Mayor McGlashan is upbeat about the City

Mayor McGlashan

by Diane Hettrick

Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan is feeling quite upbeat about the future of Shoreline, after the successful search for a new City Manager which culminated in the selection of Assistant Manager Julie Underwood for the job. (see previous story)

"I'm so pleased that the council vote was unanimous," he said, "it's such a vote of confidence and such a good way for a new City Manager to start."

"We realized right away that we would not be 'replacing' Bob Olander. How can you replace someone with his years of experience in Shoreline? So we looked for someone who not only had skills and experience but the energy and enthusiasm to help the City move forward and continue the visioning process. We found that in Julie."

The Mayor feels good about the way the Council worked together to make the selection.

"There were lots of passionate discussions," he said. "The Councilmembers have very different points of view and very strong opinions. But we listened to each other and were respectful of each other. We worked very well together."

I asked him why they did the big search if they were going to hire in-house, and he said "We didn't want to make assumptions. We wanted to know that we had the best candidate. There was very stiff competition, with very good applicants."

I asked if expense were the reason for limiting the search to a geographic area. He said that cost was always a factor, but the council was following the consultant's advice in only advertising extensively in the western states. Information was sent to every city in eleven states - hundreds of notices were sent out. And it was on the internet so people saw the information and applied from outside the target area.

So what are the main issues for the City, I asked.

"We have weathered some challenges," he responded. "Financially, we are very happy that Prop 1 passed. We are not totally out of the woods and will continue to control spending and look for economies. We need to find funding to finish the last section of Aurora. We have the Point Wells development. Staff and citizens have done good work on that and we are pleased to have the support of our legislators in Olympia. The next project is the development of Town Center and the Comprehensive Plan update."

"The City is moving in the right direction. We have had major accomplishments in the past decade, such as City Hall and the Parks Bond, and we will continue to move forward in a way that best represents the interests of the citizens of Shoreline."