Moving on

Back before the police and fire departments were built, there was a large grassy field behind Monroe City Hall. City Administrator Gene Brazel recalls spending his lunch breaks out there, using the field as a putting green.

After 31 years with the city of Monroe, Brazel has accepted a city administrator position with Lake Stevens, having been inspired by Mayor John Spencer’s vision for the city. Brazel’s last day in Monroe will be Tuesday, Jan. 3, with his new job starting the next day.

Brazel leaves behind an indelible legacy in Monroe, his impact over the years extensive and far-reaching. From the trail system at Al Borlin Park to the employee mailboxes inside Monroe City Hall, if Brazel didn’t build it himself, he likely had a hand in its planning and design.

A California native, Brazel’s family moved to Monroe when he was in the third grade. A 1987 Monroe High School graduate, Brazel’s employment with the city began as a summer position, for which he was paid around $650 a month. 

“I started at the wastewater treatment plant, scraping rust off the beams and painting them, and just doing maintenance work,” he said.

When school started back up in the fall, Brazel, a junior, continued to work for the city. Roughly 20 years after the fact, he discovered a hand-written note penned by his mom, Madeleine, giving her permission for him to work for the city of Monroe after school. Dated Sept. 3, 1985, the note is framed and hangs in Brazel’s office.

He worked in facilities maintenance for about a year before moving into public works, where he worked for longtime utilities superintendent Joe Bredstrand. Brazel was well suited for the job, coming from a construction background and a long line of public works employees, including his grandfather and great-grandfather, who both worked for the city of Beverly Hills.

His father, a contractor, encouraged him in his job at the city.

“He said, ‘You can build whatever you want when you’re off, but that will give you your retirement,’ ” Brazel said.

Brazel has witnessed vast change in Monroe, watching it grow from less than 4,500 residents in the 1990s to just more than 18,000, based on 2015 estimates. As the city grew, so did the demand for services, and his experiences during the early part of his career compelled him to eventually seek positions that would give him a broader sphere of influence.

“I worked hard,” Brazel said. “I went to Everett Community College at night and took classes, so I could get my water certifications and start grooming myself for these positions as they came up.”

During the early years, he was tasked with a motley range of duties, including building the front entryway in city hall, crafting the employee mailboxes, using a bulldozer to accomplish the initial grading for the soon-to-be-built police department and wielding a machete to cut trails in Al Borlin Park. He and a city contractor were the first to set foot on the pedestrian bridge that connects Lewis Street and Al Borlin parks, guiding the bridge into position as it hung from a crane.

He and Public Works Director Brad Feilberg once got a city truck stuck out near the Fryelands while conducting preliminary site work before the area was developed in the early ‘90s.

“Brad and I were some of the first city employees to go out there and do some survey work when it was still a peat bog,” Brazel said. “You’d get stuck out there in the peat.”

In addition to building his career at the city, the ‘90s were dedicated to his family. He and his wife, Katie, raised their two daughters, Ashleigh and Alyssa, both Monroe High School  graduates; Ashleigh in 2010 and Alyssa in 2012.

“I was their coach too,” Brazel said. “I was an NCAA-sanctioned basketball coach, so I coached every night of the week, and then we traveled the United States and played.”  

Because he built his foundation on water, Brazel has intricate knowledge of Monroe’s history of providing water to its residents. Prior to purchasing water from the city of Everett, a relationship that began in the 1960s, the city’s water came from wells in Al Borlin Park. If you know where to look, Brazel said, the old well house remains, along with the structure that contained the pump house.

Brazel has a Class III water distribution certification along with other certifications that have enhanced his expertise in public works. He completed the University of Washington Cascade Public Executive Program in 1999, anticipating a future leadership role. The city administrator position opened in 2009 under Mayor Donnetta Walser, who asked Monroe Police Chief Tim Quenzer to pull double duty and fill the position on an interim basis.

It was Quenzer who approached Brazel about going for the job. It is sad to see Brazel go, the chief said, but he is confident Brazel’s professionalism and skills as an administrator will be an asset to the city of Lake Stevens.

“We are all disappointed in Gene’s leaving, but know that he has a bright future with Lake Stevens,” Quenzer said. “We will miss him greatly as the city administrator and as a good friend to all the city’s employees.”

Brazel assumed the role of interim city administrator in 2010, dropping the interim status in 2011. As city administrator, Brazel is charged with overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city and its various departments. He works closely with the mayor and the Monroe City Council, helping implement new laws and policies as the council adopts them. He’s been a sounding board to staff, elected officials and residents, with an open-door policy to anyone who needs him.

One of the first things he implemented was an all-city meeting, to help improve communication across departments, increase consistency and ensure a coordinated, balanced message. Initially held monthly, the meetings now take place roughly once a quarter. 

With his final day looming, the most recent all-city meeting was tough, he said.

“That’s my family,” Brazel said. “What a great group of people. I’m going to miss them all, that’s for sure.”

The opportunity at Lake Stevens wasn’t something Brazel had anticipated, and the hiring process was a bit of a whirlwind. He never intended to leave Monroe, he said, but he found himself extraordinarily compelled during a presentation by the Lake Stevens mayor.

“When I heard him speak he was super dynamic, super focused and has a vision for that community,” Brazel said. “I was really drawn by his words.”

He was one of five candidates selected to move on to the final phase of the interview process during a nationwide search. That included an executive session with the city council, a ride-along with the chief of police and two separate interview panels, made up of councilmembers, planning commissioners, city staff and others. Brazel said it could have been nerve-wracking, but it wasn’t.

“I had a good time with it because I’ve got a great job here, and I know some of those councilmembers already from working on different boards that I’m on,” Brazel said. “I had nothing to lose but everything to gain.”

Lake Stevens is currently poised for major changes, and Brazel said he looks forward to the opportunity to help shape and mold another community. With a population of around 30,000, it’s a larger community, currently in the throes of subarea planning to help guide economic growth and residential development. From crafting parks to developing trail systems to enhancing downtown to providing services to residents, Brazel said he can’t wait to get started. 

It’s a loss for Monroe, said former councilmember Kurt Goering. Goering served the city for eight years, working with Brazel on numerous issues during that time.

“I am really thrilled for Gene and this new opportunity at the city of Lake Stevens. He was outstanding in all his many roles at the city over the years, in particular, as city administrator. He was always the consummate professional,” Goering said. “He will be missed. Monroe’s loss is definitely Lake Stevens’ gain.”

Last week, the Monroe City Council approved a contract to use a consulting firm to locate an interim city administrator until the position can be permanently filled. Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas said Brazel has been a stellar city administrator and will be greatly missed.

Brazel said his passion for the Monroe has never waned over the years. It’s an exceptional community, he said, and he’s received endless support. Even while visiting families impacted by broken water lines in the middle of the night, Brazel has been able to establish friendships.

“Everybody’s just been awesome,” Brazel said. “It’s just a great, great community. I’ll definitely miss that.”