Gabe Engeland Resignation

City Manager Gabe Engeland Set To Leave Sierra Madre
Posted on 06/16/2021
City Manager Gabriel Engeland has announced his resignation from the City of Sierra Madre after serving for four and a half years. The announcement was made official in a closed session with the City Council on June 15, 2021. City Manager Engeland expressed his appreciation for the support of the City Council and community stating “I will forever be thankful to the City Council for trusting me to lead the government as City Manager and I am grateful for all of the residents that allowed me to serve them.”

According to Mayor Rachelle Arizmendi, “The City of Sierra Madre is in a better place because of City Manager Gabe Engeland's contributions. I am extremely thankful for his leadership and ability to create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and transparency. Albeit I wish he'd stay, I am grateful for the imprint Mr. Engeland will leave in our community.”

Mayor Pro Tem Gene Goss added, “I am deeply appreciative of the years of exemplary service provided by City Manager Engeland. His positive influence shaping the trajectory of our City government will be felt by Sierra Madreans for many years to come. I wish Gabe and his family the very best in this new chapter in their lives.”

The City Council directed staff to identify interim city manager candidates and to solicit bids from recruiters to help select a permanent replacement.

The City Council will appoint an interim City Manager in the next few weeks. Gabe Engeland has committed to working with the interim City Manager until his final day on July 16, 2021.

Please see below for a letter from City Manager Engeland.

To the residents of Sierra Madre,

It has been a great pleasure to serve this exceptional community as your City Manager. Over the past four years I have gotten to meet, work, collaborate, and laugh with so many of you. When I moved here from Colorado with my wife, our daughter was only six weeks old. We were coming to a new city, in a new state, for a new job, and we didn’t know anyone. As a first time father, and still trying to figure out exactly what that meant, the transition could have been overwhelming. But that’s not really how it goes in Sierra Madre. This village immediately embraced me and my family and made us feel at home. Everywhere we went, people would greet us with smiles and they made sure to welcome us to town. The comfort of knowing we lived in a friendly and caring community meant the world to me, and helped ease the stress of everything that was happening.

My first weekend in Sierra Madre was the Wistaria Festival, and by attending, I was able to immediately learn many of the things that make our town wonderful. Perhaps it is fitting, that the last event I will attend as City Manager will be our 4th of July parade. Of all the things my daughter has done here, from attending school at Bethany, to the many programs and books at the Library, running rampant through Memorial Park, horse rides and sledding at the Winter Festival, and walks to see Blaze the pig, her favorite is the 4th of July parade. It is part of our annual tradition to go down Sunnyside and say “hi” to everyone before the parade starts. We then walk down the Boulevard to wave to the cars and celebrate with our friends. I am happy that this tradition can be extended one last time.

As I leave to accept a similar position in Los Altos, I am proud of all that we have accomplished during my time here. Sierra Madre is the premiere community in the San Gabriel Valley and the best place to live in Southern California. The community endures and remains special—and will continue to do so, because of the way all of us love this little village. I am happy to have been a small part of a great town and I look forward to watching Sierra Madre as it continues to thrive.

I will forever be thankful to the City Council for trusting me to lead the government as City Manager and I am grateful for all of the residents that allowed me to serve them. The employees in Sierra Madre are the most committed and hardest working in the State. I feel very fortunate that I can count so many as friends. It is with sincere and deep gratitude that I say goodbye to Sierra Madre, but I also understand, as many people have learned before me, Sierra Madre remains in the heart of the people who have been fortunate enough to call this place home. Even if it was only home for a short time.

My last day of regular office hours will be Friday, July 9th. I will remain in town the following week and will continue to wind down projects, work with the interim City Manager, and be available to the City Council and City Attorney, until Friday, July 16th, which will be my last day of employment. After this date I will, of course, remain available for anything that is needed and I will continue to support the interim City Manager, and do all that I can to ensure a smooth transition.

Respectfully,
Gabriel L. Engeland