Among the many employees who work for the cities of Centralia and Chehalis, few have more familiarity with the inner workings of both municipalities than Hillary Hoke.
She worked for the Chehalis building and planning department as a permit technician before being hired away by Centralia a few years ago to serve as a city planner under Community Development Director Emil Pierson.
Now she’s slated to return to Chehalis later this month as the new planning and building manager. Hoke did not return a request for comment, but officials from both cities confirmed the move.
Chehalis City Manager Jill Anderson made filling the position a priority earlier this year to account for pending changes to the current city staff roster.
With Public Works Director Rick Sahlin set to retire in the near future, Community Development Director Trent Lougheed has been preparing to take over for Sahlin once he steps away. Lougheed will still oversee the Community Development arm of Chehalis but will not be nearly as hands on there as he has been.
“We are thrilled to have Hillary back and so appreciate Centralia giving her an opportunity to build her skills,” Anderson said. “We think her experience both with Chehalis and the city of Centralia well prepared her to come back to Chehalis in this role. We’re very happy to have her back.”
Pierson said he hopes to hire someone to fill Hoke’s role and have them in place by the end of October. The two will still cross paths fairly often as the Twin Cities collaborate on a variety of projects, grant applications and other tandem efforts.
“It’s wonderful to have good working relationships with your neighbors,” Pierson said. “It will be great continuing to work with both Trent and Hillary.”
