Media Services Manager Bids City Adieu

Citizens of Enumclaw have enjoyed the local programming on Comcast Channel 21 and benefitted from a robust city website where city council meetings are streamed live and residents can even pay bills online, thanks to the work of one man, and today's his last day on the job.

Jon Funfar, the city's media services manager, is stepping down to take a similar position in the city of Pasco after 10 years and nine months serving his hometown.

Funfar served many roles under his deceptively simple title, overseeing everything from the public access channel and the city website to phone and cell phone tech support for his fellow city staffers. 

On Channel 21, Funfar would typically broadcast city council meetings live and then make the playback available the next day; other meetings may not air for another week as it depends on the programming schedule.

The city's website also underwent two major overhauls over the course of Funfar's time here. Many functionalities have been added including the ability to pay bills and register for parks online; a variety of interactive forms and email notifications are now also available.

While he has enjoyed being able to help Enumclaw maintain its technological infrastructure, his new position in Pasco, a bigger city, would allow for him to focus on just the community-centric television channel and city website, which are his main interests.

"I have an interest in advocacy for access in all forms whether its public education or government," he said. "Being able to continue that is going to be nice."

Funfar attended college at Pacific Lutheran University and lived and worked between Federal Way and Seattle for a number of years before moving back to Enumclaw. "This [move to Pasco] is definitely a major, major move for me. ... I did apply in Pasco when I first got out of college so it kind of seems like I was meant to go there for some reason."

Funfar's position will be covered by independent contractors in the filming and broadcast of city meetings and in maintaining the city website while city administrators figure out how to fill his position.