ESTES PARK – Steve Careccia, planning manager for the city of Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix with a population topping 95,000, will head for a drastically cooler climate and a drastically smaller town when he becomes community development director for the town of Estes Park on Jan. 8.

Deputy Town Administrator Jason Damweber, who took the community-development reins on an interim basis after the early September resignation of Jessica Garner, will continue with those duties until Careccia arrives.

Careccia holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning and has more than 20 years of experience in planning and development services in the public sector. His career includes public collaboration and community involvement, long-term planning, development review, economic development projects, code writing and revisions, and building safety and plan reviews. He has previous planning experience in other municipalities in both Florida and Arizona.

“We appreciate the community’s help as we carefully selected a new community development director,” said Estes Park Town Administrator Travis Machalek in a prepared statement. “Steve is an experienced planning manager with a focus on community partnerships. We are pleased to have him join our team.”

Careccia will be responsible for overseeing the Community Development Department, which provides planning, zoning, code compliance and building services for the community.

“During the interview process, I met so many wonderful people from both the town staff and within the community,” Careccia said. “Everyone was welcoming, and their passion for Estes Park was evident. I am very thankful and excited to be the community development director, and look forward to working with everyone in the future.”