City manager leaving Mill Creek

Bob Stowe, who has been Mill Creek’s city manager since 1995, will leave his post Jan. 14 to assume the same position with the city of Bothell.

Stowe was confirmed as the new city manager by a 4-3 vote of the Bothell City Council Monday, Nov. 15. He begins his new job Jan. 17.

“We look forward to working with Mr. Stowe in the future,” Bothell Mayor Patrick Ewing said in a news release.

Stowe is the second high-ranking city official in Mill Creek to leave in the last month. Recreation supervisor Lynn Devoir resigned in October to accept a similar position with the city of Shoreline.

“Bothell is a community I’ve watched with interest over the years,” Stowe said. “It’s a desirable location, and it has a lot of opportunities in terms of challenges.”

In terms of population and the size of city government, the city of Bothell is larger than Mill Creek. Stowe will have an assistant city manager, Manny Ocampo, who has been serving as interim city manager since February. Former Bothell city manager Jim Thompson left to accept the same position in Casa Grande, Ariz.

“It was a matter of time before a larger city gave him an opportunity. I hate to see him go,” said Mill Creek Mayor Terry Ryan, who has served on the City Council for all of Stowe’s tenure. “It’s a good move for Bob.”

Bothell’s population of approximately 31,000 is more than double that of Mill Creek. In addition, Bothell has its own fire department and utility departments. Mill Creek contracts with outside agencies for fire, water and sewer services.

Stowe will be in charge of a city that has 260 employees, whereas Mill Creek has 60, 11 of whom are part-time. Bothell also has a much larger budget. The current proposed two-year budget for Bothell is $123 million. Mill Creek’s proposed two-year budget is approximately $28 million.

“What was different about Bob is that the Council set a real fiscally conservative agenda, and Bob fit that real well,” Ryan said. “He understands that government has to be run like a business.”

Dale Hensley, who also has served on the Mill Creek City Council for all of Stowe’s tenure, praised Stowe for his honesty.

“He’s always been very up front with the Council,” Hensley said. “I can’t think of any weak points he’s got.”

In addition, Bothell has some light industry, which Mill Creek does not. The city is home to several biotech firms, as well as the University of Washington-Bothell and Cascadia Community College. Bothell is also unique in that it lies in two counties, Snohomish and King.

“I look forward to that,” Stowe said about working with two counties. “It allows me to build on the relationships I’ve built in Snohomish County and establish new ones in King County.”

With Mill Creek, Stowe supervised the gradual process that has brought about Mill Creek Town Center, which is currently under construction, although several businesses have already opened. He was actively involved in recruiting businesses for the development, such as Central Market, University Book Store and LA Fitness.

The process for Town Center began in 1997, when the design guidelines were approved by the Mill Creek City Council. The first Town Center building – Mill Creek Court – opened in 2003.

Stowe also oversaw two annexations – in 1998 and 2001 – and the development of the 4.75-acre Mill Creek Sports Park.

In addition, in 1996 Mill Creek went from an annual budget cycle to the current two-year cycle. The city also re-negotiated several contracts with outside agencies to reduce expenses during Stowe’s tenure, and the city’s fire station on Bothell-Everett Highway opened in 1997.

“I’m proud of several things,” Stowe said. “Certainly Town Center, developing the city’s two-year budget and the long-term financial plan, re-negotiating the fire service agreement and providing high-quality government services are all things I’m proud of.”

Hensley said, “When you look at the amount of revenue Mill Creek has to deal with, per capita we’re well below (cities of the same size) on what we take in and what we spend, and I don’t know of a city that provides better services. That’s Bob’s strong suit.”

Stowe was selected by Bothell from an initial national pool of approximately 20 candidates. The Bothell City Council worked with executive recruitment firm Waldron and Company to find candidates for the city manager position. The Bothell Council held various interviews and involved staff and community interview panels as a part of its hiring process.

Ryan said Tuesday that no discussion had yet taken place on finding a successor. He said he would recommend to the Council that it not appoint an interim city manager, but rather let current city department heads act as city manager in 30-day intervals until a new one is hired.

“We have good enough people (already on staff) to do that,” Ryan said.

Before coming to Mill Creek, Stowe was the city administrator in Lake Stevens and was interim city administrator for the city of Dayton in eastern Washington.

“He’s going to be very difficult to replace,” Hensley said. “This is a good opportunity for Bob and we wish him the best.”