Sultan City Council welcomes new public works staff members

The city of Sultan hired three new staff members recently, all of whom were welcomed by Sultan's elected officials and members of the community during a public introduction last week.

The presentation took place during the regular business meeting of the Sultan City Council on Thursday, Sept. 8, at Sultan City Hall. Public Works Director Mick Matheson congratulated the new employees, introducing new Public Works Field Supervisor Nate Morgan, Wastewater Treatment Plan Manager Brian Funk and utility worker Sam Dugo to the council.

Matheson began his introductions with Morgan, who will be taking over for long-time city staffer Connie Dunn. Dunn looks forward to retirement in October, after 27 years serving the city of Sultan. Morgan was chosen from a very strong group of candidates, Matheson said, and started work on Sept. 6. He lives in downtown Sultan.-á

"He comes to us from the Northshore Utility District in Kenmore, where he had significant experience in both water distribution and sanitary sewer collection,GÇ¥ Matheson said.

Morgan will work with Dunn over the next few weeks, to learn as much about the position as possible.-á

Funk started with the city on June 21, taking over for Wastewater Treatment Plan Manager John Harris, who retired after 14 years with the city. Per state law, wastewater treatment plant operators must be certified according to state mandates. Funk is currently certified as a Level Two Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator, and will be taking his Level Three examination in about two weeks.

Formerly a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator for the city of Edmonds, Funk lives between Monroe and Sultan. Even though he's been with the city for only a short period of time, he's brought a high level of enthusiasm and a number of great ideas to his new position, Matheson said.-á

Dugo was selected out of a pool of 12 applicants for the utility worker position.

"The interview team was impressed with Sam's knowledge, experience, work ethic and attitude,GÇ¥ Matheson said. "He's fit in extremely well with the other public works members and has earned their respect in a very short period of time.GÇ¥-á

Matheson added that Dugo is a two-time high school state wrestling champion and a Navy veteran.-á Dugo has been trained on city-owned vehicles, including the automated city garbage truck.

Mayor Carolyn Eslick sat on the interview panels for all three employees. She was extremely impressed with the level of candidates, she said.

"The quality of applicants that we had this time around was incredible,GÇ¥ Eslick said.