PORT TOWNSEND — Jim Pivarnik, who has served as deputy director of the Port of Port Townsend for 16 years, is one of three finalists for the Port of Kingston executive director position.
“It is time for me to make a professional change and find a new challenge,” Pivarnik said Wednesday.
“I’ve always admired Kingston. I think it’s a great place.”
Pivarnik will be interviewed along with the other finalists at a special port commissioner meeting that will begin at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the North Kitsap Fire & Rescue fire station, 26642 Miller Bay Road N.E. in Kingston.
Public interviews will be conducted sequentially. Port of Poulsbo Executive Director Brad Miller will be interviewed at noon, Port of Vancouver Director of Economic Development Katy Brooks at 1:30 p.m. and Pivarnik at 3:30 p.m.
The decision is expected to be made at 10 a.m. Saturday in the same location.
The Port of Port Townsend is now recruiting an executive director to succeed Larry Crockett, a position for which Pivarnik said he did not apply because he sought a new professional challenge.
Also contributing to his decision was Crockett’s retirement.
“Larry and I were a great team,” Pivarnik said.
“With him gone, it will be a different port.”
Port commissioners will select Crockett’s replacement.
Pivarnik said he has not applied for any other positions and was recruited to apply by a search firm.
He said 28 people applied for the position.
If Pivarnik gets the job, he said, he probably will relocate.
“I think the port commission wants their new executive director to be part of the community,” he said.
Pivarnik is married to city of Port Townsend Marketing Director Christina Pivarnik, who “can work anywhere,” he said.
The annual salary range for the Kingston job is $85,000 to $125,000.
The new executive director will succeed David Malone, who resigned Oct. 23.
The port became the target of lawsuits filed by a local business owner and a resident who allege that the port engaged in preferential treatment, harassment of opponents and Public Records Act violations, according to the North Kitsap Herald.
The port’s 2016 budget predicts $1.4 million in revenue and $3.2 million in expenses.
The deficit results from the purchase of or investment in capital assets, among them covered moorage and property development.
The port’s 2015 budget was $1.3 million in revenue and $1.1 million in expenses, the Herald said.
