Kent narrows search for new parks director

City officials narrowed down a list of 104 applicants to six in an effort to find the next city of Kent parks director.

Mayor Suzette Cooke hopes to pick a new director by early November, said Derek Matheson, city chief administrative officer.

“We’re not going to release names,” Matheson said when asked by the Kent Reporter to identify the candidates. “But I can say I’m extremely impressed by the caliber of the six.”

The city paid Olympia-based Karras Consulting $29,500 to help find candidates. The consultants along with Cooke, Matheson and Marty Fisher, city human resources director, cut the list to six.

“We received 104 applications – 100 from throughout the United States and four from abroad,” Matheson said.

Interviews with the six started last week. A city panel of parks, human resources and mayor’s office staff will interview the group in the first round. Then Fisher, Matheson and Cooke will interview a smaller finalist group in a second round at a later date before Cooke picks a new director.

Jeff Watling resigned as parks director in July to take a similar job with the city of Issaquah. He spent 10 years as the Kent director of parks, recreation and community services. Garin Lee and Merina Hanson are serving as co-interim park directors until a new director starts.

The annual salary range for the new parks director will range from $115,000 to $162,000 depending on experience and qualifications.

The new director will oversee about 117 employees across seven divisions: Parks administration, planning and development, operations, facilities, Riverbend Golf Complex, recreation and housing and human services.

Kent has 68 parks and open spaces covering more than 1,800 acres.

In recruiting for the job, the city emphasized six major challenges and opportunities:

• Parks system sustainability: The city must increase its capital investment in parks and trails in order to maintain the current system and begin to implement the city’s new parks and open space plan for renovations at more than 40 parks. The new director will need to help the mayor, City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission explore funding options. The city has a park maintenance backlog of more than $60 million.

• Recreation transformation: The city has traditionally provided robust recreation programming, including a community center (Kent Commons) and a senior center. The new director will need to evaluate the system and help city leaders pursue sustainable funding strategies.

• Golf transformation: The city operates Riverbend Golf Complex, which features an 18-hole course and a nine-hole par 3 course. The city is selling the par 3 course to a developer later this year who will build a mixed-use neighborhood of apartments and retail and offices. Proceeds from the sale will help eliminate a negative golf fund balance and reinvest in the 18-hole course. The new director will play a key role in the private development and city reinvestment.

• East Hill YMCA: The YMCA plans to build a recreation center, including a swimming pool, in Kent at Morrill Meadows Park. The pool would replace the aging Kent Meridian Pool. The new director will need to work with city and YMCA leaders to master plan existing city park property and negotiate the YMCA’s presence on the park site.

• Levees and recreation: The city continues to work with regional partners to bring the Green River levee system up to federal standards. The new director will need to be a strong voice for recreation among the many advocates for flood protection and fish habitat.

• Office space planning: The city has embarked on a project to increase police office space by 50 percent and allocate other city departments more efficiently on the city’s 125,000-square-foot City Hall Campus. The new director will need to coordinate the many interests and help city leaders develop a funding strategy. Similarly, the city has started to look into options to replace a substandard public works and parks maintenance facility.