Astoria looks to Benoit as interim city manager
May 17—The City Council is expected to appoint Paul Benoit, a former city manager, as Astoria's interim city manager.
City Manager Brett Estes announced last week that he will step down on July 4 after accepting a job with the state. Estes, a former community development director and assistant city manager, replaced Benoit in 2014.
During a City Council meeting Monday night, city councilors unanimously voted to pursue employment and contract negotiations with Benoit. The city plans to present an employment agreement for review and approval during a special City Council meeting on Friday.
Mayor Bruce Jones said Benoit lives in Astoria and has agreed to serve as interim until a permanent replacement is selected.
"And I just want to say that I feel that we are very blessed that we happen to have someone of Mr. Benoit's caliber in our community willing to come out of retirement to serve in that position, in that capacity, to allow our city staff to continue firing on all cylinders and moving every initiative that the City Council has identified forward," Jones said.
The mayor said city has begun reaching out to executive recruitment firms. The goal throughout the process, he said, is to not lose any momentum.
"We have some very important projects, whether it has to do with wastewater, whether it has to do with housing, code changes," he said. "In every department, there are very important projects going on. We don't want to skip a beat or lose any momentum."
Benoit, who served as Astoria's city manager for about nine years, stepped down in 2014 to take a position as city administrator in Piedmont, California. He retired in 2019, according to the East Bay Times.
