City of Grand Junction

City Manager History Narrative

1922 to Current

George Garrett came to Grand Junction in January, 1922, and served as City Manager until May, 1925, resigning to become City Manager at Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

T. E. Thompson, who had been City Engineer for quite some time, was appointed as City Manager in May, 1925. Although he was never supported by The Daily Sentinel, he was apparently a very popular City Manager otherwise, and a very capable one. He resigned in July, 1930, to become City Manager at Shawnee, Oklahoma, and from there went to Norman, Oklahoma and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, being very successful in both places.

J.P. Soderstrum came to Grand Junction in August, 1930, from Rapid City, South Dakota, where he had been City Manager. He served as City Manager during the depression years, and was very successful in getting government aid under W.P.A. and P.W.A. which helped greatly in the City’s economy. The Sewage Disposal Plant, Water Filter Plant, and Library were all built under his administration. Many City streets were paved under the W.P.A. work plan. He was very well liked by all of the City employees, but was not, however, particularly a diplomat insofar as the public was concerned. After the Council Election in 1939, Mr. Soderstrum announced that he would not serve as City Manager after September 1^st. He continued to make Grand Junction his home, working for the County of Mesa, and later operating the Grand Junction Brick Co.

Bruce Brownson was appointed City Manager in September, 1939, having been Superintendent of Parks and Health for a number of years previously. He was considered a very conservative person and considerable criticism came his way because City improvements did not compare with the City’s growth. The financial status of the City was very good, nonetheless, Mr. Brownson resigned under public criticism in August, 1945. He then became a successful businessman in Grand Junction, serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Mutual Savings & Loan Association.

Herbert Fritz came to Grand Junction in August, 1945, from Chicago, where he had been employed in the office of the International City Manager’s Association. He was well educated and well informed on the City Manager form of government. This was his first actual practical experience. He was City Manager in a period of “getting things done”. The mill levy was raised and a major program of water improvements was instituted. At this time the Carson Lake reservoir was constructed on the Grand Mesa. Mr. Fritz was blamed for the excessive cost of the project and was terminated by the City Council in February, 1948. He went on to become a successful City Manager in Columbia, Missouri; Lexington, Kentucky; and Peoria, Illinois.

Thomas I. Moore came to Grand Junction in February, 1948. He had been Superintendent of Construction with Olson Construction Company of Salt Lake City. They were the contractors for the Veterans’ Hospital in Grand Junction and major jobs in other areas of the country, including the Pentagon, where Mr. Moore had been one of the superintendents in charge of construction. Mr. Moore was considered a very progressive City Manager, and during the two years he was here, the stadium at Lincoln Park was constructed, as well as the terminal at Walker Field Airport, and City Hall. Mr. Moore was well liked, but he and his wife drank heavily. He became involved with a gambling group and became heavily indebted. He went to Las Vegas to try to recoup his losses, and instead of winning, lost more. In January, 1949, Mr. Moore’s salary was raised to $10,000 per year. Several of the City Councilmen and a number of businessmen were in favor of settling Mr. Moore’s financial difficulties and having him stay on as City Manager, but his wife’s condition was such that it didn’t seem that matters could be straightened out. Finally, In January, 1950, he was asked to resign.

W. D. Toyne came from Ohio in March, 1950. He had been in the city management profession for a long time. He was an older man, and although no major construction occurred during his administration, the ground work was laid and the money raised for many projects that were completed in the sixties. During his administration there existed a feud between himself and Mr. Walker of The Sentinel. In the last years with the City, he came into conflict with the members of the City Council and was terminated in June, 1956. He went on to become the City Manager of Hudson, Ohio, and later retired to Leesburg, Florida.

R. E. Cheever came to Grand Junction in June, 1956, from Cheyenne Wyoming, where he had been Mayor for several years. His administration in Grand Junction was a stormy one during which time he split the City staff by giving raises to some, and not to others. His extravagances finally prompted the City Council to terminate him in December, 1959. He went on to become the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for the State of Wyoming.

