Archuleta County Manager Jack Harper’s resignation was unanimously accepted during Tuesday’s Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) meeting.
Following an executive session that was convened for legal advice and personnel matters, the board directed staff to hold a conversation and announced that the regular meeting would be recessed for about 15 minutes.
After calling the meeting back to order, Commissioner Veronica Medina explained that, according to staff, Harper would be resigning.
The board then voted unanimously to accept his resignation.
Harper was originally hired for the county manager position in August 2024, with current commissioners Medina and Warren Brown being involved in that decision.
Brown voted against the hiring of Harper, while Medina and then-commissioner Ronnie Maez voted in favor of hiring Harper.
Since March 2019, Archuleta County has had three different county managers/administrators, including Harper.
Harper could not be reached for comment on the matter to The SUN following Tuesday’s meeting.
The BoCC scheduled a special meeting for today, Aug. 21, at 8:30 a.m, at the administration building located at 398 Lewis St.
The meeting’s agenda consists of two new business items: discussions regarding county manager vacancy, and consideration and designation of supervision of county departments.
Commissioner and staff comments
In an interview on Wednesday, Aug. 20, County Attorney Cathleen Giovannini explained that Harper’s resignation was effective immediately.
She also explained that following the executive session held on Aug. 19, the BoCC directed staff to have a conversation with Harper while the regular meeting was recessed for 15 minutes.
She indicated that it was just herself and Harper involved in that conversation and “he kind of decided to go ahead and resign, and that’s what he did.”
In a separate interview, Commissioner John Ranson explained that the commissioners have “had some discussions about in the interim and also in the longer term, what we’re gonna be looking for.”
He explained that some of the discussions have been about people in-house potentially taking on the interim county manager role.
“We have just such good managers in these various departments that we have,” he said, adding that it’s fair to say that “several of them have been very frustrated.”
Ranson noted that having someone in-house serve as the interim county manager would likely only be a short-term solution as the county plans on doing a bigger search for a permanent candidate.
He noted there are some “really, really strong candidates” in the community that might also be a good fit for a short-term interim role.
As far as planning for the immediate short-term, Ranson explained there have been discussions about “potentially commissioners taking on different departments, which I’m not a big fan of.”
He added, “We don’t need to micromanage.”
Ranson indicated that there should be more “solid information” after this morning’s meeting to share.
Ranson also expressed that the commissioners, or at least himself, are wanting to find a county manager that is able to dedicate time to working with other department managers, the community and the commissioners.
“All three of us really want to find a manager that can devote time to working with the commissioners to do the objectives and goals that we’ve set forth, and that comes from the people,” he said, explaining the BoCC will be reaching out to the community to see what improvements or changes can be made.
He added, “We just want to listen to the people and try to build this new county manager to hear some very clear-cut objectives … and let that manager do his or her job.”
Ranson explained that the county is going to be looking for someone who is very active in their role and with communicating to the commissioners, public and with other county staff.
“We want somebody that can really communicate in-house, ‘cause we have phenomenal people … but they need a manager that’s really gonna be communicative with them,” he said.
Ranson clarified that he is not wanting someone who will be “over managing or micromanaging,” and that the department managers “just want to feel like they’re part of the management team.”
Ranson added that, “This isn’t saying anything bad about [Harper], it’s just we haven’t had that to where, at least in my opinion, we’ve been spinning our [wheels].”
He went on to explain that he feels there are things that folks in the community are asking the commissioners to do, and look into.
He used the plan for a new county administration building as an example, noting there is stuff the county should already have decided, “and we’re not.”
He went on to mention the county will be looking for a “hands-on” manager, but is not looking to micromanage its departments.
“We just haven’t had that kind of leadership,” he said, adding, “We wish [Harper] the best, we really do.”
Ranson also commented that moving forward over the next few weeks, the direction the county is heading, “it’s gonna be good for everybody.”
He also explained that the county is prioritizing filling multiple vacancies in its building and planning departments.
“We definitely need to shore that up,” he said, explaining he does not want to be delaying builders at this time of year.
In a separate interview, Brown, when asked about the county’s multiple vacancies, explained that hiring employees is “always a challenge,” in regard to time frames and finances.
“People come and go all the time. Unfortunately, we’re at a point where we’ve had a number of key individuals who have chosen to go elsewhere,” Brown said, also expressing that he wishes the best for those folks. “But, for Archuleta County, we just continue to do the best we can to serve the public.”
Multiple attempts to reach Commissioner Veronica Medina Wednesday for comment were unsuccessful.
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