SEQUIM – Bob Anundson’s animal metaphor seemed to win over the Sequim City Council on Monday night.
“The gorilla is growth,” he said during his interview for the council seat vacated by Patricia Kasovia-Schmitt’s resignation last month.
Anundson, a 64-year-old retiree who moved to Sequim from a suburb of Portland four years ago, said the town still holds ample charm despite the ape’s arrival.
It still feels relaxed and friendly, he said – and Anundson warns newcomers about that when he meets them at the Visitor Center near the city’s east entrance.
“I tell people: It’s going to take you twice as long to grocery-shop, because you’re going to run into somebody you know, and you’re going to end up talking to them,” he said.
Anundson, until now a city planning commissioner, also cautions people about driving on Washington Street.
The speed limit is 30 mph, but “half the people don’t get up to it,” he said.
Anundson was the last of seven applicants to answer the council members’ questions, which ranged from “What are the biggest problems facing Sequim?” to “What do you think is worthy of preserving or expanding?”
Anundson said, “A friendly environment and a convenient environment,” free of traffic jams, are worth protecting.
He was upbeat throughout his interview, touting management and analytical skills gained during 35 years in the high technology industry.
The City Council members passed over applicants who were more critical.
Susan Lorenzen, a city planning commissioner who moved to Sequim from the fast-growing city of Elk Grove, Calif., called for a change in speed here.
“I know the Growth Management Act dictates density,” she said.
But “we need to slow down” the proliferation of subdivisions.
“There have been times when listening hasn’t been done” by the council.
Erik Erichsen, a retired Department of Energy project manager, said in his interview that he “can serve as a conscience” for city government, “and say when the king’s not wearing any clothes.”
Erichsen also warned against having residents of Sequim pay for infrastructure upgrades to serve the waves of newcomers.
“Growth is inevitable,” said architect and candidate Ken Hays.
Managing it wisely is the tough puzzle.
“What the answers are, I’m not sure.”
Real estate broker Ron Gilles, 45, was the youngest applicant.
He called for preservation of “the Olympics, the Strait . . . and the downtown core.”
“There’s no way” to halt development, added Gilles, who worked in construction and property management before going into his current field.
“People think real estate people shouldn’t be involved in the council,” said Councilman Don Hall.
When he asked Gilles for his thoughts on that, the applicant replied, “I don’t see a conflict.”
Once chosen, Anundson showed delight, if not surprise.
“I’ve enjoyed the [Planning] Commission so much,” he said.
Working on street design standards, for example, was “a high for me.”
On the City Council, Anundson will call for a concurrency ordinance, a law that would require that the infrastructure needed to serve new development, such as sewers and roads, be in place or funded before those new developments are approved.
Anundson said he relies on rules and documents when weighing proposals, so he found it challenging when the Planning Commission recently held a philosophical discussion on the “public interest” concept as applied to development.
“I don’t like fuzzy things. I like things more crisp,” he said.
One thing is clear about his transition from planning commissioner to the City Council.
Starting with the next City Council meeting March 12, “I get a whole $150 a month,” Anundson said.
His appointment opens up a seat on the Planning Commission, a panel of volunteers who advise the council on land-use issues.
“Hopefully some of these candidates,” who sought the council seat, “are willing to apply [for the Commission],” City Manager Bill Elliott said Monday night.
Information about the Planning Commission is available on the city’s Web site, www.ci.sequim.wa.us, and at 360-683-4908.