CITY MATTERS

Thank you, Shelton. Thank you for this opportunity to serve my hometown and the place I call home. There are many people who have had a role in why I am here today serving as the next city manager.

Teachers and coaches like Dann Gagnon, Terry Gregg, Harlan Buitenveld, Brian Brickert, Dave Niehl, Mark Jensen (all basketball junkies like me) and many more, instilled work ethic and teamwork principles that carry over from the gym to the office.

Community leaders like Mike Byrne, who hired me for my first job at Mason County Parks, Gary Rhoades, who hired me at the city in 1993, and Mike McCarty, the first city administrator I worked for also started as the parks and recreation director for Shelton, provided me the opportunity to find my career path and set examples of why you serve a community.

My wife of 22 years, Johnna, my mother Karen Hilburn, Scott Hilburn (my constant source of advice and guidance) and all the other friends and family who have had such an impactful role in my life and career. I have been blessed with learning from very dedicated individuals who put the team or community first.

I am local. Apart from a couple of years in Ellensburg attending Central Washington University, I have made the greater Shelton area my home for over 50 years. I attended Mt. View Elementary School, Shelton Middle School (the old site near Loop Field), graduated from Shelton High School in 1988 and two years at South Puget Sound Community College.

I am committed to this community, not just in my role at the city, but serving over 25 years in Kristmas Town Kiwanis and volunteering for other causes regularly. I believe that serving my community, actively enhancing the lives of my neighbors, providing solutions to problems, not just complaining about them, is what makes the community thrive and prosper. I have learned much of this from the best and most devoted volunteers in the community including Duane Wilson, Patti and Al Tupper, Vicki Gonzales and Leroy Valley.

As a teenager, I worked the usual odd jobs to earn spending money until Mason County offered me a weekend job to assist with a softball tournament at MCRA. That was the start of my public service. I subsequently worked for Mason County Parks during the summers away from school maintaining ballfields, mowing grass and cleaning restrooms. I was hooked. What a great way to earn an income and have a hand in providing such beneficial amenities to make a community more livable. The next few years prior to starting at the city I worked with the City of Ellensburg, City of Vancouver, Thurston County, Exceptional Foresters and one school year at Oakland Bay Junior High School as a paraeducator and coach.

The benefit of working for a small agency like Shelton is I have been involved in many aspects of municipal services in the past 29-plus years. I have conducted recreation programs for youths and adults from five people to well over 300. I have managed community construction projects such as the Shelton Clock Tower and the renovation of Kneeland Park with the Imagination Station Playground build. I have had the pleasure of working with and assisting many volunteers, service clubs and advisory committees to build consensus, work toward common goals, and realize and implement their plans.

There have been stints working with water-quality reports and six years in community development building a more transparent and customer-focused department for the development community and residents alike. I have developed and executed department budgets, been witness to more than one economic event that necessitated a reduction in services by the city and times when investments have been made in the city to improve critical infrastructure.

I have several goals in managing the city, but first and foremost is building and maintaining trust within the community. Trust is built through active communication and transparency no matter the decisions being made. Local government cannot meet all residents' needs at all times. There are decisions made every day that affect one individual more than another and we need to take that into account in each instance and ultimately weigh what is best for the entire community. I want to invite the community to participate in local government. Attend a council meeting, or all council meetings, in person or virtually, send an email, respond to surveys, or call me directly.

I strive to create a community that gives youths a chance to remain in Shelton, or adults to return to Shelton because they want to and have the opportunity to make a living wage, find housing and recreate, just as I had the opportunity. The city needs to be strategic and proactive in all facets, including economic development, creating jobs and attracting investors who will share the burden of municipal services. Shelton is on the cusp of significant residential growth, and frankly, this growth is needed for Shelton to prosper so we need to manage it correctly. The growth will change the community and it's one of my goals to ensure that the growth mitigates the residual impacts to the greatest extent possible on the existing population.

Lastly, thank you again for all the support. It is humbling to receive the well-wishes and congratulations from so many of you that I have known my entire life or recently become friends and colleagues.

■ Mark Ziegler is the city manager for Shelton.