By Bill Sheets
Special to The Herald
EDMONDS — Port of Edmonds commissioners have asked Newcastle’s city manager, Andy Takata, to become their agency’s next executive director.
Director Bill Toskey, who has been at the helm since September 1994, will retire in June.
Whether Takata is hired will depend on successful contract negotiations, officials said.
He was one of four finalists; the others are Chris Keuss, port assistant director; Ed Paskovskis, deputy director of the Port of Everett; and Jim Neva, director of the Port of Willapa Harbor.
Earlier this week, commissioners Dean Nichols, Ken Reid and Bruce Faires voted to make the offer to Takata, while commissioners Mary Lou Block and Fred Gouge voted for Paskovskis.
It was a tough choice, said Nichols, one of two commissioners elected last fall when the board was expanded from three to five members. What tipped the scale toward Takata, Nichols said, was that he is a proven public administrator.
Takata previously had served as city manager for Atascadero, Calif., and is seasoned in intergovernmental relations, Nichols added.
Nichols noted that those skills will be important as major decisions are made in coming years regarding land adjacent to the port.
Takata’s only drawback is a lack of marina management experience, Nichols said. But he noted that the port already has two certified marina managers on its staff.
Bill Sheets is the Edmonds editor for The Enterprise newspapers. He can be reached at 425-673-6525 or by e-mail at sheets@heraldnet.com.
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