administration is better functioning, he said.
More streets were paved and more water and sewer lines installed in the past five years than in the previous 10, said Quinn, 55.
Providing that infrastructure is paying now with new businesses moving in and new subdivisions being built, he said.
The city is in a position now to remove obstacles to development by being an active partner in providing infrastructure, such as the Green Crow development agreement for its Campbell Avenue subdivision, Quinn said.
As part of a strong economic development program, he proposed changing city policy so water and sewer service could be extended into the eastern urban growth area before that territory straddling U.S. Highway 101 was annexed.
Before he arrived, the city didn’t extend infrastructure into unincorporated areas either because of city policy or a lack of money, Quinn said.
But the manager’s proudest achievements, he says, are the creation of a teamwork environment and balancing the city budget every year without employee layoffs.
