Don Kalkoske — former Public Works Director — plans to hit the ground running as the new Humboldt County Manager, chosen by the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 11 from a final pool of candidates. He began his formal duties on Jan. 8.
After Dave Mendiola announced his retirement date last year, serving as the County Manager for over nine years, the Commission began searching for a replacement with the help of professional recruiting services. The Board accepted Kalkoske’s final contract on Jan. 2 at its regular meeting with Commissioner Ken Tipton absent.
Kalkoske said in an interview that “Initially, [I wanted to be County Manager] just to make sure that there was somebody that knew the community, knew how the county worked, and then when it came down to it, I think I can do some good for the public.”
After working as the Director of Public Works for the past four and half years and for the Nevada Department of Transportation for 21 years before that, Kalkoske explained that he feels that he understands some of the more pressing issues that the county is facing presently, like managing water and public lands issues among other things.
“We deal with water, wastewater and public lands stuff, which is kind of on the big forefront of the issues that the county is dealing with. So, I’ve already been involved with all that my whole career here at the county,” he explained.
Arguably the best and hardest part of the job will be people, according to Mendiola and Kalkoske. With the County Manager responsible for overseeing all of the different department heads and reporting to the Board of Commissioners, learning to navigate the relational aspects of the job can be both rewarding and challenging.
Mendiola explained that the passion and level of expertise he has seen in the people of Humboldt County is unparalleled and that helping impassioned people make forward steps in their careers for the County and seeing them grow is incredibly gratifying.
“The best part [of being County Manager] for me historically has always been helping people get a step up and move to a place that helps their family, helps them, and then when you get to experience that and see it, that’s the best part of it all. The further I get in my job, I realize just how many unique people we have here,” said Mendiola.
On the other hand, the County Manager must bridge information across a very diverse blend of personalities encapsulated within the Board and through different departments and help highlight short and long-term strategic plans for improvement within the County—no easy feat.
“You’ve got five different personalities [on the Board]. They all have a different background and I think over time, you kind of gotta get used to that and try to figure out why they do what they do and what to expect of them and right when you think you got it figured out, they can change direction…That has really taught me patience,” said Mendiola.
Kalkoske explained that his initial plans are to gain a fundamental understanding of how the departments that he is least familiar with — such as Health and Human Services and the District Attorney’s office — operate by meeting with department heads. This way, he explained, he can learn how he can support them as they lead their departments.
“I really want to sit down with everybody and find out what’s working, what’s not working, reinforce the good that’s going on, keep that going, and what can I do to help to get the stuff that’s not working, working. That’s really, I guess, the goal to begin with,” said Kalkoske.
It will be a big year for the Commission as issues related to large infrastructure projects, a wastewater treatment facility, public lands, and much more will be put to vote, and with Kalkoske’s help, the Board will decide where Humboldt County goes from here.
“You just have to have a plan and, again, it goes back to the Commission. They’ve got to decide what’s the most important thing and that’ll be [Don’s] job to say this is high priority,” said Mendiola.