PenMet names new executive director with Gig Harbor roots

The Peninsula Metropolitan Park District board has selected Ally Bujacich as the new executive director of the district. She has been a temporary contractor with the district since October.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Ally’s caliber and experience step up to lead the PenMet Park District,” Park Board president Amanda Babich wrote in a press release Monday. “We are at a critical moment and we need skilled, vetted leadership to successfully take PenMet Parks into a new era of operation.”

Bujacich will replace Hunter George, who has been on loan from Tacoma’s Metropolitan Park District, where he is chief administrative officer. George was hired on a temporary contract after the park board suspended its then-executive director, Doug Nelson, without explanation.

Counting George, Bujacich will be PenMet’s sixth executive director in a little under three years.

Bujacich was brought on board as the temporary construction manager for the district’s planned Community Recreation Center, after the previous construction manager, Ed Lewis, was laid off when his job was eliminated last October.

Bucajich has worked with the University of Puget Sound as its director of capital development, the Gig Harbor Boat Shop as community development director, and most recently as CRC project manager with Absher Construction.

A PenMet release said, “Bujacich brings a unique background spanning project management, facilities management, and community development that provides her a distinct perspective and understanding of a wide range of organizational and work functions, including strategic planning, master planning, capital project and major maintenance planning, operations, budget development, emergency response, community outreach, community partnership building, and a commitment to excellent customer service. “

Babich added, “Ally is a strong communicator who is customer-focused with deep leadership capabilities. Furthermore, as a Project Management contractor for PenMet Parks for the last six months, Ally has gained a solid understanding of our overall operation and Board expectations. Exercising due diligence, she has made an immediate positive impact on how we approach and manage our capital assets, address project management, and financial oversight.”

Bujacich is a graduate of Peninsula High School and received a bachelor of science degree in Construction Management with a minor in Business Administration from Central Washington University. She has numerous professional credentials.

“As a resident of Gig Harbor, I am inspired by the vital ways that PenMet Parks positively impacts the place where we live, work, and play,” Bujacich said in a statement. “I am honored to lead the organization in its mission to enhance the quality of life by providing parks and recreation opportunities for our community, and excited for what lies ahead.”

The board is expected to finalize the selection of Bujacich at its regular meeting April 6. Bujacich will begin the position on April 12, 2021.

The change continues a shakeup at the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District that began in October, when the board placed Nelson on paid administrative leave after less than a year on the job. He was the district’s fourth executive director to leave or be forced out in less than three years.

A few weeks earlier, on Sept. 17, Glenn Akramoff, then the Community Recreation Center project manager, resigned with a letter accusing the park board of “continued interference in daily operations.”

There had been a dispute between the board and professional staff over handling of the CRC project. The board overruled staff in selecting a first-stage design firm for the building, a Denver firm called BRS Architects.

At an estimated cost of $22 million, the rec center is the largest construction project PenMet has ever undertaken.

The park district paid $4.3 million in December 2019 for the former Performance Golf Center at 2416 14th Ave. NW, adjoining state Route 16 across from the Narrows Bridge toll plaza.

The original concept called for a 190,000-square-foot building with separate soccer and flag football fields, separate pickleball and tennis courts and an indoor playground.

But in December, after two months of turmoil, the district unveiled a design concept that was considerably smaller.

Now planned for 58,300 square feet, the building would contain one indoor soccer/football field, three basketball courts, a multipurpose room for exercise or gymnastics, and an elevated walking track. The basketball courts could double as nine pickleball courts, and — in one option — could be turfed over to form a second soccer field.

Bujacich told the board in December she estimated the design phase will take about 10 months, putting construction into late October of 2021, with opening in the fourth quarter of 2022. Construction cost will be $22 million.