CREEDE— During the regular town board meeting of the City of Creede, the board heard comments from the public about the two candidates for the open manager’s position. The town has been looking for a new manager since hearing news of current Town Manager Clyde Dooley’s retirement.
During the public forum, several members of the audience spoke up and stated their opinions of the final two applicants for the position — Dan Rivera and Louis Fineberg. Both applicants underwent two separate interviews and were chosen out of a pool of 12 applicants.
A third applicant was removed from the list of potential finalists before the final interview that was held last week. Adam Olsen withdrew his application for personal reasons, leaving only two remaining. Final interviews were conducted Friday, Nov. 2.
One member of the audience spoke up in support of Rivera stating that he had spent several years in Creede and had Creede’s best interest at heart. Others that spoke up in favor of Rivera also stated that he has experience with the public and finances, having worked for Miners and Merchants Bank when it was in Creede.
Other members of the audience spoke in favor of Fineberg, stating that it would be in the town’s best interest to hire someone with past experience serving as a government official in other small, Colorado communities and that it would be good to bring new people to the area that would give the town fresh perspective.
Once board members listened to the comments made by the public, they exited the room and entered into executive session to discuss the topic amongst themselves. After several minutes the board reconvened in regular session and took a vote from the board. The board voted to hire Fineberg as the new Creede town manager.
Fineberg comes to Creede with 15 years’ experience as a planning director for several Colorado communities. He heard about the position through the Colorado Municipal League and is looking forward to working and living in the mountain community.
“We want to thank the public for their input and appreciate everyone for their participation in this search,” said Mayor Jeffery Larson.
The new manager will be relocating to the area in the next several weeks and will begin work with current Manager Dooley until the beginning of the new year.