Kenmore City Council on Dec. 8 voted 6-1 to offer a two-year contract to City Manager Frederick Stouder.

Stouder had been serving as interim city manager since August. He now becomes only the second city manager in Kenmore’s history.

Mayor David Baker said council originally hired Stouder on a temporary basis after the departure of former city manager Steve Anderson.

Having served Kenmore since its incorporation as a city in 1998, Anderson left Kenmore to become an assistant city manager in neighboring Bothell.

When Stouder was brought on board, Baker said he mostly expected someone with the title of “interim city manager” to generally be a sort of care taker.

Instead, Baker said Stouder jumped right in and quickly involved himself with some major issues in the city.

“We were just very pleased with the job he was doing,” Baker said.

At age 65 and having served in numerous municipal positions around Washington, Stouder said he really wasn’t looking for a permanent position when he first arrived in Kenmore. He assumed he might go into consulting once a permanent replacement was found for Anderson.

But Stouder also added he has come to like the city, as well as the people with whom he is working.

“I’m actually very pleased and excited,” he said. “It’s a good place to be.”

Stouder was awarded an annual salary of $134,000 a year plus benefits. His contract requires him to move to the city within 90 days. Baker said the majority of council members felt strongly that Kenmore’s chief administrator should live here, directly experiencing the day-to-day life of the city.

According to Stouder, he and council leadership jointly decided on a two-year deal with the understanding on both sides that he might stay longer. He said an extension of the contract depends on his continued health, his interest in the job and, of course, council’s evaluation of his performance.

Stouder’s contract actually calls for a performance evaluation to be completed by an outside party at the six-month and one-year marks of Stouder’s tenure. Thereafter, the contract calls for an outside party to conduct annual evaluations.

As for Stouder’s priorities moving forward, he said the city’s key issues have been well publicized. They range from the continuing enhancement of State Route 522 to construction of a new city hall, as well as the Kenmore Village project. In the past, Stouder had said he will be meeting with council in January to map out which issues legislators wish to give priority.

Councilman John Hendrickson cast the only vote against the contract for Stouder. He did not return a phone call requesting comment.