PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Transit’s service and training supervisor has signed a contract to serve as the bus transportation agency’s interim manager until the position can be filled permanently this year.
Mike Pollack, 50, has worked at Jefferson Transit for more than eight years.
“Right now, I’m interested in doing a clean handover and making sure the buses run safely,” said Pollack, who is expected to serve in the top administrative position until a permanent manager can be found to succeed Dave Turissini.
Turissini served nearly nine years in the position before leaving last week to take a management position with Sound Transit in Seattle.
David Sullivan, Jefferson County commissioner and Transit Board chairman, said he signed Pollack’s contract Monday afternoon, and the board is expected to approve the pact when it meets next Tuesday.
Turissini handed in his resignation to the Transit Board on Dec. 15.
Driver trainer
Pollack trains bus drivers and was the chief supervisor and organizer for special Jefferson Transit bus service during the Hood Canal Bridge construction closure in May and June, which included building a temporary pick-up and drop-off park-and-ride bus station at Fred Hill Materials’ Shine Pit to ferry transportation at Hood Canal’s temporary South Point passenger dock.
Pollack supervised 25 temporary bus drivers Jefferson Transit and the state Department of Transportation budgeted and hired for the five-week Hood Canal Bridge closure to replace its east half.
He also trained transit driver Lloyd Eisenman, who placed second in 2007 in the international bus “roadeo” in Austin, Texas.
The board granted Sullivan the authority to negotiate the contract with Pollack.
Sullivan said the board still intends to recruit and hire a new general manager over at least six months to fill the post which pays $74,585 a year, oversees 45 employees and manages a 30-bus fleet based out of Port Townsend.
Turissini left Jefferson Transit to manage Sound Transit’s bus system that contracts with transit agencies in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties that have 350 buses serving regional routes connected to the Sound Transit rail system.
State help
The state Department of Transportation will be used at no cost to Jefferson Transit to help find the new manager because the agency has extensive resources and connections to find transportation administrators, he said. It would also save Jefferson Transit the expense of going to a private recruitment agency.
A community event likely will be scheduled so the public can meet job finalists and answer interview questions, Sullivan said.
The process likely will involve forming a committee and hearing what community members have to say about the position, he said.
The position will be advertised regionally and involve local residents, the transit advisory committee, private employers and government representatives in the job candidate evaluation process.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.