{"id":2448720,"date":"2019-09-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-14T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=312838"},"modified":"2019-09-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-14T06:00:00","slug":"aspens-new-city-manager-ready-to-right-the-ship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspens-new-city-manager-ready-to-right-the-ship\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen\u2019s new city manager ready to right the ship"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7291666666667\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-312838-241\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"KELSEY BRUNNER | City Manager Sara Ott, left, talks to local Mark Rothman at the city of Aspen booth at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>City Manager Sara Ott, left, talks to local Mark Rothman at the city of Aspen booth at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>KELSEY BRUNNER<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2.jpg\" alt=\"City Manager Sara Ott, left, talks to local Mark Rothman at the city of Aspen booth at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"KELSEY BRUNNER | Aspen City Manager Sara Ott, center, listens as Chris Everson, left, and Amy Mountjoy talk about affordable housing projects at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"15\">\n<p><strong>Aspen City Manager Sara Ott, center, listens as Chris Everson, left, and Amy Mountjoy talk about affordable housing projects at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>KELSEY BRUNNER<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen City Manager Sara Ott, center, listens as Chris Everson, left, and Amy Mountjoy talk about affordable housing projects at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"KELSEY BRUNNER | Aspen City Manager Sara Ott leans down to talk to her son Wesley Ott, 9, while standing at the city of Aspen booth at the weekly farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Aspen City Manager Sara Ott leans down to talk to her son Wesley Ott, 9, while standing at the city of Aspen booth at the weekly farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>KELSEY BRUNNER<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Ott-atd-09XX19-2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen City Manager Sara Ott leans down to talk to her son Wesley Ott, 9, while standing at the city of Aspen booth at the weekly farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/aspens-new-city-manager-ready-to-right-the-ship\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/aspens-new-city-manager-ready-to-right-the-ship\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Now that Sara Ott has secured the Aspen City Manager job, she said she\u2019s ready to embark on a listening tour to find out what the community wants its government to be focusing on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAs a community, we need to do some priority setting,\u201d she said earlier this month on her first day as the permanent replacement to former city manager Steve Barwick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Prior to being asked to resign in January, Barwick reigned over the municipal government for 19 years, which is considered a long tenure compared to other places.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ott, though she has been interim city manager since February, represents a significant change at the top that will eventually be felt in the community, according to Aspen\u2019s elected officials who <a id=\"N0x1c98930N0x1cd20f0:N0x1c98930N0x1c9a010\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/sara-ott-offered-job-as-aspen-city-manager-council-set-to-decide-tuesday\/\">chose her<\/a> over 63 other candidates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m interested in walking neighborhoods with people who live in them,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about opportunities for drop-in (sessions) at maybe a local business or a park. \u2026 I want to meet people where they are, go to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There is a lot of work to be done as Ott settles into the job, including staffing up the city manager\u2019s office that has two vacancies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ott left the assistant city manager seat to fill in for Barwick\u2019s departure. Her colleague, former assistant city manager Barry Crook, was asked to resign in December.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s been total triage since January,\u201d Ott said. \u201cI\u2019ll be using the time in the next few months to sort it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She said as the top administrator of the city government, it\u2019s her obligation to see if she can bring the parties back to the table to sort out the voter-approved Lift One development at the base of Aspen Mountain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Michael and Aaron Brown, the developers of Lift One Lodge, one of the key partners in the Lift One corridor project, <a id=\"N0x1c98930N0x1cd2150:N0x1c98930N0x1c9a400\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-mountains-base-development-plan-blows-up\/\">declared in July<\/a> they were walking away because of their eroding confidence in the Gorsuch Haus group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In March, Aspen voters narrowly approved more than 320,000 square feet of commercial space, including the timeshare project that is Lift One Lodge and the Gorsuch Haus, an 81-room luxury hotel at the western base of Aspen Mountain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Along with those properties came a new chairlift to Dean Street, a ski museum, a bar and restaurant, an underground parking garage and open space that would serve as a return ski way in the winter and gardens in the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><a id=\"N0x1c98930N0x1cd21b0:N0x1c98930N0x1c9a5f8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/lift-one-project-on-aspen-mountain-in-peril\/\">Most of that is gone now<\/a>, including the chairlift coming down the hill 500 feet farther than it is currently, as well as a $4.36 million city contribution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Instead, the Browns are relying on their 2011-approved project, which includes roughly 100,000 square feet with 22 timeshare units and five residential condos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think it\u2019s a conversation we need to have; I feel an obligation to the taxpayers to see if we have a deal. \u2026 It\u2019s unfortunate if not,\u201d Ott said. \u201cThe parties need to restore trust in one another and everyone has to go in with good intent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Outside of Lift One, Ott said she wants to have some in-depth conversations with her bosses, Aspen City Council, to see what priorities they want to focus on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She added that she\u2019s been thinking about creating a strategic plan based on community and council feedback that would outlive elected officials\u2019 tenure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMost communities have strategic plans,\u201d Ott said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council has been clear that it wants to focus on creating affordable housing and child care opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The city is moving forward with building <a id=\"N0x1c98930N0x1cd2210:N0x1c98930N0x1c9aa78\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspens-electeds-sign-off-on-1-5m-in-contracts-to-build-affordable-housing\/\">hundreds of affordable housing units<\/a>, with a big chunk being planned at the Harbert Lumberyard property, which the government bought in 2007.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The city is asking for public feedback on that site, as well as others, on what should be built there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere are a lot of wants coming from the community on the lumberyard,\u201d Ott said. \u201cWe can\u2019t put everything the town needs on that site; we have to work on reality, not dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ott, 41, and her family moved to Aspen in 2017 from Ohio when she took the assistant city manager job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIn the last two and a half years, my husband and I have realized that we live in a highly engaged community that has a commitment to addressing long-term issues that will outlive all of us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the past eight months as interim city manager, Ott said she has learned that the municipality has some catching up to do with best practices internally with staff and operations, and externally with citizens in how they access and use government services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ott said she feels there has been some progress made since she took over in two key areas: the city\u2019s communication with the community and the municipal government\u2019s relationship with Pitkin County, both of which were strained in recent years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI believe I had a little part in that,\u201d she said, while acknowledging that council members, county commissioners and county manager Jon Peacock have worked toward better relationships this year. \u201cIt\u2019s paying dividends in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:csackariason@aspentimes.com\">csackariason@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/aspens-new-city-manager-ready-to-right-the-ship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>City Manager Sara Ott, left, talks to local Mark Rothman at the city of Aspen booth at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)KELSEY BRUNNER Aspen City Manager Sara Ott, center, listens as Chris Everson, left, and Amy Mountjoy talk about affordable housing projects at the farmer\u2019s market on Saturday, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2448720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-26 17:44:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2448720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2448720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2448720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2448720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}