City manager leaving Shelton

Shelton City Manager Jeff Niten will leave his job to become the city manager of Mountlake Terrace.

Niten made the announcement Tuesday evening at the Shelton City Council meeting. His last day is March 31.

Niten prefaced his remarks by saying his departure was in "the rumor mill."

"It's bittersweet," he said. "I really enjoyed my time here and I can't tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to work with council to address the issues we wanted to address."

Niten said he set up appointments to talk to council members and staff and make recommendations on what should be addressed in the coming months.

Niten was hired in January 2019. He replaced Ryan Wheaton, a Shelton native who resigned after 1 ½ years. In the interim, three people had filled the position on an interim basis, including former Shelton City Manager Mike McCarty, and for three weeks, then-Shelton Police Chief Darrin Moody.

Before coming to Shelton, Niten, who is from Alaska, was the community development director for four years in Ridgefield, a town of about 6,000 people across the

Columbia River from Portland.