April 3, 2023 3:50 a.m.
City of Roseburg Assistant City Manager/City Recorder Amy Sowa retired on Friday after a five-year stint which capped a career spanning more than two decades and two city governments.
A City release said Sowa began her work in Roseburg in 2018. Last fall, she was honored as the “2022 Recorder of the Year” by the Oregon Association of Municipal Recorders.
Sowa grew up in Roseburg, graduating from Roseburg High School in 1976. She began her career in 1999 as an administrative assistant for Springfield Public Schools. In 2001, she joined the City of Springfield as an administrative assistant, providing the main point of contact for the city manager and mayor’s offices. In 2003, she was promoted to administrative aide/city recorder. She earned certifications as a municipal clerk and master municipal clerk from the Northwest Clerks Institute.
Sowa became Roseburg’s city recorder in April 2018. She was named assistant city manager/city recorder in March 2021. She managed all city records, ordinances, resolutions, leases, contracts and agreements, elections and more, along with serving as the clerk for the city council.
The release said Sowa was nominated for the Recorder of the Year honors, due to her role in the city’s efforts to tackle homelessness. She made this contribution by volunteering to take on the special project, which was not previously part of her job. This included being the staff liaison for the newly created Homeless Commission.
Sowa also led efforts to find the right property for the city’s first low-barrier emergency shelter and a nonprofit to operate the facility. At the same time, she researched and wrote municipal code and ordinance updates to support the commission’s and council’s efforts to address those challenges.
A major accomplishment as a result of that work was last summer’s opening of the Gary Leif Navigation Center. As the effort began to open an urban campground for unhoused individuals, Sowa provided staff support for that project and served with the group tasked with considering potential properties.
Former Douglas County Clerk Patty Hitt was hired as Roseburg’s new city recorder on March 1st. Sowa has spent the past month training Hitt to take on the new role.