Yuma honors longtime city director
Laurie Lineberry retires after 20 years of service
The Yuma City Council honored a longtime director now retiring after 20 years of service. During the Jan. 15 meeting, Mayor Doug Nicholls and City Administrator Phil Rodriguez presented Laurie Lineberry with a certificate of recognition and gift certificate to the Yuma Art Center.
“Laurie actually showed up in town here in the city of Yuma 20 years ago, which was about the same time I showed back up in town,” Nicholls said. “I’ve worked with her professionally through the development community for those 20 years. We’ve done quite a bit of work together.
“She’s always been consistent and passionate about the growth and the development of our community and how that plays out when it’s really boots on the ground, concrete and steel going up. So that’s always been appreciated, that passion and willingness to make sure that we’re getting growth in our community and moving forward,” he added.
The mayor announced that now that Lineberry is retiring -- “I didn’t realize that was an option for her,” he joked -- she’s moving to the Phoenix metro area.
Her last day at the city was Jan. 10. Before she moved out of the area, Nicholls said that he and the council wanted to express their appreciation. “Thank you from the council and the development community for your years of service to Yuma, and we wish you a great well deserved retirement,” he said.
After a standing ovation from the audience, Lineberry took the microphone to express her own thoughts. “I’ve already said goodbye to my staff, that was probably one of the hardest things to do. I’ve said goodbye to my peers on the executive team, another challenging thing for me to do, and other people in City Hall that have helped me,” Lineberry said.
She then addressed the council. “I have spent the last 40 years working for cities and counties in the public sector in three western states. I didn’t choose the public sector because I was lazy, because I thought I could get away with not doing work or because it was easy. I chose the public sector because I had a heart for service. All of my staff sitting here and all of my peers in (the Executive Team), they have that same heart. All they want, as I do, is to make this place better,” she added.
She then urged the council members to trust city staff, pointing out that the newly hired administrator is professionally trained and willing to “help take you down that path, so you can give guidance to all the staff that work for him and who make a difference in this community.
“So that’s my prayer for all of you, is that you trust the staff, because we’re trained to do this. This is what we do. We’re passionate about being servants for this community. Our deepest hope is that we can make a difference in the place we live. So I’m hoping you can lead the city and you can take care of my staff,” she added.
Lineberry came to Yuma from Spokane, Washington, where she had been the assistant planning director. She spent two decades working for Yuma, with 13 of those years as director of the Community Development Department.
She first worked as planning service manager and went on to serve as assistant director, long range planning, assistant director, community development/private development and as assistant director/ zoning administrator.
Under Lineberry’s guidance, the city adopted two voter-approved General Plans, in 2002 and 2012, and developed strong relationships with both Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and the Yuma County Airport Authority.
Community Development has 40 employees and four divisions: DCD Administration, Community Planning, Building Safety and Neighborhood Services. The department works in tandem with other local governments and community partners such as Yuma County, the cities of Somerton and Gadsden, Yuma County Fair Inc., Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., Yuma Regional Medical Center, Southwest Contractors Association, Board of Realtors, and the development community at large.
Deputy City Administrator Jay Simonton will oversee the department and support its three assistant directors for the time being. The city is undertaking a nationwide recruitment for Lineberry’s successor.