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Routt County narrows choice of assistant manager to two candidates

Assistant county manager finalists to be presented to public Friday

Tom Ross
Scott Aker, left, and Dan Weinheimer have been named finalists for Routt County's newly created assistant county manager position.
Courtesy Photo

— Routt County Manager Tom Sullivan plans to introduce the two finalists for the newly created position of assistant county manager to the public at noon April 22 at the Routt County Courthouse.

The new assistant county administrator will have primary responsibility for overseeing Routt County building, planning and environmental health, Sullivan said. The bottom of the pay scale for the position is $99,341, but that could be adjusted based upon the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

The Board of County Commissioners authorized Sullivan to advertise the position in late January, acknowledging the successful candidate needs to help supervise 12 department heads and an office manager.



County Commissioner Cari Hermacinski said Tuesday she was encouraged by the qualifications of the candidates who expressed interest in the job. And Commissioner Tim Corrigan said he thought the quality of the field of candidates reflected well on Routt County.

“I sat in on four interviews, and I was really impressed,” Hermacinski said. “I told Tom Sullivan that, when you have a tough choice at the end, that’s a good position to be in. All four who interviewed talked about wanting to live in the area because of the lifestyle.”



The finalists are Scott Aker, deputy human services director for Mesa County, and Dan Weinheimer, legislative policy manager for the city manager in Fort Collins. A third, would-be finalist, a woman employed as a municipal manager for a small Front Range community, withdrew from consideration, Sullivan said, after considering the cost of housing here.

Sullivan said Aker has worked at his position for Mesa County for more than four years and was director of the Western Slope office of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority from 2007 to 2011.

“Any human service director has to have an understanding of finance,” Sullivan said. “He had a lot of responsibility.”

Aker’s references include the CEO of the Grand Junction Housing Authority and the Director of Mesa County United Way. He also received positive comments from the Mesa County administrator. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public affairs (the equivalent of public administration), both from Indiana University.

The second finalist, Weinheimer, has been with the city of Fort Collins since January 2012, where he serves as legislative policy manager. His responsibilities include oversight of capital projects, as well as researching oil and gas industry policies and railroad crossings.

Before taking his position in Fort Collins, Weinheimer worked for the cities of San Marcos and Carlsbad, California. He earned an undergraduate degree in history and sociology and a master’s degree in public administration, both from the University of Southern California.

His references include Sam Mamet, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, and Sullivan said he has a good deal of respect for Windheimer’s boss, Fort Collins City Manager Darin Atteberry.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205, email tross@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @ThomasSRoss1


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