Bothell police chief moves on

By Janice Podsada

Herald Writer

BOTHELL — Don’t expect to find Bothell Police Chief Mark Ericks dawdling on the golf course after he retires Thursday.

On Feb. 1, Ericks, 51, begins his new job as Bothell’s assistant city manager.

Ericks, Bothell’s chief of police for 10 years, will doff his uniform and don a shirt and tie when he moves into his new office at City Hall.

"I get to stay in a community I love," he said of his career move.

City manager Jim Thompson named deputy chief Forrest Conover as the new police chief.

Conover, who’s been with the police department for 19 years, will assume the position Feb. 1.

The Bothell police department is made up of 55 commissioned police officers and more than 30 civilian employees — dispatchers and clerks.

Ericks said his decision to retire wasn’t easy.

"You spend 30 years around this business, you always see yourself as a police officer. The biggest change will be not being around police officers."

Ericks said the people skills he learned as a police officer and the supervisory skills he acquired as a department head helped him secure his new position with the city.

As assistant city manager, Ericks said he expects to be involved with planning for the construction of a new city hall, a new public works facility and other building projects, triggered by a decade of city growth.

"When I got here in 1990, Bothell was a town of 11,000. I got to see it all through the building and the annexation. Today there’s 32,000 people here."

Before being named police chief, Ericks spent one year as a Gold Bar police officer, and then 17 years as a Bellevue officer before coming to Bothell in 1990.

The assistant city manager position is new, said Bothell spokeswoman Joyce Goedeke. The job description and salary details are still being hammered out by the city manager, Goedeke added.

As police chief, Ericks said he made about $115,000 a year.

As for not taking a breather between jobs, city staffers said they were amazed.

"He’s a trooper," Goedeke said, trying to explain his leap from one job to the next.

Ericks said he doesn’t mind not taking a break between jobs.

"I haven’t had a vacation in four and a half years, so I’m not going to notice any difference. I need some time off, but now is not the right time."

You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.

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