Sequim welcomes new public works director as city launches water planning effort

Chris Goens, the city’s newly hired public works director, was introduced to the Sequim City Council and community at its June 8 meeting and spoke briefly about his background and move to the area.

The city manager said Goens was selected from a national pool after a multi‑stage interview process and will overlap with the outgoing director for knowledge transfer. "He's got a week to overlap with our current public works director for knowledge transfer and information sharing," the city manager said. Goens later told the council, "I am blessed to be here," and described prior work in municipal public‑works departments and regional transportation leadership in Alaska.

Council and staff also described a recently contracted Strategic Water Initiative (SWI). The city manager said consultants led an eight‑hour scoping session with staff and an executive task force and will produce an outline and a living document to guide Sequim’s water planning, from water rights to reuse, with plans to update it annually and involve the public.

Goens offered to meet with a public commenter who raised questions about recent public‑works activity. During public comment Theresa Miller asked whether the new director was local and whether the hiring had been posted locally; the city manager answered that Goens comes from out of state and that he applied from a competitive pool. The city manager also advised commenters to send follow‑up questions to staff for more detail.

Next steps for the water initiative include consultant deliverables to the city and planned community engagement; the city manager said the initiative will feed into other master plans and state coordination. The council did not take formal action on the water plan at the meeting.