Port inks contract with administrator

Port Washington aldermen on Tuesday approved a contract with the city’s new administrator, Melissa Pingel.

The contract, which was unanimously approved following a closed session of the Common Council, calls for Pingel to be paid $150,000 annually as the new administrator, Human Resources Director Emily Blakeslee said.

Pingel, who is currently the Waushara County administrator, gave 45-day notice and will begin work in Port Washington on March 18, Blakeslee said.

She will receive 120 hours of vacation when she starts with the city, as well as 40 hours of sick time, Blakeslee said.

Pingel lives in Oshkosh, and the city will pay $10,000 in relocation expenses if she moves within 20 miles of the city during the first two years of her employment.

“It’s an incentive to move to the area,” Blakeslee said.

Pingel, who attended Tuesday’s meeting with her fiance Christian Gossett, told aldermen the city has been “very welcoming.”

“I’m excited to be here,” she said.

Mayor Ted Neitzke welcomed Pingel and touted the qualities he said made her the right fit for the community.

“Your ability to be fiscally wise and frugal,” he said. “Your career path to this point is phenomenal. Your ability to collaborate with a variety of people ... your creative approach.

“We’re very, very excited for you to be joining our community.”

Pingel was one of three candidates for administrator that were interviewed by the Common Council for the job last week.

Pingel, an attorney who has been the Waushara County administrator since 2021 and was previously the Winnebago county clerk of courts for about 10 years, is the city’s third administrator.

She succeeds Tony Brown, who left in November to become the City of Waukesha administrator.

Brown had been with the city since 2020. He succeeded Mark Grams, who retired after almost 34 years as administrator.

Grams succeeded the city’s first administrator, Steve Stapleton.