Heather Logan hired as new Arlington assistant city administrator

ARLINGTON — When Heather Logan retired from Cascade Valley Hospital after 22 years, she wasn't expecting to get another job after 22 months.

ARLINGTON — When Heather Logan retired from Cascade Valley Hospital after 22 years, she wasn’t expecting to get another job after 22 months.

But when a friend texted her the listing for Arlington’s assistant city administrator position, she couldn’t resist applying.

While the job title had previously been held by city clerk Kristin Banfield, before being discontinued, it’s been brought back, and now covers communications, human resources, information technology, and recreation.

Logan left Cascade Valley as the assistant administrator of diagnostic and support services.

“We see the duties that Heather is covering as being central services,” city administrator Paul Ellis said. “Through HR and IT she helps provide internal support to other city departments, and through communications, she’s able to do outreach to the public on behalf of those departments.” One of Logan’s first irons in the fire will be collective bargaining negotiations with the police and fire unions, after which she aims to develop a communications plan for the city.

“I’m still assembling and assessing data for that one, but I think there’s a lot we can do better,” Logan said. “My goal is that the public will find it easier to find the information they’re looking for, whether it’s about upcoming street paving or concerts in our parks.”

Because Logan is a longtime resident, she doesn’t need to bring herself up to speed on what the community has to offer. “This is a special place that we’ve got,” Logan said. “Its spirit and volunteerism are pretty inspiring.”