Three finalists named for Greeley city manager

GREELEY — Three finalists are interviewing to be the next city manager in Greeley.

A spokesman said the three are Alexa M. Barton, Raymond G. Lee III, and Scot H. Rigby.

A city press release Friday invited people to an open house for the candidates on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers on 11th Avenue.

“We want the community to have a chance to meet these candidates,” Mayor John Gates said.

Greeley hired a recruiting firm “specializing in executive level government” that produced 33 candidates for the job. This was narrowed by council review to a short list of 10, and then the three finalists, the release said.

One source told BizWest that the city hopes to name a replacement for Roy Otto by Thanksgiving, but the city couldn’t confirm the date. The City Council chooses the city manager.

Otto left in July after 22 years with Greeley, including 16 as city manager. He joined the Weld Trust and NCMC Foundation in October as director of development.

Greeley has about 109,000 residents, a median household income north of $57,000, and a median home sales price of $380,000, according to BizWest’s 2021 Economic Profile and Market Facts.

Lee

Lee is the only local candidate. He’s acting city manager of Greeley, appointed in September after Otto resigned. He’s been deputy city manager since January.

In a guest column in the Greeley Tribune in October, Lee cited “great strengths in Greeley — resilience, thoughtful planning and infrastructure investment.”

Lee was director of public works in Amarillo, Texas, for four years. Before that, he held several positions, including an assistant directorship, with the city of Dallas, for six years, his LinkedIn profile said.

Amarillo has 200,000 people; Dallas has 1.3 million.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and a master’s degree from the University of Kansas. Certificates listed on LinkedIn include ones in leadership, labor relations, financial management, and in diversity and inclusion, earned from Yale, Cornell and Brown Universities.

Barton

Barton’s LinkedIn profile said her experience has been in and around Kansas City, Missouri, for 19 years.

She’s been city manager and assistant city manager of Belton, a southern suburb with 25,000 residents, for five years. She was city administrator in Grain Valley, east of Kansas City, population 14,000, for three years. She was Clay County administrator and assistant administrator for 11 years. Clay County includes part of northeastern Kansas City and has about 250,000 residents.

Barton has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Park University in Parkville, Missouri, and is a certified purchasing manager, the profile said.

Rigby

Rigby’s LinkedIn resume includes service as assistant city manager in Wichita, Kansas, his current role. He’s been there for 6½ years, and with Mesa, Arizona, in several roles, for a similar amount of time. Wichita has 400,000 residents; Mesa has 500,000.

Rigby has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree from Arizona State University. He has a certificate in economic growth from Harvard Kennedy School’s executive education program.

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