City of Blaine hires new public works director

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The city of Blaine has hired Harpiar Gandhi to serve as the new public works director. Gandhi has over two decades of engineering experience working for companies and local governments in Canada and Oregon.

Blaine City Council unanimously approved Gandhi’s employment contract during its April 10 meeting. His first day on the job is June 1.

“I’m looking forward to working with the city of Blaine and achieving the city’s goals,” Gandhi said in a phone interview.

Gandhi earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Gulbarga University in India and master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Calgary in Alberta.

Gandhi served as general manager of transportation and utilities for the municipal district of Bonnyville in Alberta from 2013 to 2018. He then spent two years as an engineer and consultant at Altima Contracting Ltd. in Vancouver before starting his current position in 2020 as the public works director for the city of Clatskanie, Oregon, a city of 1,700 people southwest of Longview, Washington.

Gandhi said that he applied for the position because his background in public works prepared him well for the new challenges and opportunities that the city’s development could bring. He added living in Blaine will move him closer to family and friends in Canada.

Per his contract, Gandhi will earn nearly

(See Director, page 3) shop. Roy said it had been a dream of his for almost 30 years to open a bike shop.

Once that was decided, the plan was for Roy and his wife, Carolyn, to run the shop together. But Roy said Carolyn, who has 30 years of experience working with people experiencing homelessness, was needed at her job with the Lighthouse Mission Ministries, a homeless shelter in Bellingham.

“We moved out here in December of ’20 and wanted to be part of the community, and looked at several different ways of do-

(See Bikes, page 5)

Food bank ...

From page 1 end of emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds in March, Church said.

The food bank served 400 families per week during the pandemic, which increased 50 percent to 600 families per week last month. This comes as donations are down 60 percent from 2022, Church said.

The food bank is the second busiest in Whatcom County and the only one made up of all volunteers, she added. Church said the funds would “ease the pain of unprecedented need that has been met by an unanticipated price increase and diminished resources.”

Councilmember Eric Davidson said he was in favor of helping the food bank but wanted to cut $50,000 from the city budget.

Councilmember Rhyan Lopez agreed with Davidson and questioned if council should start looking closer at the food bank’s numbers.

“It’s $50,000 today but four months from now, who are we to deny somebody like [the Com -

Director ...

From page 1 munity Assistance Program] coming in and saying they need $50,000?” Lopez asked.

$141,000 annually and have 26 vacation days.

The city’s public works director position has been vacant since last July. Former maintenance and operation supervisor Gary McSpadden has served as director in the interim.

The city has $411,000 in unallocated ARPA funds for emergency use, city finance director

Daniel Heverling told councilmembers.

“It’s raining,” councilmember Garth Baldwin said. “And that money is set aside for a rainy day.”

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