Durango’s new city manager, José Madrigal, has barely unpacked his bags, but he has already met with 300 staff members, multiple community groups and hit up several pizza joints around town.
Madrigal, formerly a government consultant and department director in Texas, arrived in Durango mid-September with a 100-day management plan in hand. Thirty days in, he’s ticking off tasks faster than he expected while keeping his eye on managing for efficiency.
“I’ve done pretty well on the outreach side,” Madrigal said. “I’ve had an opportunity to meet with some of the key influencers.”
Madrigal was an interim waste services director in Irving, Texas, and an executive management consultant for several municipal governments. He brought 18 years of experience in municipal government, 14 of which have been at the executive level, with him to Durango.
During the hiring process, he outlined a 100-day plan describing how he would tackle leading a new organization, particularly in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. The goal is to see what city government is doing well, where it needs to improve and where it needs to be more active.
He has already met one-on-one with department directors and conducted town hall meetings with staff members – a “very weird” task when most people are working remotely because of the pandemic.
Durango has more than 300 full-time employees, but City Hall is virtually empty, Madrigal said. Speaking to groups of 40 to 50 employees during town hall meetings, Madrigal was the only one sharing his video. Others preferred to join the online video conference using audio only.
“It was weird. It feels like I’m preparing for a speech,” Madrigal said. “I’m in a room talking to a lot of people, but I don’t get to see them. It’s kind of eerie. You’re leading an organization, and you really want to get to know them, but you can’t.”
He has joined community meetings with the Durango Business Improvement District, Local First, La Plata Economic Alliance and the Durango Chamber of Commerce. He has not yet visited Ignacio, Bayfield or the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, he said.
He’s about to embark on other tasks outlined in the plan, such as looking at ways to make the city staff’s workflow more efficient and setting goals for city government with City Council.
Madrigal is also diving into some of the city’s top issues.
He is working with La Plata County on an alternative location for the designated camp for unhoused individuals, currently located near Purple Cliffs along La Posta Road (County Road 213).
Madrigal is getting a first-hand look at Durango’s housing market, another top issue.
“Housing’s an incredibly difficult thing,” Madrigal said. “In McKinney, a 4,500-square-foot home runs about $450,000. Here, that’s like $2-3 million. It’s really adjusting to the difference in the home values here.”
Outside of his 60- to 80-hour work weeks, Madrigal spends his free time with his kids, watching college football (his team is Texas Tech), going on hikes and golfing. The family plans to join St. Columba Catholic Church.
He hasn’t found his local hangout yet, but he and the family have tried some Durango classics, such as Carver Brewing Co., Homeslice Pizza and Fired Up Pizzeria.
“My boys love pizza,” he said.
When it comes to unpacking, the family is taking it slow while living in a townhouse near Fort Lewis College.
“All of our stuff is in storage somewhere in Durango. My wife knows where it is, I don’t,” Madrigal said. “We’re enjoying it, and we’re really happy to take a break without having to pack and move.”
smullane@durangoherald.com
