2/9/2005 11:08:00 AM Timmons applies for job in Longview
Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons led the effort to renovate City Hall and build an annex, now under construction. But after six years here, he's a finalist for the job of city manager in Longview, Wash. – Photo by Barney Burke
Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons has applied for the job of city manager in Longview, Wash.
Following a 30-minute executive session with the Port Townsend City Council on Monday night, Timmons confirmed that he was recruited for the Longview position and is one of four finalists being interviewed on Feb. 10-11.
After the executive session, the council voted to complete its annual evaluation of Timmons by Feb. 14 instead of Feb. 22. Timmons requested the accelerated timing so he would know where he stands, he said, should he be offered the Longview job.
Timmons did not say that he was looking to leave Port Townsend, and said he isn't sure if he would take the Longview job should it be offered to him. "It would be a difficult decision," he said.
"I don't want Dave to leave," said Mayor Catharine Robinson. "He has a lot of experience and I think he cares a lot.
"He is skilled at what he does," said Councilor Frank Benskin. Benskin said that finding another city manager would not be easy, but "it can be done."
The other finalists for the position are Robert Gregory, Longview's assistant city manager; David Hales, interim director of public works and economic development in Redmond, Ore.; and Cory Smith, city administrator in Grandview, Mo.
While Timmons has not indicated he is unhappy in his job, in December he observed that 2004 had been a tumultuous year for the council.
"My performance is being affected by their performance," he said. While he immediately apologized for saying that, several councilors acknowledged that their performance as a group has room for improvement.
A year of politics
2004 was a stormy year for council politics. It began with finger-pointing over whether Kees Kolff caused Santa Maria Shipping to select Raymond, Wash., over Port Townsend.
Then a citizen group that included Michelle Sandoval proposed that an arts center be considered at the Port Townsend Golf Course, resulting in loud protests by golfers.
Next, a change to the city's arrangements with PTTV sparked a testy dialogue with TV producers, who ultimately won some concessions.
In August, a six-hour council meeting was consumed by PTTV and other issues, and the council never got to an agenda item about raising city property tax revenues by 53 percent. Residents learned of the proposal in The Leader before the full council discussed it.
The council tried to reach at least some agreement on a possible tax levy at its September retreat, and it ultimately voted 4-2 to put the measure on the ballot. On Nov. 2, voters widely rejected the $750,000 levy.
And last month, renovation began on the 1891 City Hall, a project that townsfolk have talked about for 40 years.
Although former councilors Allen Frank and Vern Garrison have criticized the annex, the initial steps were taken when they were in office. Previous councilor Ted Shoulberg has also opposed the project, but ground was broken in January 2005 after the current council voted 5-2 to build it, with Benskin and Masci dissenting.
Timmons notes that when he was recruited by Port Townsend in 1999, a key project that the new manager was expected to undertake was renovation of City Hall and a possible annex.
Although the City Hall and annex project began with $750,000 in needed funds still unidentified, several councilors have said they have confidence in Timmons to offer a solution well before the project is done. The city has won several million dollars in grants under his leadership, Timmons noted.
First professional manager
Timmons was hired in June 1999 as Port Townsend's first professional city manager following adoption of the "council/manager" form of government in 1998.
A native of the Wolverine state, Timmons, 52, won his first city manager job in Quinnesec, Mich., in 1978. That city has about the same population as Port Townsend, 8,400, he said.
Prior to coming here, Timmons managed Colchester, Vt., which grew from 12,000 to 20,000 people during his tenure. Longview's population is about 35,000.
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