By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka’s new city assessor’s background includes service in the U.S. Air Force, undergraduate studies in journalism, working as a car salesman, and volunteering as a radio sportscaster.
And, yes, 19 years in appraising and assessing, including his most recent job in The Dalles, Oregon, as chief appraiser of Wasco County.
Larry Reeder, 59, was selected as the Sitka city assessor following an interview by a city hiring committee and the Assembly’s approval of his contract on Dec. 23. Reeder will replace Wendy Lawrence as city assessor. Lawrence, who has been working remotely since moving from Sitka, has offered to help Reeder when he steps into the job February 10.
Reeder said he found the job posting in an email from the International Association of Assessing Officers.
“At the time, I thought ‘I have eight to 10 more years of work,’” he said. “We’ve lived three and a half years here, and our kid is going into the military. We’re going to be empty nesters – where do we want to go, what do we want to do, what are our long-term goals for what we want to do with our lives? We just thought Alaska might be nice.”
Larry Reeder
Lawrence said Reeder is well qualified to be Sitka assessor.
“He’s going to be a great asset for Sitka. I’m happy to help with the transition,” she said by text message.
Reeder said he and his wife Mary did research about Sitka online before he applied for the job, and their visit to Sitka for the interview confirmed it was as pretty as it looked in the videos and photos.
“My wife couldn’t stop taking photos,” he said.
While here they also learned that Mary, a caregiver, could find work in local health care facilities, as well as fellowship in the Sitka Filipino community.
Before becoming chief appraiser of Wasco County, Reeder was chief appraiser and assessor in Lake County, Oregon, where he started in 2001 as appraiser trainee.
He said his experience in communities similar in size to Sitka should help him in his new job, but he also knows he faces a steep learning curve as he becomes familiar with the community and the new position.
Reeder was born in southern California before moving to Tollhouse, in central California, when he was 14. He served in the military, studied journalism at college and has lived in metropolitan areas of California, moving for work.
He was selling cars in Oregon when an opportunity opened in the Lake County government, and the rest is history, he said.
“I really enjoyed being a part of it,” he said. “I felt the work we did was important, from both parties – for the taxpayer as well as the districts we served that received the money – so they could provide the services (the public) said they wanted.”
He said he also liked the challenge of hitting appraisals on the mark.
“I make a goal to be the best appraiser I can be,” he said.
Reeder is a state certified appraiser in Oregon.
“I know I’ve got a lot to learn about the real estate market in Sitka – it’s a lot different from here,” he said. The job is made more difficult by the low number of sales every year in Sitka.
“It’s going to take a year or two to get my feet under me,” he said. “I’m up for the challenge.”
In addition to his assessing and appraising work, Reeder has volunteered as a radio sportscaster for high school football, basketball, baseball and softball games.
The Reeders have a 20-year-old son entering the military, a daughter attending college to be a nurse, and a daughter who is a senior in high school and plans on joining the Navy, after she graduates this June.
