PORT TOWNSEND — City officials are seeking a new public works director and have narrowed the field to five candidates.
The city expects to announce the new director by the end of the week. The new director will replace current Public Works Director Ken Clow, who is retiring after having served as director since 2001.
The five final candidates were introduced to the community during a Monday afternoon open house at the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend.
The five candidates are Mitch Dion of Lacey; Jeff Dobrowolski of Los Angeles; David Peterson, city engineer for Port Townsend; David Miller of Folsom, Calif.; and Greg Lanning of Grand Junction, Colo.
The city accepted applications for the position in late March and received 35 applications, City Manager David Timmons said. City staff interviewed the top 15 candidates before selecting the five finalists who visited Port Townsend on Monday.
The new director will receive a salary between $107,575 and $131,647 per year.
Dion, a trained engineer, has worked on water, wastewater and stormwater projects as the public works director for Lacey and with Tacoma Community College.
He was trained in the Marine Corps.
“Running a big military base is a lot like running a small community,” Dion said.
Dion, who has worked in Washington for 10 years, said he has always enjoyed the recreation found on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Like Dion, Dobrowolski comes from an engineering and public works background.
Dobrowolski is a registered engineer in California and a former public works director for the city of Los Angeles.
“I am looking for new challenges in a familiar municipal environment,” Dobrowolski said. “I’m looking to get back to serving the community like I did in L.A.”
Dobrowolski said he also likes the idea of being closer to the outdoors on the Peninsula.
“The more I find out about the opportunity, the more I like it,” Dobrowolski said.
Peterson is the only local candidate. He has served as Port Townsend’s city engineer for 20 years.
“This is a growth opportunity for me,” Peterson said.
He said he thinks the most difficult thing about the director position will be how to accomplish more with less.
“The amount of funds to get everything done that needs to be done just isn’t there,” Peterson said.
Miller is the director of public works and community development in Folsom.
He said the town is similar to Port Townsend.
“We have a historic gold rush-era downtown, so there are some similarities in having a rich history,” Miller said.
Miller has worked in public works in Washington and California and in community development in Oregon. He said Port Townsend is closer to family, because his mother lives in Mount Vernon and his brother on Camano Island, and is a place he’s visited a few times.
“We know Port Townsend from visits and we just think it’s a gem,” Miller said.
Lanning, who currently works in public works for Grand Junction, said he and his wife have had their eye on the West Coast for a while.
“My wife and I have always looked at smaller communities on the West Coast, and then this opportunity became available,” Lanning said.
Lanning has worked as a public works director for nearly 20 years in small- to medium-sized cities including Pocatello, Idaho, and Powell and Green River in Wyoming.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
