PORT TOWNSEND — With what he described as “a mixture of sadness and excitement,” Port Townsend Community Services Director Rick Sepler last week informed City Manager David Timmons that he will resign, effective the end of this month.
Sepler, who has worked for the city for 8½ years, will become the Bellingham city planning and community development director.
The position with Bellingham represents “the ideal next step in my professional development,” Sepler said.
“Both the city of Bellingham and the planning and community development department are significantly larger than Port Townsend,” he said.
“I’m eager to apply my skills in this larger arena.”
Bellingham’s population was 82,810 as of April, according to the state Office of Financial Management
Port Townsend’s population was 9,210 in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sepler said he would stay in his position until the end of this month to smooth the transition as a new community services director is hired.
Timmons said the city will miss Sepler but added, “I totally understand it and wish him the best.”
“We’ll start moving forward with plans to find a replacement,” Timmons said.
Job duties
In his position in Port Townsend, Sepler supervises 18 employees in the city’s Community Services Division, which is composed of development services, planning, parks and pool, fleet and facilities departments.
Sepler is also an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington, where he has taught courses on the planning process, site planning, subdivision design and small-town planning.
He served as the hearing examiner for the cities of Shelton, Ferndale, Hoquiam, Mount Vernon and McCleary, and was the alternate examiner for Mason County.
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Reporter Mark Couhig can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at mcouhig@peninsuladailynews.com.
