On Wednesday, March 29, Bethel City Manager Peter Williams announced his retirement, effective June 2023. He plans to move to Anchorage with his family.
“It's kind of been in the works since I'm 70 years old, my wife 76 years old, and we just feel that we'd be better off in Anchorage. Basically because of health issues, concerns. And so that's really what it's about,” Williams said.
Williams has lived in Bethel for 36 years alongside his wife. He feels that Anchorage serves as the best central point for family visits.
“The ones that are, some of them are, you know, as far away as the grandkids, as far away as 3,000 to 1,500 miles. So when they do come to Alaska, everybody kind of migrates to Anchorage and they're not coming to Bethel. And so it gives us a chance to kind of be closer to the family,” Williams said,
So who will fill the Bethel City Manager position?
“The city manager works for the city council. It can be a lengthy process. So they'll advertise for a certain number of days, I think for 30 days or so, and then collect applications. The city council will have a special meeting and then sit down, review, and work through if there's somebody they want to interview. Then they’ll do another meeting and do the interview and work through that," said Williams.
Williams wants the public to know that there won’t be an interruption in services. He credits his strong staff and the department heads for this and expects the same level of performance on day-to-day tasks.
