The Port of Centralia is accepting applications to fill its District 1 commissioner seat, which is now open after the resignation of former Commissioner Kyle Markstrom, which took effect after the port's June 8 meeting.
The current commissioners are Ally Pickard and Peter Lahmann.
The Centralia Port Commission released an expected timeline to fill its District 1 seat vacancy earlier this month and released a finalized copy at its June 17 meeting.
According to the schedule, which was approved unanimously by port commissioners Pickard and Lahmann, the commission expects to swear in its new member at its Aug. 19 meeting. That would be well within a state-mandated 90-day timeline.
The process for replacing a commissioner for a special purpose district, which is laid out under RCW 42.12.080, begins with the port commission selecting its own nominations for the opening. The commission is currently accepting applications for the position, with a deadline to submit set for Monday, June 29, by 4 p.m.
According to Port of Centralia Executive Director Amy Graber, the port has already seen some interest from community members seeking to fill the position.
The deadline included in the most recent port commission meeting agenda packet and posted to the Port of Centralia Facebook page shows that the commission will discuss the candidates who have applied during its regular Wednesday meeting on July 1 to narrow the field.
The commission expected to interview the remaining candidates during a special meeting the following Wednesday.
Those interviews will be open to the public.
All applicants for the position must be registered voters living within Centralia Port District 1. The borders of the Port of Centralia’s voting district are much larger than the Centralia city limits, instead reflecting the Centralia School District borders. The District 1 territory represents all of the district that lies to the west of Interstate 5 and a small sliver of land north of Reynolds Avenue to the east of Interstate 5.
The port commissioners expect to nominate at least one candidate for the position during a regular Wednesday meeting on July 15. The commission will immediately post the names of its nominees and then start a 15-day public nomination period. During that time, residents of the Centralia Port District can make nominations of their own and submit them to the Centralia Port Commission. That period will last from July 16 to July 31.
While the commission did not set a specific date, its timeline shows that the commissioners may choose to interview the public nominees sometime between July 31 and Aug. 5. During an Aug. 5 meeting, the commission will officially vote to select a new commissioner from a list of nominees. The commission will swear in the candidate at the following port commission meeting.
