Council Selects City Manager Finalists and Will Host Online Forum March 7

The City of Fort Collins has narrowed its search for a new City Manager to six finalists who will participate in interviews and selection events with City Council, City staff, and community stakeholders throughout March, including an online community forum on March 7.

The finalists are:

• Kelly DiMartino, current interim city manager and former deputy city manager, senior assistant city manager and assistant city manager for the City of Fort Collins.
• Tobin Follenweider, current deputy executive director for the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, and former chief operating officer for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
• Marianna Marysheva, current assistant city manager and former interim city manager for the City of Irvine, California, and former assistant city manager for the cities of Riverside and Oakland, California.
• Jennifer Phillips, former city manager for the cities of Bothell, Washington, and St. Helena, California, and former assistant city manager for the cities of Santa Rosa and Santa Monica, California.
• Charles “Chip” Place, former managing director of capital programs for the Houston Parks Board and former deputy general manager for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.
• Jim Thompson, current city manager for the City of Scottsdale, Ariz., former interim director of finance and accounting for the City of Tucson, Arizona, and former city manager for the City of Casa Grande, Arizona.

Additional information about each candidate will be available at ourcity.fcgov.com/citymanager.

The City Manager serves as the chief executive of the municipal organization and reports directly to the elected City Council. They are responsible for the day-to-day operations and performance of the organization, including delivering a wide variety of City services to the community.

Candidate Forum

The City will host an online public forum with the candidates from 6-7:30 pm Monday, March 7. Community members are invited to view the forum live online and may submit questions for consideration in advance. Questions will be vetted by the City’s Human Resources staff and may be asked during the public forum or during panel interviews.

The link and instructions to view the forum will be posted at ourcity.fcgov.com/citymanager in advance of the event. Spanish interpretation will be provided.

Selection Process

While the selection of a new City Manager will be done by the full City Council, an Ad Hoc City Manager Selection Process Committee was formed to guide recruitment and selection. The ad hoc committee includes Mayor Jeni Arndt, Councilmember Susan Gutowsky, and Councilmember Shirley Peel.

In the fall of 2021, the City hosted listening sessions with several community members, stakeholders, and City staff to help shape the position description. In January, City Council reviewed 97 applicants and narrowed the field of candidates to 19 semifinalists. The six finalists will participate in selection activities through March, including on-site interviews from March 24-26.

The new City Manager will replace Darin Atteberry, who left the organization in the summer of 2021 after 17 years in the role. The City enlisted the support of SGR to lead the search.