Monroe finds new city administrator

The search has ended for a new Monroe city administrator, the City Council voting last week to appoint Deborah Knight to the position.

While serving as the city of Sultan’s city administrator for six years, Knight helped “convert a $450,000 deficit into a $250,000 surplus in four years,” according to her resume. She also was able to secure $2.5 million in state and federal grants “outside normal grant application cycles,” and $8 million for roadwork and trail and parks acquisition while at Stanwood, according to the document. 

Prior to her time in Sultan, Knight was the assistant to the city of Woodinville’s city manager for nearly seven years. She is currently the city administrator for the city of Stanwood. She also brings a unique knowledge of the area, having lived in Monroe for many years, said Mayor Geoffrey Thomas. 

Knight said during those years she lived in town above the Evergreen State Fairgrounds with her husband, who still does work at EvergreenHealth. At that time she was employed in Woodinville. She spent many a commute dreaming that something would open up at the city of Monroe.

Now, the couple is based out of Camano Island. She and her husband will start the hunt for property closer to their jobs in the near future.

The Monroe City Council voted unanimously to appoint Knight to the city administrator position during last Tuesday’s meeting. The vote was prefaced with a 30-minute meet-and-greet set up by Thomas. Councilmember Jim Kamp was absent.

“It is my deepest, sincere privilege to offer Mrs. Knight’s appointment for confirmation this evening,” Thomas told the council.

David Moseley has been filling the position in the interim for the past six months, after former city administrator Gene Brazel left in January to take on the same position in Lake Stevens.

Two rounds of interviews were held, the first on April 16, but both candidates were found not to be satisfactory, according to council documents.

Recruitment was carried out by the Seattle-based Prothman Company, which works with government agencies to find new hires and review departments, among other functions, said senior consultant Mary Swenson. Staff at the company actually placed Knight at her current job as city administrator for the city of Stanwood about five years ago, she said.

“I have known Deborah for a long time — she’s a class act,” Swenson said. “She’ll be really good for this city.”

Thomas said he is particularly pleased with her proven ability to secure grant money for local projects, such as road and trail improvements. Knight has a strong economic development background, built up in the past 23 years she has worked in the public sector, he said.

Because of those early days, Knight said she is well versed with the traffic and safety issues consistent with the bottleneck, and intersection in Maltby on State Route 522. It is the first of many projects she is ready to tackle, and one Swenson said will be greatly benefited by Knight’s rapport with contacts in Olympia.

Knight said she is also prepared to retool Monroe’s tourism industry per Thomas’s request, help reinvigorate the historic business district on Main and Lewis streets, and collaborate with the Downtown Monroe Association on revitalization projects.

Swenson added she was pleased with how well Thomas and Knight clicked. She said one of the more important relationships for a city administrator is with the mayor. Having worked in the public sector herself for many decades, when it doesn’t work, it really doesn’t work.

“You have to be in lockstep,” she said. “You have to have it that way.”

Before Tuesday’s vote, Councilmember Jason Gamble spoke up for the potential hire. He said he has known Knight professionally for almost 10 years while she worked in Sultan, as well as in a personal capacity, having served on a community board together.

“I am really excited that her name came in...,” he said.

Councilmember Patsy Cudaback, who is also the executive director for the Monroe and Sky Valley YMCA, said she first met Knight while assisting to open the organization’s new center in Stanwood. She said she saw Knight as very active in that community.

Thomas said he was also drawn to Knight’s past work with different community organizations, as well as her being “very proactive in representing mayors and city councils at the state level.”

Following the vote, Thomas said her first day will be Monday, Aug. 14, and she will be sworn in at a council meeting nearer to that date.

The position is budgeted for $144,000 annually, according to council documents.

“Our City is fortunate to have an opportunity to hire someone with Ms. Knight’s experience, knowledge, skills, familiarity with our community, and character,” he wrote in his confirmation of appointment letter. “I am confident that Ms. Knight will serve our City well.”