New Gig Harbor administrator is low-key, low-maintenance; no parking space needed

On his first day as Gig Harbor city administrator, Bob Larson made one small change that turned heads at city hall.

He called maintenance and asked to have his reserved parking sign removed.

“I didn’t feel I needed a spot for the city administrator,” Larson said.

Larson, 60, was hired in November to replace Wade Ferris, the previous administrator. Ferris, who resigned after being accused of treating women employees differently than men, is now interim city administrator of Chelan.

Larson will earn a base annual salary of $174,418. His first day on the job was Jan. 6.

The Gig Harbor position will be his fourth as city administrator, most recently in Snoqualmie, a city of about 13,900 in the Cascade foothills east of Seattle.

“Snoqualmie was a historic town,” Larson said. “It was getting ready to grow with some new development and they brought me in 2004 to oversee the department and developers. There was a lot of work there.”

During Larson’s time in Snoqualmie, the city gained around 1,000 people per year and added 60 city employees. Larson said when the position opened up the Gig Harbor, a city that is currently undergoing heavy growth, it was a natural fit.

“I’m not interested in telling the community what they could or should do,” Larson said. “I’m interested in helping the city reach its potential. I want to help manage the growth.”

Ability to adapt

The title of city administrator is often confused with city manager, but they are different jobs. A city manager, such as Tacoma’s, serves as a city’s chief executive and reports to the council. In a strong-mayor city like Gig Harbor, the city administrator reports directly to the mayor.

Larson described his ability to adapt as a strong quality for any city administrator.

“My style is to learn and adapt,” Larson said. “I have a certain style of management, but also take into consideration people who work with and for me. I look at what they need to get done and adapt and modify how I do things.”

Growing up, Larson wanted to become a police chief.

While attending Willmar Community College, now Ridgewater, in Minnesota, Larson said, an instructor named Denny Waskul took him by the shoulder and guided him another way.

“He said ‘Hey, being a police chief would be neat, but I have another job may suit you better, which is city administrator,’” Larson said.

Urban studies

The instructor then referred Larson to Mankato University in Minnesota, urging him to follow the urban studies program.

“I was really excited. It was that idea that I could provide service to the community. You get to see the results of your labor,” Larson said. “You got parks, sidewalks, police and fire protection, recreational opportunities. I didn’t know much about them. I knew they existed, but didn’t know how they got done.”

After graduation, Larson got his first job as an assistant to the city administrator at St. Louis Park in Minnesota.

There, the police chief offered Larson a civilian job on budgeting and crime statistics, along with other administrative duties.

“It really built a good, solid base for me,” Larson said. “I learned about most cities, and the functions in those cities. Having familiarity with the police chief and fire department, there is a lot of technical stuff that goes into those departments.”

Larson went on to become city administrator in West St. Paul and Deephaven, Minn. before going to Snoqualmie.

“Bob very ably served the City of Snoqualmie for 15 years.,” said Snoqualmie mayor Matt Larson (no relation.) “He arrived at a very challenging time in our city’s history due to the master-planned Snoqualmie Ridge development that caused our population to grow from 1,600 to 14,000 in a little over a decade.

“Bob’s experience, good judgment and unflappable demeanor provided much-needed reassurance and guidance to what was often a tumultuous and fast changing environment.,” the mayor said.

Gig Harbor a good fit

Larson said people in his profession find Gig Harbor very attractive, due to the variety of work and established community. The diversity of population was also a plus, Larson said, ranging from baby boomers to seniors.

Larson said he wants to help guide the community toward a vision of what they want the city look like.

“I don’t have a vision of my own, I want to help the community create one,” Larson said.

Larson has a wife and two children. He said at the moment he commutes to Snoqualmie on the weekends, but his family plans to move to Gig Harbor in the spring.

“I typically would be biking to work,” Larson said, who added he enjoys cross-country skiing, hiking, and exploring. “I am looking forward to getting out on the boat more often, maybe a kayak.”

This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 12:00 AM.