PORT TOWNSEND — Neil Nelson has been appointed by the Port Townsend City Council to fill its vacant Position 2.
“I’m honored to be chosen by what I consider to be a pretty good, intelligent and community-minded group of people,” Nelson said. “I’m looking forward to working with them.
“The comprehensive plan review is the most important thing we’re up against at the moment, but frankly, I’m most excited to get into the budget and infrastructure stuff.”
Deputy Mayor Amy Howard said Nelson’s experience on the city’s planning commission provided a solid background.
“He had an ease of stepping into a role that is only half of a term,” Howard said. “It felt like that would be beneficial for both the person stepping into the role and for the community. It takes a long time to actually get up to speed on council, and someone having a bit of a leg up in that would be beneficial.
“He interviewed very well, he had some questions for us, and it sort of seemed like a good fit.”
Nelson is set to be sworn in at 6 p.m. Monday at the city council workshop at City Hall, 540 Water St.
Nelson has been a business owner, general contractor and project manager in the Port Townsend area since 2000. He has served on the planning commission for three years. He also speaks regularly for 12-step recovery groups, drug court and local treatment centers.
Position 2 has been vacant since late May, when Aislinn Palmer resigned, citing personal reasons. The council received four applications for the position: Fred Obee, Heidi Haney, Theodore Thomas and Nelson.
In a meeting on July 15, Mayor David Faber and council member Ben Thomas recused themselves from the process, both citing business relationships with candidates.
The council then took an executive session to deliberate on which applications to push through to interviews. Following the session, they passed a motion to interview all of the candidates.
On July 23, the council held a special meeting to interview the candidates. Council members took turns asking questions of candidates, who answered questions for 30 minutes each.
Hearing scheduled
The council also passed a motion Monday to set a public hearing for Oct. 7 for the dissolution of the Fort Worden Public Development Authority.
The PDA has been the primary management authority at Fort Worden since it signed a 50-year lease with state parks in 2012.
A few years into its formation, the organization faced increasingly unstable finances as a result of unsustainable business models and then challenges experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PDA board commissioned a comprehensive strategic plan for the success of the fort from PROS Consulting at the end of last year. The report prompted leadership from interested stakeholders to form a group and to discuss their response to the findings in June.
“That work group consisted of me from the PDA, John Mauro representing the city, Mike [Sternberg] and Anna Gill from [state] parks, Matt Gearney from Fort Worden Hospitality, Rob Birman and a couple of different board members at different times from Centrum,” PDA interim Executive Director Celeste Tell told the city council. “As we kept considering the scenarios, it became increasingly clear that the PDA’s financial condition and structural financial condition prevent us from going forward.”
To view a video of the council meeting with timestamps for the council appointment and an in-depth discussion about dissolution of the PDA, go to https://cityofpt.granicus.com/player/clip/3216?view_id=4&redirect=truehttps://cityofpt.granicus.com/player/clip/3216?view_id=4&redirect=true
To see the PROS report, go to https://fwpda.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=102
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
