Tucumcari city manager announces he's resigning

Tucumcari city manager Britt Lusk on Thursday evening announced his resignation from the city manager's post and gave the city commission his 60-day notice at a regular meeting of the commission.

Lusk said his last day will be April 5.

Lusk has accepted a position as the city manager of Pilot Point, Texas, a lakeside community north of Dallas that has seen strong growth in the past 10 years.

Pilot Point has about the same population as Tucumcari, he said.

Lusk said working for the city "has been a pleasure," and he was grateful for the experience.

In addition, he said, Tucumcari is "on the verge of great success."

He concluded with: "I wish you all the best of luck."

District 4 Commissioner Chris Arias, however, hinted in a statement he read after Lusk's announcement that difficulties and disunity may have contributed to Lusk's decision to leave.

Arias noted in his statement Lusk had been on the job for only 18 months and was the second city manager within the past few years to leave the job after a relatively brief tenure.

"We have continued the long-standing tradition of not holding on to a professional manager for more than two years," Arias said. "When will we hire someone that we put our full trust and commitment behind? When will we allow the manager to do their job and us as commissioners to do ours?"

Later in his statement, Arias said, "None of us are strangers to the strife that has entered these chambers. Some of us have spoken ill of each other and have publicly and privately tried to discredit each other."

Arias then apologized "for any of my actions that have contributed to this strife."

Lusk's predecessors, Jared Langenegger and Doug Powers, had served as city manager for more than three years each. Before them, however, the city had gone through four managers from 2009 to 2011.

Arias' statement also included an appeal for unity among commissioners as the city develops a strategic plan over the next year.

He called for commissioners to listen to city residents "on which direction they wish to see the city move. Not just amendments to the nuisance ordinance or potholes, but the types of industries they wish to see move to town, the type of jobs they wish to have, amenities and

even the type of people we wish to see as our neighbors."

In comments from commissioners, District 5 Commissioner Todd Duplantis told Lusk he was "sad to hear that you're leaving. I hope for better things for you."

District 2 Commissioner Paul Villanueva and Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield also conveyed good wishes to Lusk.