The Port of Centralia’s search to replace former longtime Executive Director Kyle Heaton is well underway.
Port Commissioner Peter Lahmann announced during a recent Lewis County mayors meeting that the port commission had received 14 applications for the position and would move forward with interviewing five of the applicants.
He added that the port sought to narrow the candidate pool down to just three before allowing the public to get involved in the selection process.
“Maybe narrow it down to three,” Lahmann said. “And then have a public forum where people can come and meet the candidates, and hopefully we can get that taken care of fairly shortly.”
During the meeting on Friday, April 3, Lahman said the port commission would interview its five candidates on Wednesday afternoon. A notice from the port commission earlier this week calling for a Wednesday special meeting seemingly confirmed the interviews would take place. According to the notice, the commission was set to discuss a single business item: “Qualifications of applicants review.”
The announcement also cites the relevant state law that allows the commission to review applications away from the public eye as part of an executive session. The meeting was held Wednesday, with no decisions announced publicly.
The Port of Centralia Commission terminated Heaton’s contract at the end of last year, and he attended his final day of work on Wednesday, Dec. 31. The commission appointed the port’s finance and administration director, Amy Graber, as the interim executive director at the time to serve in the role until a replacement is found.
Heaton’s termination came with a hefty severance package, which included continuing to pay his salary for 18 months after termination. That totals out to $326,450.88 over the year and a half after his last day, which is equivalent to 18 months pay at his base salary rate of $217,634 a year, according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.
That pay does not include the $77,218.19 the port agreed to pay in accrued vacation time nor the value of the port's commitment to continue paying the former executive director’s insurance premiums for the same 18-month period, which is unknown.
Before his eventual termination, Heaton served as executive director of the local port district for nearly 25 years, starting in the position in January 2001.
