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Grand Lake Town Manager Jim White is gearing up for his official retirement.
Last week, officials from the town of Grand Lake released a statement announcing White’s impending retirement. According to officials from the town, White is set to officially enter retirement June 28, 2019.
“The Board and Mr. White reached an amicable decision to allow his early retirement from the position he has held since Jan. 15, 2015,” read the statement from the town. “Jim and his wife Amy will continue to live in Grand Lake where they will remain involved in their community volunteerism and love of the area.”
White’s tenure has been a recurring topic of contention for the Grand Lake Town Board in recent years. White’s continued administration of the municipal government was a topic of discussion for many candidates in the town’s most recent board of trustees election, in April 2018. During that election several candidates expressed their support for or opposition to White’s continued management of the town as a plank within their candidacy’s overall platform.
In early April of this year White narrowly survived an attempt by several board members to terminate his contract as town manager. That vote resulted in a 4-3 split of the town board, with the majority voting against the measure. In late May, the topic of White’s tenure came back before the Grand Lake Board of Trustees for further discussion. Following that discussion, which took place in executive session, the Grand Lake board announced White’s impending retirement.
White’s contract, to serve as Grand Lake town manager, was set to extend through the end of 2019. As part of his early retirement Grand Lake has provided White with a severance package with a total value of roughly $70,000.
“It is what it is,” said Mayor Jim Peterson with a sense of resignation. “Whether I was for or against it is neither here nor there. A deal was worked out amongst the parties.”
Peterson was among White’s defenders on the Grand Lake town board and voted against his ouster in early April. Because of the nature of personnel related issues, which are kept confidential under Colorado statutes, Peterson was not able to elaborate on the nature of the conversations that led to White’s retirement announcement and referred to the deal worked out between White and the town as being based on “mutual consent.”
A retirement party for White is scheduled to take place on June 28 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Grand Lake Community House, located in the Town Square Park. The public is invited to attend.
Originally from Chicago, White was selected to serve as Grand Lake town manager in late 2014. His tenure with the municipal government officially began on Jan. 15, 2015. Prior to taking his position with Grand Lake, White served as town manager for Minturn in central Colorado.
White began his career in public administration in 1995 not far from Grand Lake in Idaho Springs. He went on to work for the U.S. Department of Commerce on the 2000 census before becoming the town manager for the community of Berthoud, located on Interstate 25 north of Denver.