Durango’s Operations Department is headed into a transition with the longtime director retiring and the department splitting in two.

City Operations Director Roy Petersen is retiring in March, after 26 years, and he will relinquish the reins to Streets Superintendent Levi Lloyd and Multimodal Administrator Amber Blake.

“They’re both aspiring young professionals with a lot of potential,” City Manager Ron LeBlanc said.

The Durango City Council took the first step in splitting the City Operations Department into two departments Tuesday.

In March, Blake will officially oversee the new Transportation and Sustainability Department, and Lloyd will take over city Operations.

Blake’s new department will encompass transit, parking, multimodal operations and sustainability policy issues. It will not include recycling.

LeBlanc is recommending the creation of the new department because city operations was so large. It employs about 80 to 90 people depending on the season. He does not expect residents to see a change in service.

“I personally believe it is another excellent reorganization by the city manager,” Petersen said.

Petersen was recruited from an equipment dealership in 1988 and started as the service and parts manager for the city. So his favorite responsibility as director of operations is fitting.

“The one item that I have enjoyed the most is one you don’t hear much about,” he said.

Maintaining the city’s fleet of equipment and vehicles is at the top of his list because it is a behind-the-scenes service that has gone well.

Some of his more visible accomplishments included overseeing the establishment of single-stream recycling and the construction of the emergency communications building, a police substation and the Transit Center.

But he is leaving with a humble perspective.

“It’s really not about me and individual accomplishments. ... I worked with a lot of people that made me look good,” he said.

Looking to the future, he sees infrastructure as the largest challenge for the city. Infrastructure needs include streets, storm drainage, and aging city facilities.

As part of that effort, the city is starting a facilities master plan study in the next few months to identify the needs and costs associated.

Petersen is looking forward to spending time with his family during retirement and believes Blake and Lloyd are qualified for the job.

“I think they are very capable,” he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com