SEQUIM — After three months of listening to Sequim, Steve Burkett has observations to share.
And as he did that during the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon Tuesday, Sequim’s new city manager easily held the attention of a roomful of business people.
This community “is making the transition from a small town to a small city,” said Burkett, who managed five much larger municipalities and worked as a consultant before taking Sequim’s wheel in mid-October.
So far, Burkett has been to numerous Rotary Club and chamber meetings, met with nearly all 72 city employees and heard many residents’ opinions about what Sequim needs most.
On Tuesday, the manager, who has devoted 40 years to working for cities, offered the chamber crowd his own to-do list — the short version, since most in his audience had to get back to work.
On his list: streets
First, the city must address a mundane –but key to quality of life — issue by taking stock of its streets. It’s high time, Burkett said, to decide which need fixing, which can be improved and which are beyond repair.
And when it comes to working with developers, Burkett said Sequim should have consistent, written agreements, rather than the handshake deals that can “come back to bite the city.”
Documentation specifying Sequim’s responsibilities and the developer’s tasks constitutes “a more professional approach,” he added.
For example, the city needs a complete written agreement with Wayne Enterprises, which plans to build a resort with vacation homes, cabins and elaborate amenities around John Wayne Marina over the next 10 or more years.
As city manager, Burkett is also charged with steering Sequim into a financially healthy future — which requires strategic planning and collaboration with the City Council.
The city is suffering amid the recession, with total revenues down by 15 percent, he said, and no one knows when they’ll return to normal.
Impact fees
One potential way to generate new revenue: impact fees, which developers pay to help the city build parks, streets and other public projects.
Burkett and the council will host a public open house on Feb. 9 and share information about how impact fees would work in Sequim. The open house will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
Burkett also wants to work with the council on the future of downtown Sequim.
The Town Center Sub-Area Plan, a document under construction for the past several years, is a look toward what city residents want downtown to be like circa 2020.
“It’s an exciting project,” Burkett said.
Renne Brock-Richmond, an artist and Peninsula College instructor who organizes the First Friday Art Walks in downtown Sequim, posed the afternoon’s only question.
Planning for 10 years from now is good, she said, but “can you start focusing on 50 years ahead — which would be my lifetime?”
The city will develop 50-year plans for things like water supply, Burkett replied.
Yet if he’s to be realistic, the city manager can’t be certain what will happen next year, much less five decades from now.
In a later interview, Burkett acknowledged that he has to proceed with caution as he introduces new practices at City Hall.
Some changes, such as written agreements instead of handshakes, could offend some longtime residents.
But he sees them as “just good business,” that will serve the city and its customers.
At the same time, Burkett, who has said he was attracted to Sequim by its strong sense of community, said his relationships with the council and with his colleagues at City Hall is the most important part of his job.
Triple bottom line
Burkett said his days are built around a triple bottom line: good customer service, employee satisfaction and financial integrity.
“Employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction,” he added. “You’ve got to have both.”
On March 5 and 6, Burkett will focus on his relationship with the City Council, in a goal-setting session. The two-day workshop will also address the council members’ interactions with one another, as well as the city they envision together.
Burkett said he will challenge the seven council members to think about what kind of community they want Sequim to become, and about exactly how to arrive there.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
