Bainbridge Planning Director Kathy Cook submitted her letter of resignation to City Manager Doug Schulze on Monday.
It was no surprise, as city officials announced late last week that Cook would be retiring from the city early next year.
In her resignation letter, Cook said her last day with the city will be Friday, Jan. 15.
“As we discussed last week, I have decided to retire from the city of Bainbridge Island,” Cook told Schulze in the letter.
“This was not an easy decision to make, as I have truly enjoyed my time with the city and appreciate all the opportunities that have been given to me,” she continued. “I will especially miss the wonderful staff who come to work every day prepared to work hard and serve the community. However, after working for many years, raising three children and putting them through college (almost!), my husband and I are looking forward to the next phase of our lives.”
Cook was interim director of the planning department before being selected as the department director in 2008. She joined the planning department in 1995 on a temporary assignment specializing in public outreach, and was appointed long-range planner in 1998 and senior planner in 2005.
Cook manages a department that includes three divisions and 19 positions. She currently earns an annual salary of $137,001, and has an employment contract with the city.
Since she is retiring, however, she will not receive a severance package, said city spokeswoman Kellie Stickney.
Bainbridge will hire a consultant firm to find a new planning director.
The city issued a “request for proposals,” or RFP, earlier this week, and proposals from interested firms are due by Oct. 27.
Bainbridge expects to hire a consultant by Nov. 3.
According to the RFP, the search firm that’s picked by the city will be expected to “recruit aggressively” to find candidates for the post, conduct preliminary interviews, and help the city manager select finalists.
Recruitment for the job will end Dec. 10, with the top five to eight candidates selected by Dec. 16.
The pool of candidates for the job will be cut down to two or three of the most qualified applicants, and the search firm will assist the city manager with interviews and also conduct background checks.
Interviews with the finalists are expected to take place Jan. 6-8. A finalist is expected to be picked by Jan. 11.
The city has set a target date of Feb. 1 for the new director’s first day.
