Durango is a better place to live and work thanks to two individuals, Amber Blake and Cathy Metz, soon to leave their city posts.
Blake provided her expertise to plan for cleaner transportation and make operations more sustainable, and was promoted because of her abilities to assistant city manager. Her good works are colored bike lanes on streets and bike boxes at intersections, making bicycle travel safe and the Bike-to-Work week.
Blake stepped in as interim manager while councilors searched to fill the leadership position and she impressively guided the city, its resources and its personnel through some difficulties, not the least of which was a pandemic.
For 25 years, Metz implemented our vision for open spaces and natural lands in her position as director of Parks and Recreation. Under her supervision, the number of parks grew to 35, including Oxbow Preserve, Whitewater Park, Smith Sport Complex and the Community Recreation Center. Metz worked to get a funding mechanism approved by residents and has obtained grants from the state kitty for expansion of our shared parks and recreation facilities. Metz’s many achievements provide reminders of how she improved the quality of life for soccer youth, intrepid kayakers, avid bird-watchers and all of us.
The two of them exemplify the best in public service, devoting their careers to making Durango a most appealing place to call home and a most attractive spot to visit. We will miss them, but we are grateful for the legacies they leave.
Mike Matz
Durango
