At a Sept. 29 special meeting, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors interviewed and discussed the board’s two finalists for its open general manager position.
The position is open due to current District Engineer/Manager Justin Ramsey’s upcoming retirement from the district.
The two finalists are current PAWSD Operations Manager Andrew Connor and Dillon Cottingham, currently a mechanical engineer at the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD).
The board interviewed each candidate in open session at the meeting, starting with Cottingham and moving on to Connor, and asked each candidate the same set of questions.
Cottingham interview
Cottingham answered a question about his experience managing employees by highlighting his experience managing diverse teams of staff within the LVVWD to repair issues within the district, as well as his experience working with managing engineering consultants or contractors working on projects for the LVVWD.
He explained that he has been coming to the Pagosa Springs area for his entire life and both he and his wife have family in Pagosa.
He stated that he had done high-level research of PAWSD’s service area and infrastructure, but would need to work more with PAWSD staff to fully understand how the district manages its water and wastewater.
Cottingham stated that he has certifications in wastewater engineering and treatment and has designed municipal wastewater systems in the past, although he does not work with wastewater at the LVVWD since wastewater is handled by a separate district.
He indicated that he expects there to be a learning curve associated with learning PAWSD’s current treatment methods, although he understood PAWSD’s general goals in terms of water treatment.
He stated that his leadership style when dealing with conflict is “straightforward” and focuses on attempting to encourage conversation and engagement about difficult issues, although he mentioned that he believes that human resources is best suited to dealing with particularly difficult employees and conflicts.
Cottingham indicated that the LVVWD has a water loss rate below 15 percent, compared to PAWSD’s rates, which often rise to 40 percent water loss.
Discussing his ideal timeline for when he would start, Cottingham stated that PAWSD appears to want a manager who would start at the first of the year and work alongside Ramsey for several months before assuming control at the beginning of July 2026.
He indicated that this timeline would be feasible for him.
Cottingham added that his family has discussed moving to Pagosa Springs for a decade and that he would like to retire in Pagosa Springs.
Reducing water loss and operational costs would be his highest priorities in managing the district, Cottingham stated.
He indicated that he would reduce water loss by increasing the number of meters and improving pressure monitoring, among other approaches.
He stated that reducing water loss would reduce PAWSD’s operational costs and provide benefits to the community.
Cottingham noted that raw water storage is a major point of concern in the community and that he would want to have further discussion of storage needs and the community’s desire for growth in planning PAWSD’s water storage goals.
When discussing the structure he currently works under, Cottingham indicated that he reports to a manager with several levels of management between him and the LVVWD board, although he manages a budget approximately the size of PAWSD’s.
He added that he works closely with the LVVWD legal counsel on projects and has some experience working with water rights in the past, although he does not work with water rights at the LVVWD.
PAWSD board member Bill Hudson asked Cottingham about his opinion on the controversy about the Running Iron Ranch and the reservoir project planned by the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) at the site.
Cottingham commented that previous population growth estimates for the area have been inaccurately large and that he would want to focus on what the community’s goals are for growth.
He added that he was unclear what the purpose of the reservoir would be since PAWSD appears to currently have sufficient amounts of water.
Cottingham added that he had significant questions about a proposal by Zipper Valley Ranch to purchase Running Iron Ranch and allow the development of a reservoir there, although he indicated that he would want to investigate options to remove PAWSD from the Running Iron Ranch and prevent the district from incurring further financial losses.
Cottingham stated that he could start on Jan. 2, 2026, although he would prefer to start on June 23, 2026, since that would allow him to become vested in his pension at the LVVWD.
Cottingham commented that he joined the LVVWD with the goal of gaining experience that would make him a strong candidate for working at a water district in a smaller town, and that his and his wife’s goal has been to move to and live in a smaller town.
Connor interview
Connor explained that he is originally from Pennsylvania and spent five years in the Army as a machinist and welder before moving to Colorado.
He stated that he took a distribution technician position at PAWSD in October 2006 and worked his way up to his current position, managing PAWSD’s water plants before becoming operations manager in 2023.
He explained that he oversees six departments at PAWSD, including water, wastewater, collections and metering, and develops and manages budgets for these departments.
