PORT TOWNSEND — A separation agreement has been finalized between Jefferson County Public Utility District and its former general manager, Larry Dunbar, which pays him $175,000, according to terms of his contract.
All three commissioners — Jeff Randall, Kenneth Collins and Dan Toepper — agreed to the action Tuesday night.
As part of the resolution, the appointment of the former assistant general manager, Kevin Streett, as acting general manager was finalized. He is expected to serve until the commissioners complete the selection process for a permanent general manager. That process is slated to begin mid-year. Streett’s salary is $160,000.
Dunbar’s tenure began March 20, 2018, after a nationwide search by an executive search firm. After nine months, Jefferson County Public Utility District (PUD) commissioners proposed a separation agreement with Dunbar beginning Dec. 20, saying that the general manager could be removed at will by approval of a board resolution.
All three commissioners at the time — Randall, Collins and Wayne King — voted to take the action. King did not run for re-election and was replaced by Toepper as the District 3 commissioner.
Dunbar was placed on paid administrative leave for 30 days, and Jan. 15, terms of the separation were introduced at a regular meeting of the board. Dunbar and the PUD negotiated an agreement, and on Tuesday his employment was terminated.
As part of the agreement, Dunbar will be eligible for unemployment benefits and COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act).
The agreement includes a mutual non-disparagement clause.
Streett was instrumental in building the PUD’s electrical service from the ground up, officials said.
He was hired in November 2012 as the district’s first electrical employee and served as electrical superintendent during the utility’s transition from providing only water and sewer service to adding electrical service.
Voters had approved a measure allowing the utility to provide electrical service in 2008, PUD and Puget Sound Energy — which had provided power — agreed to the purchase in 2010 and PUD began supplying electrical power in East Jefferson County in 2014.
Streett served as PUD interim general manager between the departure of Jim Parker in October 2017 and Dunbar’s hiring in March 2018. He left the PUD on Nov. 1 to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with his family but in December, he agreed to return.
“It was a tough decision to come back but I really enjoy the PUD,” Streett said. “I spent six years here and I’m lucky to be back.”
He said the next six months will be busy ones.
“The board is looking at many options to move us forward in a positive way,” he said. “We are currently doing some work in the county, but we’ve been behind because of the storms.
“We have a lot of new construction throughout the county and city. Our bigger projects are in downtown Port Townsend, on Discovery Road, we are looking at options in Swansonville [to replace a failing buried electrical cable], and we have some projects on Marrowstone and in the Gardiner area. We’re busy.”
The week’s storm response by the PUD was exactly what Streett expected from his crews.
“When the roads are slick, it’s cold, and it’s hard to get around, our crews still respond to outages. We had customer service representatives on the phones, and Security Services Northwest who does our after-hours calls are part of the mix, too. Everyone worked hard and did a good job.”
With a new storm system poised to hit Friday, Streett said customers who experience an electrical outage should call the PUD and not assume their neighbors will contact the utility.
To report an outage, call the PUD at 360-385-5800 or see SmartHub at www.jeffpud.org. An outage map is available on the PUD website.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
