City Manager Formally Appoints Directors for Public Works and Planning & Development Services
Tacoma, Wash. -- City Manager T.C. Broadnax formally announced the appointments of Kurtis Kingsolver to the position of Public Works director and Peter Huffman to the position of Planning & Development Services director. Both were serving on an interim basis, and will step into their new roles effective Dec. 2, 2013.
“Kurtis brings a solid background in civil engineering and hands-on management experience to our Public Works Department,” said Broadnax. “And Peter’s deep understanding of planning and development issues – as well as the breadth of his experience – make him very well qualified to run our Planning & Development Services Department. I look forward to their continued leadership at the City of Tacoma."
"It’s an honor to serve as the City’s newest Public Works director," said Kingsolver, who joined the City of Tacoma as a civil engineer in 1990 after graduating from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. "I am very pleased to have this opportunity to continue building on what we’ve already achieved and look forward to working with the City Manager on finding solutions to improve our overall infrastructure.”
Kingsolver has served as the City’s traffic engineer and City engineer, and was involved in a variety of projects over his career ranging from small community driven safety improvement projects to large scale capital projects like the Murray Morgan Bridge, Pacific Avenue Streetscape, Stadium Way Arterial Improvement and Hylebos Bridge projects. As Public Works director, he is responsible for the management and maintenance of City owned facilities, fleet services, real property services, street maintenance and operations, grounds maintenance, streetlights and traffic signal operations, traffic planning, capital project management, engineering design, construction management and inspection, on and off-street parking services and enforcement and local improvement districts.
"I look forward to contributing to Tacoma's continued success as Planning & Development Services director," said Huffman, who joined the City of Tacoma as an urban planner in 1996. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Central Washington University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Oregon. "I'm fortunate to have a team that cares about Tacoma's future and realizes the important role that our department plays in the community."
Major initiatives led by Huffman include the consolidation of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, streamlining and modernization of the City’s Land Use Regulatory Code, development of the Permit Services Enterprise Fund, and formation and direction of cross-functional planning and development services teams to improve the delivery of permitting services, process for developing zoning and development standards, and customer service. As Planning and Development Services director, he is responsible for comprehensive land use planning, building and land use permitting, inspections, and cross-departmental and regional coordination of planning and development policy for the City.