POULSBO — The Port of Poulsbo has chosen Jared Hofer, a Navy veteran, as their new maintenance manager, starting July 16.

Hofer brings with him three decades of experience in the Navy including tours of duty as a command master chief petty officer as well as serving as the chief of the boat aboard two submarines.

Coming from years of experience working on submarines, Hofer said he was looking forward to working outside in the fresh air.

“It’s going to be great to work outside in an environment such as the port, to be on the water. I think that’s something that I will enjoy quite a bit,” Hofer said.

Hofer also added that he’s been given a warm welcome by coworkers and port district residents, who are excited to see him get to work.

“Everybody that I’ve met that works at the port or currently has a boat moored there, has welcomed me and been very excited. They chuckle a little bit about ‘You got a lot of work to do.’” he said.

The soon-to-be maintenance manager also said he was looking forward to listening to input from the port’s liveaboards.

“It’ll be fun talking to the people that live on the boats down there and have made the Port of Poulsbo their home, listening to their concerns and their input on what really needs to be done,” Hofer said. “I think that they have a better view than I would, they live with it day-to-day. Once I get to work, I think getting their input is going to be key to continuing to make the Port of Poulsbo a great place to live, moor and visit and will get people excited about wanting to park their boats there.”

Hofer will be replacing the port’s former executive director, Brad Miller, whose previous duties included handling maintenance projects. Miller offered his resignation March 26, following a decision by the port commission to eliminate the executive director position from the port’s management structure, opting instead to create the maintenance manager position.

Port Commission Chairman Mark DeSalvo said the elimination of the position was the result of a unanimous decision by the commission to move the port in a different management direction.

“As far as what we needed from the port, we were in concurrence that [Miller] was not the best fit for where we were going to move forward,” DeSalvo said in a March interview with the North Kitsap Herald. “This is a statement on a shift in paradigm that I want and that this commission wants to focus on.”

DeSalvo also explained the need to find someone with experience as a project manager, who would be capable of handling forthcoming projects within the port.

“I’ve got some big projects coming. I need to find somebody who is a professional project manager, that has been in these sorts of situations, multi-million dollar projects as we redo the seawall and the dock expansion.”

Although Hofer said he didn’t have any experience managing any projects on the scale of the upcoming marina breakwater replacement, he did say he welcomed the learning experience posed by the undertaking.

“I’m definitely going to be learning a lot with the breakwater installation and replacement and I’m looking forward to that as well. It will be a very good learning experience for me, I’ve never undertaken anything quite like this before,” he said.

“I look forward to serving the community and serving the people of Poulsbo,” Hofer added. “I appreciate this opportunity.”

—Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter with Kitsap News Group. Nick can be reached at ntwietmeyer@soundpublishing.com