Greeley City Council on Tuesday welcomed two new faces to the city that will expand the city’s work on housing and its finance department.
Mayor John Gates at Tuesday night’s city council meeting recognized the city’s new housing director, Deb Callies, whose first day was Feb. 8, and the city’s new budget and policy department director, Caleb Weitz, whose first day was Thursday.
Gates also announced Diana Frick will permanently become director of the culture, parks and recreation department, a role she’s filled on an interim basis since September.
Finally, city council approved a resolution naming Deputy City Attorney Stacey Aurzada the city attorney upon the retirement of City Attorney Doug Marek on March 1. Aurzada has served as deputy city attorney for 11 years, which is also how long Marek has served as the city attorney.
Aurzada also previously served as the interim city clerk prior to the arrival of City Clerk Heidi Leatherwood, who started at the city in May 2022.
As the housing director, Callies will be responsible for housing resiliency and strategic planning for the city as it grows rapidly, Gates said. Her professional background includes more than 20 years in housing management and development, workforce development and federal, state and local grant management.
Callies is tasked with overseeing the “full spectrum of housing in Greeley from affordable to executive-level housing,” Gates said. She will also lead strategic partnerships with for-profit developers, business executives, new businesses considering Greeley, bankers and planners of high-end executive homes and communities, according to the city.
“We are thrilled to have Deb as our new Housing Director,” City Manager Raymond Lee said in a news release. “Deb’s extensive background in strategic development will be instrumental in leading change and shaping planned growth for the City of Greeley.”
Gates on Tuesday complimented Callies’ resume, which includes serving as the housing investment manager for the city of Longmont and the housing supervisor for the Loveland Housing Authority. Callies, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Northern Colorado, has completed certification programs including Housing Development Finance, Multifamily Housing Specialist, Housing Choice Voucher Occupancy Specialist, Developing and Managing Project-Based Voucher Specialist, and Supervision and Management.
“I look forward to serving the Greeley community through strategic housing development and preservation, and in a way that is inclusive of the full spectrum of housing needs — from affordable to executive,” Callies said in the release.
As the budget and policy director, Weitz will lead the budget and policy vision and strategy for the city, in addition to organizational initiatives overseeing budget analysts and capital improvement program staff. Weitz will work alongside the citizen’s budget advisory committee to ensure funds are spent in the community’s best interest, according to the city.
Interim Finance Director Debbie Reid in January presented the budget and policy director position to city council as a way to take pressure off the finance director, who otherwise must work on auditing and budgeting without any time to improve operations. The city was late filing its audit with the state the past two years in part because of staffing issues, Reid said in January.
Weitz has more than a dozen years of experience in local government roles, including assistant director for the Office of Management and Budget for the County of Loudon, Virginia, and the chief of staff for the Office of the County Administrator. A city news release states Weitz’s “experience in a high-growth and fast-changing community is an ideal fit” for the city.
Frick, who became the interim culture, parks and recreation director after John Dargle resigned under a separation agreement with the city, has more than 20 years of experience in municipal government — the past 10 of which was focused in the event management industry.
Frick first joined the city in April 2022 as the fiscal manager of capital planning and debt, becoming deputy director of the culture, parks and recreation department in July 2022. she also previously worked as the assistant director of The Ranch Event Complex in Loveland.
As director, she “will continue to lead the vision, design and development of the department’s major divisions, including parks, Island Grove Regional Park, recreation, golf, cultural affairs and natural areas and trails,” Gates said.
