Grand Lake appoints interim town manager, plans to hire new manager in early 2025

Following the departure of one town manager this summer, the town of Grand Lake hired another town manager, Guy Patterson, who resigned less than three months after accepting the position. The town is planning to hire another town manager in early 2025 with more input from the community and town staff.

At the Sept. 23 meeting, the board appointed Grand Lake Mayor Steve Kudron — who accepted — the role of interim town manager. Kudron runs the Quacker Gift Shop in Grand Lake and said that as the summer winds down, he’s confident that he’ll have time to work as the interim town manager.

Kudron explained to Sky-Hi News that since accepting the position, he’s spoken directly to town staff about goals and expectations until a new town manager is hired.

In Patterson’s resignation letter, he detailed several grievances that he had with the town administration during his time as town manager. These grievances included housing, a dysfunctional administrative structure and the town’s work culture. The resignation letter reads that the town of Grand Lake should seek an administrator “more closely aligned with their culture.”

Patterson’s resignation was accepted at the Sept. 23 Grand Lake Board of Trustees meeting. Kudron confirmed that the town manager was terminated by the board due to cultural misfit, management style issues and some misaligned expectations. He explained that the board was looking for a town manager who could implement ideas that the board had, shape up the town’s policies and procedures, and work closely with staff.

“I think we swung the pendulum too far, where we hired a manager whose managerial acumen or desire is more of a city office where people are task-driven, where they go in and they sit in their office and they know what they’re supposed to do, and they talk to the manager a few times a year or when they need an executive decision,” Kudron explained.

He emphasized that the board wanted a town manager that recognized the importance of community involvement and staff development.

“We found that, as we are growing up, some of the small town ways are a little more challenging,” Kudron said. “The board decided that we’re going to make this a process that includes staff as well as the community. We’re looking at our next manager hire to be made in the first part of 2025.”

The interim town manager also addressed some of the remarks made in Patterson’s letter of resignation.

Patterson wrote about how he had been promised housing by the town and was surprised to find out that two other town employees were already living in the housing that he was promised to live in beginning Oct. 1. Not wanting to evict these employees, Patterson asked for this to be struck from his contract.

Kudron explained that this situation came as the result of miscommunication between the previous town manager and town staff. He explained that the town is currently looking at other ways to assist the future town manager with housing, including a $2,000 monthly housing allowance.

Kudron also addressed the issue of a resident who was unable to bury a relative in the Grand Lake Cemetery because the town failed to dig a hole when requested. He called the incident a “shortcoming” of the town and shared plans to improve town processes.

“Before the end of the year, I’m going to implement not only memos and action item worksheets, but we’re also going to start work order worksheets for our cemetery and for public works,” Kudron said.

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