Looking to the future and potentially another four years as director of the Clallam County Department of Community Development (DCD), Sheila Roark Miller has new goals set for the department, herself and staff with an emphasis to “blend and balance” the needs of the many sub-communities within the county.

In addition to striving to maintain a balance between the unique needs of the county’s varying communities, Roark Miller’s renewed goals include meeting the state mandated updates, such as the Shoreline Master Plan, Comprehensive Plan and zoning rewrites. Roark Miller also will continue to confront water regulations and Initiative 502 – both top priorities within the department, she said.

Knowing that this area once was reliant on the economic potential from the railroad that never came to fruition, Roark Miller uses her understanding of the ongoing need for economic growth to help guide her role of DCD director. Relying on her homegrown roots and ample professional experience with the county, Roark Miller hopes to continue in her position as the DCD director with a vision shaped by both prosperity and the preservation of the county’s character.

“Having the historical perspective is important because with it you also have a reference of the amount of people and communities from the West End to Diamond Point,” Roark Miller said. “Knowing the issues of the smaller communities and then being able to balance them with what we can do from our office to benefit or help alleviate some of the struggles they have based on where they live is extremely important.”

If one were to ask Roark Miller what the biggest issues looming over the county are from the position of DCD Director, she responds with, “It depends on what community or part of the county.”

“Each community within the county has its own sets of unique challenges,” Roark Miller said. “The needs are different for someone in Diamond Point than someone in Sekiu.”

Roark Miller feels she has a thorough understanding of the county and strong networking capabilities given she was born and raised here with a family tree easily dating back 100 years. A high school graduate from Port Angeles High School, Roark Miller earned an associate degree from Peninsula College and furthered her education at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Va. Roark Miller holds a variety of International Code Council certificates that she put use while working within the DCD for past 24 years.

Roark Miller’s first 20 years within the department were with the building division in various capacities starting at the bottom and working her way up, she said. In 2010, Roark Miller was elected as the department’s director and a year later also accepted the responsibilities as Building Official and Fire Marshal.

Given her years spent working within the department, Roark Miller has an in-depth understanding of the county’s codes, ordinances and laws, she said. This understanding is helpful because they (codes, ordinances and laws) are the things that bridge ideas to reality, Roark Miller said. Her grounded and practical base of knowledge also allows Roark Miller the ability to explain why or why not a project is feasible and how to problem solve within the scope of the county’s regulations.

“People want to be able to sit down and figure things out with someone and I can do that,” Roark Miller said. “That’s the advantage of my experience and code background because with limited resources it’s critical that I’m able to answer a large percentage of questions surrounding a project.”

With the limited resources, fewer employees within the department and yet the same level of work, Roark Miller recognizes the importance of doing less with more, she said.

For example, as the DCD director, Roark Miller established more of an online presence as one way to increase resource efficiency, update the department technologically and connect the wide-spanned community. Maintaining a thorough website with useful tools and things like the county’s permitting system online allows the public access to their projects and people can follow the process, Roark Miller said.