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When Matthew Klebes first came to The Dalles eight years ago, he never intended to stay.
Klebes’ arrival in The Dalles was with his work. He was with AmeriCorps Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, preparing to be part of a program that was set to last less than a year.
“I came to The Dalles expecting to be here over (a period of) 11 months,” Klebes said. “And here I am, eight years later, with a house and two kids and getting ready to take the city manager position and everything. I had no idea coming in that was going to happen.”
With AmeriCorps, Klebes was a volunteer with The City of The Dalles, working to establish a local branch of Main Street. Klebes was working out of the chamber of commerce, helping to grow and strengthen the organization so they could move into their own building.
“We built a volunteer base and revenue stream and grew the organization that way,” he said. “And a lot of the work that I did at Main Street was in partnership with the city.”
At the end of Klebes’ 11 months working with AmeriCorp, Main Street hired him on to continue working to grow the organization. He was the first official staff member they were able to have.
“There had been volunteers who had been talking about it and trying to get the Main Street program going,” Klebes said. “And they had some of the pieces coming together, but they needed a staff person to do that work and answer the phone, have the lights on, just those basic things.”
After his transition into working for Main Street as an official full-time job, he stayed there for two years, before taking a job with the city, as the assistant to the city manager. There, Klebes worked closely with current city manager Julie Krueger.
“One of the things I liked about Main Street … is that I worked with a lot of business owners, property owners, restaurant owners, retail owners, breweries,” Klebes said. “You get to kind of learn about and dive into all these different worlds, the world of a brewer, the world of a restaurant, the world of a property owner, and you get to have conversations with them. You learn what their challenges are, their opportunities are, and then take a step back and see how that aligns with all the other entities, and where Main Street can help.”
Klebes said this kind of approach was useful in his new position as assistant to the city manager, and that there was quite a bit of overlap.
“At the city, it’s kind of similar, where you have public works, planning, airport, police department, and then you have your department head in each of those areas, the specialists,” he said. “We get to work with them and learn about the same thing: their challenges, their opportunities. And as city manager, you have to step back and figure out okay, where’s our overlap? Where’s their alignment? How can I support each one of these individuals and their departments and staff?”
Klebes said he enjoyed his time working with the city manager, as he worked with the city for about three years. He said he was able to work with a variety of people and groups. He was also able to work on special projects for the city manager.
One of his special projects was a “Local Government Academy,” which strived to increase transparency in local government and help teach residents about the city and what it does and doesn’t do.
“Ultimately, the hope was that we would have graduates from the academy that volunteer to serve on different city committees and commissions, because they now have a better understanding of their own local government, and they feel more comfortable or confident with it,” he said.
Though the Local Government Academy was put on pause with COVID, Klebes said it was a project he was proud to be a part of. He said there are hopes to return some time in the future, likely with one class a year, rather than the two they did before.
After three years with the city, Klebes moved to working as the Wasco County Administrative Services Director, which is the position he currently holds and will be transitioning out of as he switches to his new role as city manager.
As administrative services director, Klebes said he was able to work with the county and develop a better understanding of how the county operates, how it interplays with the state, and how that affects cities. In some ways, Klebes said, this prepared him for the city manager role in a different way, as he now has an understanding of what happens at the county level.
Klebes said he’s excited to take on this new position as city manager, and to return to the city to continue the work that he’s been doing.
“I’ve been really lucky and pleased with this progression that I’ve had, working and focusing in the downtown core. We’re stepping back a little bit more and working across the city, stepping back even a little bit more and working with the county,” Klebes said. “And so the opportunity to stay in this community, continue to do that work and continue to build upon that, well, it’s hard to pass that up.”
The city council officially approved Klebes’ contract at the regular city council meeting on April 11. Klebes will start his new position as city manager on May 16.