City parks manager resigns suddenly; no reason given

Nicole Jones-Vogel, the energetic young parks manager who presided over a flurry of activity in her single year with Gig Harbor, has resigned. No explanation has been given.

Her resignation was confirmed Friday by Jeff Langhelm, the city’s public works director, who declined to discuss details.

“What I can say is that I really appreciate her insight, professionalism, and demeanor,” Langhelm said. “She has been a great parks manager and she will be missed.”

Jones-Vogel’s departure comes at an awkward time, just as the city is negotiating a deal to turn part of the waterfront Jerkovich Pier into a floating dock for kayaks and paddle-boards. She was also shepherding applications for several big state grants for the city’s proposed sports facility.

City administrator Bob Larson said in an email to the Gateway that he was “not aware of any specific reasons or issue that might have prompted Nicole to resign.” Mayor Kit Kuhn also said he did not know her reason.

Dismay at news

Although she has been on the job only a year, Jones-Vogel’s resignation was met with dismay by those who knew her.

“I am very sad about this,” said Council Member Robyn Denson, who was chair of the Parks Commission when Jones-Vogel was hired. “She was amazing and were very lucky to have her.”

Denson said Jones-Vogel was deeply involved in some of the city’s most important recent parks projects, including the much-revised and controversial plan to add a floating kayak dock to Ancich Park.

“She was very process-oriented, and very methodical and data driven, and was very intent on making sure we heard every voice from every stakeholder,” Denson said. “Nicole never voiced any kind of personal agenda. Instead, she was focused on, ‘What does the community want and how to we get there.”

Jones-Vogel had been parks manager since May of 2019, coming from Alaska, where she was land manager for the Municipality of Anchorage. A graduate of Western Washington University in environmental studies, she earned a master’s degree in public administration for the University of Alaska. She is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Sidewalk wearing thin

Her departure was the latest in a slow trickle of resignations and retirements among senior city staff.

All told, more than 20 city employees, including five supervisors or department heads, have left since 2016. The latest was Kay Johnson, the city’s information technology manager, who retired abruptly in December of last year.

Others who have resigned include Steve Mizurak, the city engineer; Jennifer Kester, the planning director; her chief planner, Lindsey Sehmel, and two tourism directors, Karen Scott and Mimi Jensen. Greg Foote, the city’s longtime public works superintendent, retired in 2017. City administrator Wade Ferris resigned last year, after only six months on the job.

‘Hit the ground running’

Jones-Vogel was hired as parks manager in May, 2019, after the previous manager, Katrina Knudson, was promoted to the new position of Community Development Director.

“Katrina had been a great parks manager, and I thought, ‘How in the world are we going to replace her?’ “ recalled Denson. “But Nicole really hit the ground running, and it was amazing how really quickly she got a sense of what was important to our community.”

Denson said Jones-Vogel leaves behind a legacy of completed projects, including safety improvements to the Cushman Trail, sculptures, carvings and artworks in several parks — and a project still pending — a Native American carving to be installed next spring at Austin Estuary Park.

But her signature achievement, Denson said, was probably helping to shape the consensus over the future of Ancich Waterfront Park, where competing interests clashed.

“She really dug in and got to know the different communities — the kayak racing team, the casual paddle boarders, the fishing families, the neighbors, the people concerned about the view corridor — and she tried to find ways they could all come together.”

“She did a lot of listening, a lot of facilitating, a lot of interviewing. She kept everybody calm and fostered a lot of civility.”

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 12:00 AM.