UPDATED: Bainbridge Public Works Director Randy Witt will resign later this month to take a position with King County Metro Transit.
His last day with the city is January 23.
Witt, a Bainbridge resident since the early 1990s, took the helm of the city public works department in 2000 after serving eight years as Bremerton’s city engineer.
In his new position as King County Transit’s design and construction manager, Witt will lead a planned $385 million capital design and construction program.
“This is an exciting opportunity that will allow me to return to the activity that drew me to engineering – designing and constructing improvements that serve communities,” Witt said in a statement.
City Engineer Bob Earl and Deputy Director of Operations and Maintenance Lance Newkirk will jointly manage the department until Witt’s replacement is selected, City Administrator Mark Dombroski said.
Dombroski, who has already started the search for a new director, said Witt leaves “a strong organization” for planning, building and maintaining the city’s infrastructure.
Mayor Darlene Kordonowy said Witt has been an asset to the island and Kitsap County.
“His technical knowledge and strong working relationships with transportation specialists throughout the region helped us see ourselves as part of a larger transportation system,” Kordonowy said in a statement.
Kordonowy noted Witt’s decade of service as the head of the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council’s Transportation Advisory Committee.
“There, he was invaluable as an advocate for Kitsap County with the Puget Sound Regional Council, which disperses federal funding for the region,” she said.