J. M. (Joe) Lacy came to Grand Junction in February, 1960, from Englewood, Colorado, where he was serving as City Traffic Engineer. He was well liked, and during his administration “Project Foresight” was undertaken. The Downtown Shopping Park was constructed, winning the City “All American City” award in 1964. Mr. Lacy resigned in July, 1966, and was very successful in the commercial development field.

R. N. (Richard) Gray came to Grand Junction in January, 1967, from Salem, Oregon, where he had been serving as Assistant to the City Manager. During his administration he participated in the construction of a new Water Treatment Plant, a Water Pollution Control Plant, and streamlined City operations throughout the various departments. He was well liked, and resigned in October, 1972 to become City Manager of Norman, Oklahoma.

Harvey M. Rose was City Manager from December, 18, 1972 to May 14, 1976. He came to Grand Junction on October 1, 1970, as Assistant to the City Manager, working specifically in personnel and part of the time as Personnel Director. He left Grand Junction to become City Manager of North Miami Beach, Florida. His greatest accomplishments were updating the personnel program, building Two Rivers Plaza, and the new City Hall which tied together the 1949 City Hall, the Lowell School building, and the old Public Library.

James E. Wysocki was City Manager from May 17, 1976 to January 31, 1984. He left to become City Manager of Bozeman, Montana. Mr. Wysocki came to Grand Junction on April 29, 1968 to be the Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation. He became Director of that department on January 1, 1971. After two challenging assignments as Acting City Manager, he was appointed Assistant City Manager on January 1, 1975. He served through a period of extreme growth, and among project completed during his tenure was the building of a new City Service Center and a new Countywide Wastewater Treatment facility which was done with the cooperation of Mesa County.

Mark K. Achen came to Grand Junction on May 14, 1984 from Gladstone, Missouri. He had served as City Manager there from 1979 until 1984; as City Administrator in Mounds View, Minnesota from 1974 until 1979; and Assistant to the City Manager in Ferguson, Missouri from 1972 until 1974. Mr. Achen was well-respected during his 16 year tenure at the City of Grand Junction and oversaw the City’s financial recovery and stability through the “bust” era following the exit of EXXON oil shale in 1982.

Under Mr. Achen’s administration, many new programs were initiated and new facilities were constructed. Ten year capital plans, two year budgeting, accruals for equipment replacement programs, and the development of a city-wide parks program are just some of the programs that were developed under Mr. Achen. Facilities built during his administration included Fire Station #3, Canyon View Park, City Purchasing/Fleet and Facilities building, and the new City Hall. Mr. Achen retired the summer City Hall was complete, on July 7, 2000. He stayed in the community doing City Manager work in Centennial and other Colorado towns, facilitating for various governmental entities, and working as Executive Assistant to the newly formed Board of Trustees for Mesa State College.

Kelly E. Arnold came from Laramie, Wyoming in September, 2000. When Mr. Arnold began his term as City Manager, the City Hall employees were just moving into their new City Hall building, built on the same site as the previous City Hall. During Mr. Arnold’s administration, development was booming, and as a result many large capital projects were able to be accomplished. Most notably, the Riverside Parkway (the largest road project in the City’s history); the Big Pipe Project (a drainage project that took much of the Mesa Mall area out of the floodplain and allowed continued development in the area); the expansion of Canyon View Park; a major remodel of Two Rivers Convention Center; and the beginning of the 29 Road project.

The City faced two very controversial items during Mr. Arnold’s leadership – a community debate on the placement of the Ten Commandments on City Hall Property, with the result being the creation of the “Cornerstones of Law and Liberty” plaza in front of City Hall that contained not only the Ten Commandments but several other monuments recognizing documents that also were instrumental in the development of the laws and covenants of the United States. Another controversial issue in the City was an effort to ban smoking in all public places. The City did adopt an ordinance prohibiting smoking in all indoor public places and some outdoor areas, but shortly thereafter, the State legislature adopted similar provisions so the ban was statewide.

Mr. Arnold left the City in July, 2006 and went to work in Windsor, Colorado as Town Manager.

David Varley became City Manager in Grand Junction in December, 2006 after serving as Assistant City Manager since 1993. Mr. Varley reorganized many of the City Departments and supported the creation of a neighborhood services division. Mr. Varley supported a ballot issue to the voters that asked for permission to retain excess revenues for the early repayment of the Riverside Parkway bonds, which passed by 60% of the voters.

