POULSBO — Port of Poulsbo Commissioners hope to have a new port manager on board by early April. And that new person will serve the state entity in a completely new capacity, commissioners also agreed recently.

Applications for the vacant Port of Poulsbo Manager position are now being taken through March 18. Commissioners met this week to discuss the next steps following the resignation of manager Ed Erhardt. Erhardt, who had served in the capacity for nearly two years, turned in a letter of resignation, citing personal reasons for leaving, in mid-February.

At their March 3 meeting, commissioners set the dates during which the job announcement would be open to the public. They also discussed the position itself and unanimously agreed to make some changes to the job description.

“We decided we don’t have enough work for a full-time manager, so we’re going to have sort of a working manager,” commission president Tony DeCarlo explained.

The port manager position will still be a 40-hour per week job, however, the newly released job description asks for more experience in maintenance activities as well as fuel, electrical, water and safety systems for a port. Previously, the port manager was expected to be knowledgeable about these items but would assign much of the actual physical labor to other port staff. Now, the manager will also take part in maintenance and repair jobs that need to be performed.

“He would still be the manager during the day-to-day affairs in the office but then he’d be performing whatever else needed to be done,” DeCarlo said.

In 2003, the Port of Kingston went through a similar process when commissioners decided to change their port manager to a harbor master position. The change ended 12-year manager Gary Johnston’s career at the port as he was unwilling to accept the pared down position and its smaller salary.

In contrast, DeCarlo said the Port of Poulsbo harbor manager position’s new duties are not expected to affect the position’s salary range of $37,000-$59,000 per year as drastically.

The schedule for hiring the new port manager is:

• 5 p.m. March 18 — Position closes

• Noon March 21 in port meeting room — Commissioners meet in executive session to review applications

• 7 p.m. March 24 in port meeting room — Commissioners meet in public session for interviews

• 7 p.m. April 7 in port meeting room — New manager announced at regular commission meeting

Though the period in which applications would be taken started Tuesday, a handful of resumes had already been received for the position as of last week. Applications are by resume and cover letter and a full job description is available at the Port of Poulsbo office on E Dock.