Borough Manager Dave Sosa, left, submitted his resignation on Thursday.

Borough Manager Dave Sosa, left, at a planning commission in January. (Emily Files)

Haines Borough Manager Dave Sosa offered his resignation this afternoon. Sosa was hired in April, 2014, and is 19 months into a three-year contract.

Sosa says he was offered a job opportunity on Thursday  that has been in the works for a couple months, and it was too good to pass up.

“I was offered a position as Commandant to the United States Merchant Marine Academy and I accepted that earlier today, so my last day here will be on the 7th of December,” Sosa says.

He says he will continue to work in his current position and collaborate with borough staff to ensure a smooth transition.

“I will develop a list of all the projects we have going on and make sure the assembly is updated on them. And I’ll work with the assembly to work through a transition plan for whoever is identified to be the next manager.”

Even though he had applied for the position, Sosa says he was surprised when they offered it to him. The new job will take him to Kings Point, New York.

“Some of the things that are leading me to select it are, it’s the nature of the position. I’ll be responsible for the leadership development of the midshipmen at the academy. The academy is one of the five service academies, the others being West Point, Annapolis; the Coast Guard Academy, and the Air Force Academy. So these are some of the brightest young men and women in the nation, and I will have the opportunity and the privilege to mentor their leadership development.”

Sosa says there are things that he wants to make sure get moved forward before he goes, though he wasn’t specific on what those things are. And he assured that one of his priorities before departing is making sure a good transition plan in place, so there is as little turmoil as possible.

KHNS will follow up with Sosa next week to get more details on what the move means for Haines.