Mr. Varley left the City in May, 2007 and went to work for Orchard City, Colorado as Town Administrator.

Laurie Kadrich came to Grand Junction in January, 2007 after serving as Town Manager in Cody, Wyoming for several years, preceded by her serving as Assistant City Manager in Gillette, Wyoming. Ms. Kadrich had a strong law enforcement background as she served as a police officer and was promoted through the ranks prior to entering City administration work in Gillette. She served as Assistant City Manager to David Varley, and was appointed as City Manager in May, 2007.

Ms. Kadrich made many sweeping changes in her leadership team (department heads) and in the functioning aspects of the City’s organization. Development was still booming the first two years of her administration, then the economy declined and although slower to enter into the recession than the rest of the nation, Grand Junction did see sales revenues decline by 23%. Under Ms. Kadrich’s leadership, the organization was trimmed by 80+ employees, with several divisions being eliminated. Workforce reduction packages included early retirement for many long time employees and remaining employees agreed to take a 3% cut in pay across the board. As a local stimulus initiative, construction projects funded by the more stable enterprise funds (water and sewer), were instituted, keeping many local construction workers employed.

As the organization stabilized, creative ways were found to finance much needed Public Safety facilities – a new police station and a remodel of Fire Station No. 1. Thanks to a new 25 year contract with JUCO, and support of community partners, Stocker Stadium and Suplizio Field could be totally upgraded. This paved the way for a contract with a minor league baseball team to come to Grand Junction. The Grand Junction Rockies began their first season in June, 2012 in the newly renovated baseball field.

City Manager Laurie Kadrich left employment with the City on December 16, 2011. Deputy City Manager Rich Englehart was appointed Acting City Manager on December 19, 2011.

Rich Englehart was Deputy City Manager when he was appointed to Acting City Manager in December, 2011. Mr. Englehart had been appointed Deputy City Manager in 2008, having previously worked for the Delta Housing Authority and having served as Delta City Manager prior to that. Mr. Englehart had also previously worked for the City of Grand Junction in the Parks and Recreation Department in the 1980’s. On June 20, 2012, Mr. Englehart was appointed City Manager (Resolution No. 26-12).

Under Mr. Englehart’s leadership, the City adopted an Economic Development Plan to spur more economic development in the sluggish economy. Although the metro area was experiencing pre-recession growth and activity, Grand Junction, despite its diversification away from energy dependent industries, was slow to recover. The City Council hired a consulting firm to help improve Grand Junction’s position in the market for business relocation. Areas discussed included the need for better internet/broadband access, unified marketing strategy, and branding, to name a few.

Mr. Englehart resigned citing “increasing conflicts, both internally and externally” on June 24, 2015. His resignation was effective immediately. The City Council appointed Tim Moore as Interim City Manager on June 24, 2015.

Tim Moore was Deputy City Manager when appointed interim on June 24, 2015. He served while the City began recruitment of a City Manager. After Greg Caton was hired as City Manager, he returned to his position of Deputy City Manager. Mr. Moore left the City’s employ November 4, 2016.

Greg Caton started with the City on June 6, 2016. He came to Grand Junction from Oro Valley, Arizona, a community outside Tucson, where he had been serving as the town manager. Prior to joining the Town of Oro Valley, Mr. Caton served eight years as assistant city manager for the City of Durango, Colorado. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. Mr. Caton has received the Credentialed Manager designation from ICMA (International City/County Management Association), which is the premier municipal government leadership and management organization. Mr. Caton left the City’s employ on April 5, 2024, to take an Assistant City Manager position with the City of Scottsdale, AZ.

Andrea Phillips was hired as interim on April 8, 2024. She served as the Town Manager for the Town of Pagosa Springs from 2017-2023, and prior to that role, she served as the Town Manager for the Town of Mancos from 2013-2017. Before moving to southwest Colorado, Andrea held positions in the Finance Department for the City of Columbus, Ohio and for the State of Ohio. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her Master’s in Public Policy and Management from Ohio State University.