“Coupeville’s new public works director might be new to the job, but not to Coupeville.Malcolm Bishop, hired last Friday to fill the slot vacated when Larry Harmon retired in May, has been around Coupeville since his father, Dr. Paul Bishop, moved his practice to Front Street in 1949.And even though he moved off island after graduating from Coupeville High School, Bishop has been coming back regularly to visit his brothers and his home town.Bishop has spent the last 11 years in the Skagit Valley, living in Edison and working as the field shop manager for National Frozen Foods in Burlington.His duties have included supervising as many as 12 mechanics and 90 seasonal employees, as well as managing an annual budget in excess of $1 million. In addition, he helped devise and develop the town of Edison’s waste water system.Mayor Nancy Conard said Bishop’s commitment to the community and the job helped distinguish him from a dozen other candidates.My primary concern was the applicant be a good problem solver and be able to read plans and implement them – from our water improvement plan to our comprehensive plan, Conard said. And Malcolm was well-recommended and has a lot of strengths in management and operations, as well as scheduling work and managing budgets. Bishop will doubtless need to draw on those strengths in the next few years.Coupeville is slated to start work on a $600,000 reconstruction project on North Main Street next March, as well as a $2.3 million renovation of the town’s sewer treatment plant within the next few years.As public works director, Bishop will also supervise the daily operation of the town’s utilities and enforce regulatory issues.He will also be the point man when it comes to the town’s water supply and treatment plants, which is not always a placid task.Bishop said he is aware of the challenges the job will present, but is eager to take it on.I’m looking at keeping both water facilities as presentable and trouble-free as possible, while staying ahead of growth, Bishop said.Bishop has two brothers who still live in Coupeville and plans to build a home on acreage he and his wife Vicky own north of town.I’m real excited to take this on and I feel I can do the job, Bishop said. I have a good enough background to do it, I have a good group of people to work with and good support in the community.It’s a community he always planned to come back to, Bishop added.”