Moses Lake meets new city manager
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 day, 9 hours AGO
Moses Lake’s incoming City manager Robert Karlinsey, center, and his wife Michelle Karlinsey talk with former Moses Lake Mayor David Curnel at a meet-and-greet event at the Moses Lake Civic Center Tuesday. Karlinsey, who has been the city manager of Kenmore, Washington for 13 years, will take over in Moses Lake officially March 24.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | January 29, 2025 1:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake’s incoming city manager paid a visit to the Civic Center on Tuesday evening to meet city employees and community members.
Robert Karlinsey, who accepted the position Jan. 21, is currently the city manager in Kenmore, a city of about 24,000 at the north end of Lake Washington in King County. He takes the reins in Moses Lake on March 24, but he’ll be coming over to Moses Lake occasionally in the meantime to prepare, he said.
About 40 people turned out at the Civic Center to meet Robert Karlinsey and his wife, Michelle Karlinsey.
“It's surprising how much people in Kenmore know about Moses Lake,” he said. “They know people from Moses Lake, or they grew up there or their parents grew up there, and the number one thing we hear is, ‘You're going to love the people.’”
“(Karlinsey) talked a lot (in his interview) about talking to staff, talking to council and getting to know them, and spent a lot of time asking people, where do we want to go?” said Council Member David Skaug. “… It seemed like he had a lot of experience in dealing with people and management.”
Moses Lake’s search for a city manager hasn’t been an easy one in recent years. Former City Manager Kevin Fuhr retired from the position in June for health reasons. Fuhr, previously the Moses Lake chief of police, stepped up to replace Allison Williams, who had taken on the position in 2019 after her predecessor John Williams and his deputy city manager Gilbert Alvarado resigned amid allegations of misconduct.
The Moses Lake City Council interviewed two candidates in December, and a third candidate withdrew his name after being named as a finalist but before the interviews.
“That's a challenge that a lot of municipalities have faced in a lot of positions,” said Mayor Dustin Swartz. “This is something we hear at (Association of Washington Cities) conferences a lot, about how to fill the positions we need to fill … But it was well worth the wait, and we really appreciate that along the way Kevin Fuhr stepped up and took that position as a longtime community member. It really gave us stability for a period. But, yeah, we're ready to move forward.”
MORE STORIES
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Moses Lake meets new city manager
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake’s incoming city manager paid a visit to the Civic Center Tuesday evening to meet city employees and community members. Robert Karlinsey, who accepted the position Jan. 21, is currently the city manager in Kenmore, Washington, a city of about 24,000 at the north end of Lake Washington in King County. He takes the reins in Moses Lake March 24, but he’ll be coming over to Moses Lake occasionally in the meantime to prepare, he said.
Under the sea
Royal Middle School robotics team clinches championship with plastic-eating worms
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Middle School Oceanic Outlaws robotics team is headed to Nationals. The eight seventh- and eighth-grade students took home the Champion Finalist award at the FIRST LEGO League state competition in Spokane Jan. 18, according to their coach, RMS science teacher Theresa Piper. “We started robotics back in September, and they've been working really hard on investigating a problem and then developing an innovative solution based on this year's theme for research,” Piper said. “The theme was ocean exploration, and they've been talking to experts all over the world and developing different solutions, testing out and deciding which was the best.”
Taking to the streets
Expanded Brews & Tunes coming to Moses Lake on March 15
MOSES LAKE — It may feel like spring is a long, long way off, but Moses Lake is gearing up to welcome it back March 15. “Brews & Tunes is St. Paddy’s Day weekend,” said Downtown Moses Lake Association Director Mallory Miller. “It’s the first event that happens after wintertime and people are ready to get out of the house. Last year it was 75 degrees somehow, so cross your fingers for that this year.”