New Mountlake Terrace City Manager Arlene Fisher says that, after her first week on the job, she finds that she’s taking over a city that is in good shape.
She said Friday that former City Manager John Caulfield left the city in good condition when he moved six months ago to Pierce County to become city manager in Lakewood. Fisher directly replaces Interim City Manager Scott Hugill.
She said that Mountlake Terrace’s good financial condition is one thing that attracted her to the city. In addition, the move gives her a chance to live near two grown daughters.
Fisher also said that she likes to emphasize communication with employees, with the elected city council and with citizens.
She will get a chance to meet citizens at the city’s monthly ‘Coffee with the city” Wednesday, March 12, from 8 to 9 p.m. at the city’s recreation pavilion at 5300 228th St., N.W.
Fisher started her duties in Mountlake Terrace Monday, March 3, after moving from the Spokane County city of Cheney, where she had been city administrator in a mayor-council form of government. The job in Mountlake Terrace is her first as a city manager after two positions as a city administrator.
She said that the chance to be chief executive is another factor that brought her to Mountlake Terrace.
Fisher said that she will be studying issues like whether, when and in what form to put another civic-campus bond issue on the ballad, and whether to re-open discussions about forming a regional fire authority. She said she expects both issues to come up at a spring retreat with the city council.
The Council selected Fisher in late January and approved her contract Feb. 18. The council interviewed Fisher and two other finalists, who come from a national search but were all from Washington state. Hugill was not a candidate.
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