Oak Harbor’s next police chief will likely begin work a month from now, assuming the City Council agrees with the mayor’s pick.

Kevin Dresker, a former captain with the Wenatchee Police Department, inked an agreement this week to take the helm of the police department. Mayor Bob Severns named Dresker as his pick two weeks ago, but negotiations took time to complete.

City Council is scheduled to consider the contract during its Sept. 20 meeting.

“I feel great about everything,” Severns said earlier this week. “All of his references had nothing but great things to say about him.”

Dresker and the other finalist for the job were interviewed by two four-person panels last month. All but one person voted in favor of hiring Dresker, according to the mayor.

Severns said he hopes that Dresker will start work at the beginning of October and overlap a couple of days with Terry Gallagher, the city’s interim police department administrator.

Dresker was with the Wenatchee Police Department for about 28 years before leaving in 2014 to become the security services manager at Confluence Health, which Severns described as a large hospital conglomeration.

According to the mayor, Dresker created an impressive security plan for the hospital. In fact, Severns said he was worried during negotiations that the company would make Dresker an offer he couldn’t refuse.

The move will be a big change for Dresker. He lived in Wenatchee since he was 15 and his sister and parents still live there, according to Severns.

Dresker will follow Ed Green as police chief. Green resigned in May as part of a separation agreement.

Members of the police union last year voted “no confidence” in Green. Severns conducted his own investigation into morale and other problems at the department after coming into office this year. Green’s departure followed.