John Arrowsmith
John Arrowsmith is announcing his upcoming retirement at tonight’s Los Alamos County Utilities Board meeting in the Municipal Building, 1000 Central Ave.
Arrowsmith submitted the following letter to the Utilities Board:
“This letter is to inform you that I intend to retire during calendar year 2014. Although my official retirement date will be December 31, 2014, with accrued leave I will be eligible to leave by approximately July 15.
I appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to lead the Department of Public Utilities over the last six years, and I especially appreciate the Board’s support during my tenure. The DPU’s strength is its employees who are actively engaged in providing great service to our customers and will continue to do so during the management transition.
Although the choice of my successor is the responsibility of the Board, I will help in any way that I can.“
Los Alamos County Council Chair Geoff Rogers said, “John has been a long time and excellent employee of the County. When compared to other utility providers in the region, we have a superior system and John has been instrumental in that. John’s role in building the Smart House and cooperation with the Japanese government in the ongoing research on smart grids has helped place Los Alamos on the map as a leading location for this type of research. We wish him well and know the next manager has some very large shoes to fill.”
County Administrator Harry Burgess issued the following comment to the Los Alamos Daily Post: “Although John’s announced retirement does not take effect for some time, I would like to express my appreciation for his efforts in leading the utility department and wish him well in his future endeavors.“
Former County Councilor Robert Gibson worked with Arrowsmith during his several years on Council.
“As a former councilor and Utilities Board member, I’ve had the pleasure of working with John most of the time he’s been here,” Gibson said. “His special expertise is in the unusual and complex contractual relationships Utilities has developed with DOE, the Corps of Engineers, multiple energy suppliers, NEDO, and others. Few utilities our size are involved in such. John knows those deals inside out, along with the more routine aspects of this $70 million a year business. John not only thinks well on his feet but can use them well, too. I’ve truly enjoyed hiking across the Grand Canyon with him one long day and climbing Tanzania’s Mt. Kilamanjaro one long week.”
Selected in 2008 as Los Alamos County Utilities Manager, Arrowsmith served as the Chief Operating Officer responsible directly to the Board of Public Utilities for management and operations of the Department.
Since joining the DPU in 1990, Arrowsmith served as both deputy utilities manager for finance and assistant utilities manager. Prior to that he worked for PNM for 10 years. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting from New Mexico State University.
“I don’t have any firm retirement plans other than to work on my new old house in White Rock,” Arrowsmith said.
