Departures of key employees leaves Port shorthanded

At a time when development proposals and infrastructure work is plentiful, especially in light of the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus, the City of Port Washington is finding itself down two key employees.

Longtime Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven retired effective Oct. 9, with Mayor Ted Neitzke declaring that date Rob Vanden Noven Day. 

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, left his job recently as well.

The city has been advertising for candidates to fill their posts.

In the meantime, the city is working to fill the gaps.

City Administrator Melissa Gossett is filling in for Harris, and City Engineer Roger Strohm is handling many of Vanden Noven’s duties.

Strohm, who said he plans to apply for the director’s position, said the city has been working with a number of contractors on projects, particularly those involving the data center campus, and will rely on their help along the way. 

Fortunately, he said, it’s the end of construction season. 

“It’s not ideal,” Ald. Mike Gasper, an engineer and chairman of the Board of Public Works, said of the timing. “But we’re a little bit ahead of the game.”

That’s because Port has both a director of public works and a city engineer, he said, while many communities have one person filling both those positions.

Gasper estimated it will likely take until the beginning of 2027 to fill the posts, adding that Gossett wants to use some of the time to evaluate staffing in the departments.

It will be difficult to replace Vanden Noven and Harris not just because of their skills, Strohm said.

“The biggest thing is the amount of City of Port Washington experience we lost,” he said.

“You can hire another engineer with 25 years experience, but it’s not City of Port experience. He doesn’t know the little things that are unique to Port.”

Vanden Noven had been the city’s public works director for 25 years, beginning in 2001.

He is credited with a wide range of initiatives, including the development of Coal Dock Park and the Heart of the Harbor plaza — for which the city won a Wisconsin Main Street Award — as well as improvements to Franklin Street and efforts to reduce street width and increase tree planting along the city’s streets.

He championed the ongoing effort to revitalize Valley Creek and stabilize the city’s north bluff, and was praised for finding and obtaining grants to pay for projects such as the $2.6 million restoration of the city’s iconic lighthouse.

He has also been a champion for measures to make the city a pedestrian-friendly community. 

Harris, who has been with the city since 2018, has shepherded numerous projects and most recently completed a rewriting of the zoning code.