Pacific officials expect the City to be better equipped to handle an emergency in the coming months.

That is because multiple projects are in the bidding process as the City seeks to improve its facilities to serve as inclement-weather shelters.

Mayor Leanne Guier said during Monday’s City Council meeting that Pacific has received a $109,000 grant to replace the roofs on the community center, City Hall and the surrounding awning.

Guier said both buildings will also have a generator installed. That’s significant, Guier pointed out, because the community center has a commercial kitchen, which means it can serve as an emergency shelter.

“I would imagine between the buildings that we could fit 100 people – easily,” Guier said.

In other matters:

Tren Walker, who resigned from the City Council in January after he purchased his parents’ house in Lake Tapps, was appointed to serve on Pacific’s parks board. Walker was elected to Position 7 in 2015.

“I think it’s wonderful that he wants to stay a part of the city,” Councilmember Stacy Oliveira said.

Guier hopes to have a new public works director hired by April 1. The position, which was vacated when Lance Newkirk left Jan. 20 to accept a similar position in Shoreline, closed Feb. 25. Guier said she wants to interview five finalists for the position on Tuesday.

Pacific’s Citizen Appreciation Dinner is at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Pacific Gym. Tickets are $10 per person or $25 for a family of five. Guier said the recipient is honored as the grand marshal during Pacific Days, the city’s three-day July festival, and the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Guier created the award after she became mayor. Jeanne Fancher was the first recipient in 2014 and Ann Smith won it last year.