New town clerk loves Windsor's growth

By T.M. Fasano
tfasano@mywindsornow.com

Patti Garcia can’t wait to begin her new job as Windsor town clerk in October.

Windsor town manager Kelly Arnold announced Monday that Garcia of Granby has been named the new town clerk. Garcia, 44, is replacing Cathy Kennedy, who retired in August. Garcia will make $55,000, and her first day in Windsor will be Oct. 13. Arnold said more than 50 people applied for the job, five were invited for interviews and four ended up being interviewed for the position.

“She’s got some really good knowledge and experience, and just a different perspective,” Arnold said. “She really has an interest of coming back here and being a part of Windsor.”

Garcia has served as Town Clerk for Winter Park, a resort community, since 2004. Garcia said in a telephone interview from Winter Park on Tuesday that she’s excited to work in another area of municipal government in the state.

“My ultimate goal is to be a city manager. I think it’s important for me to be well rounded and know more than just how a resort community runs itself, but how another community works,” said Garcia, who grew up in Broomfield.

Arnold said an assessment center interview was held where he asked people who worked with the town clerk on a regular basis to conduct the primary interview including someone from the town attorney’s office, Town staff, a Town Board member representative and a practicing town clerk from another town.

“What they looked at were the technical skills, the personal skills and leadership skills,” Arnold said. “She ranked highest. When I got done with her interview, I was convinced she was the right person.”

Garcia and her husband, John, have three children. She’s excited about moving to a town that is closing in on 20,000 in population.

“I love that it’s a growing community. As soon as I drove in, you see the newer portion as you come off I-25,” Garcia said. “As you hit town, the older stores fronts, the lake was just very appealing.”

The town clerk provides a number of professional services to the Town Board and the citizens of the Town, including preparing agendas and minutes of Town Board meetings, liquor licenses, conducting elections and overseeing municipal records retention.

Garcia said Winter Park has only 662 full-time residents, and 80 percent of the residents are second-home owners.

“I have 80 percent that show up maybe two or three weeks out of the year who want to be very involved with what’s happening in the town as far as ordinances that are being passed and new laws that are enacted,” Garcia said. “That has been a real challenge here to keep everybody on board and advised at what’s happening. I’m really excited to be in a community where people actually live, that is what they call home, and they have a vested interest in what happens.”