Montrose City Councilor Roy Anderson will step down from the city council, effective April 7, in his resignation letter, citing a serious medical situation concerning his wife.
After speaking with doctors and over the winter months, it became clear to Anderson that for his wife’s benefit, they would need to move to a lower altitude.
“When it comes to it, life and family are first. I’ve encouraged other people to take care of their health before anything else, and now the shoe is on my foot,” Anderson said Monday.
In 2014 Anderson, along with his wife, Sandi, traded the Front Range of Colorado for the natural beauty around Montrose to retire after raising four children and finishing a successful career at Hewlett Packard, according to an announcement provided by the City of Montrose.
Anderson began volunteering at the city’s Downtown Visitor Center, where he developed a passion to serve and promote everything Montrose.
“This has been one of the best and biggest honors of my life,” Anderson said.
“I can’t think of any jobs or careers that came close to an opportunity to serve and impact a community like this.”
Anderson was appointed to the City Planning Commission in 2015, where his love for serving on city council first began to grow.
In April 2016, Anderson was first elected to the council serving a four-year term representing the council’s District 3 seat.
Anderson was elected by the council to serve as mayor for the 2018-2019 mayoral term.
In April 2020, Anderson was elected to another four-year term in District 3 following the city’s municipal election.
Anderson said he is proud of the impact on Montrose he leaves behind.
His work on making Montrose a “Gigabit city” is one of his proudest accomplishments for the community’s economic development.
“I’ve supported a lot of the marketing efforts for the tourism industry to focus on Montrose not as a stopping point but as a destination,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s goal was to make Montrose an attractive city for younger people who want to enjoy recreation and the natural beauty of the area, but also want to work remotely.
His encouragement and support of the installation of fiber optic cable to the majority of Montrose residents, as well as his efforts in the electronic vehicle installation, leave him confident that he leaves Montrose in a better position for tourism and new residents than before his time on council.
“These are all wonderful things I’m proud of that can hopefully make life a little better in Montrose,” Anderson said.
Anderson said that he and his wife will greatly miss everything about Montrose, from the people, the recreational opportunities and the beauty it offers.
“I will miss being a part of the local government and I’m so grateful for all citizens who supported me,” he said.
As set forth by the City Charter, the city council will formally vote to appoint a replacement for the council’s District 3 seat at a future meeting.
“Roy has been a fantastic councilor. He has a genuine commitment to public service and the City of Montrose and our community is better because of him,” Mayor Barbara Bynum said, in the city’s announcement.
“I and the police department will certainly miss Roy and wish him the best,” Montrose Police Chief Blaine Hall added later Monday.
