John Scarffe, Gilpin County.  The general public and the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners had an opportunity to meet new county manager, Abel Montoya, during a reception at the Gilpin County Community Center on Wednesday, October 3, 2018, starting at 5:30 p.m. The board hired Montoya as county manager on August 21, and he started in the job on Monday, August 27, 2018, following the departure of former manager, Leslie Klusmire.

Montoya is a Colorado native and has spent his whole life in the Denver area, currently living in Thornton. He grew up in the Sloan’s Lake area and attended a private catholic school before attending the University of Colorado, Boulder, and earning a degree in environmental design within the School of Architecture and Planning. He also received a master’s degree in regional and urban planning.

Following school, he worked in the Washington, D.C. Office of Congressman Gene Green from Texas. He then worked for Congresswoman Debra Ortega in Denver while the new Mile High Stadium was under construction.

He also worked for the Denver Housing and Neighborhood Development Service assisting economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. He then started out with Adams County as an entry level planner. He eventually moved up to planning manager and director of planning and development, working with oil, gas and marijuana regulations as well as water topics.

Montoya also worked as director of long-range strategic planning, working with ten cities and towns to formulate a collective way forward, he said. As director of regional affairs with Adams County, he worked on the homeless program and formed a neighborhood congress.

Working on economic development with Denver International Airport, he helped develop an agreement that allows 50 percent of DIA revenues to be given to Adams County, and he helped amend a capital improvement plan that accounts for $4 billion of improvements in Adams County.

The Meeting Room at the Community Center soon filled with Gilpin County residents and commissioners. They enjoyed a wide variety of refreshments and a chance to meet the new county manager.

(Originally published in the October 11, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)