Connor stated that he has worked for every PAWSD department except for its office staff and is able to run all of PAWSD’s water and wastewater plants.
He explained that he oversees a variety of projects for the district, including regulatory compliance upgrades to the Vista Wastewater Treatment Plant and PAWSD’s involvement with the U.S. 160 reconstruction project, among other work.
Connor indicated that he has deep connections in the community, owns a home in the community and has a strong understanding of weather in the Pagosa Springs area.
He stated that his goals for the district in the next five years would be to reduce PAWSD’s water leaks and improve pipe replacement, including improving coordination of pipe replacements with road construction.
He added that he would want to increase continuing education and improve working conditions for PAWSD staff to improve staff retention.
Connor indicated that he would also want to work on connecting PAWSD’s uptown and downtown water distribution systems.
He stated that he has limited experience with the legal aspects of PAWSD’s work and its involvement with water rights, and would need assistance from other staff on these topics.
PAWSD board member Glenn Walsh asked Connor what kind of timeline he believes the district is on to improve its issues with water loss.
He stated that the district is currently working on collecting data about where the water is being lost and will then need to fix the specific pipes where loss is occurring.
He indicated that this would be a lengthy process and would potentially take years.
Connor added that he would want to take measures like using more durable types of water line to reduce leaks in the future.
He indicated that he would be willing to make a commitment to work for the district for at least four years as general manager, although he stated that he cannot be sure of his exact plans beyond that due to uncertainty about what his children may do.
Connor stated that he deals with conflict “head on” and prioritizes listening to and understanding the perspectives of people involved in a conflict before taking action.
Legal issues and water rights would be his largest learning curve, Connor stated.
He indicated that he would stay in his position if PAWSD hired Cottingham and would still be committed to working for the district.
In response to a question from Hudson, Connor indicated that he would prioritize understanding all the facts and positions in handling the conflicts surrounding the Running Iron Ranch.
Connor added that he would be willing to start at any time if he were offered the position.
Walsh asked Connor about his relationships with other PAWSD staff and how these might complement his limitations or areas where he has less experience.
Connor commented that he has strong relationships with other members of the PAWSD leadership, including Ramsey and Programs Manager Renee Lewis, whom he previously worked for when she was general manager for PAWSD.
Candidate discussion
Following the interviews and discussion of whether to discuss the candidates in open or executive session, the PAWSD board shared general thoughts on the two candidates.
Hudson indicated that he was impressed with both candidates but would lean toward Connor due to his experience with the district.
PAWSD board member Bruce Jones commented that he was highly impressed with Cottingham and would currently lean toward hiring Cottingham for his strengths, especially since the district would also retain Connor’s experience.
Walsh stated that he was impressed with both candidates, but would currently favor Connor.
However, he added that he would be interested in considering hiring Cottingham as a district engineer while Connor served as the general manager.
PAWSD board chairman Gene Tautges commented that he was concerned about Cottingham’s lack of experience working for a board of directors.
He added that PAWSD would also likely continue contracting engineers no matter who the general manager is, which may lessen the need for the district to have an engineer on staff.
Tautges commented that he would lean toward hiring Connor.
Boehmer commented that the district does not necessarily have to replicate Ramsey’s combination of management and engineering experience and that there could be benefits to hiring a district engineer in addition to a general manager.
Boehmer stated that he was leaning toward Connor for general manager, but that Cottingham could be an ideal candidate for district engineer.
Ramsey commented that a district engineer would likely not have enough work for a full-time position and that many of PAWSD’s projects require multiple engineers simultaneously, reducing the value of having a district engineer.
He added that most of the engineering work in the district involves overseeing construction of projects designed by outside engineers.
The board then voted to move into executive session to discuss the district manager position, as well as the Running Iron Ranch.
Under Colorado state law, no employment offer can be made until at least 14 days after finalists are announced.
Correction
In the article “PAWSD selects two finalists for district manager position” in the Sept. 25 issue of The SUN, Cottingham was incorrectly referred to as Dylan Cunningham.
The SUN regrets the error.
josh@pagosasun.com
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