Windsor's longtime economic leader named Kersey town manager

Stacy Brown, the longtime economic development director for the town of Windsor, will leave that position at the end of March to become the next town manager of Kersey, a community of about 2,000 just east of Greeley.

Brown will replace Christian Morgan, a former Windsor town board member, who announced his resignation as town manager in December effective in April. Brown's first day will be April 1; Morgan's last day will be April 7, according to the town.

Morgan and Brown worked together when he served on town board, and Morgan "encouraged" Brown to pursue the job. "I respect the heck out of him, and I'm amazed at what he's been able to do in Kersey for the last eight years," Brown said. "I'm honored that I get to carry that forward."

Brown was the unanimous choice of the Kersey town board, said Mayor Gary Lagrimanta. "She's very smart and her background with economic development in Windsor has spoken volumes. I'm definitely looking forward to having her come on board and hang on for the ride."

Although being a town manager was never on Brown's radar, she said, "I took myself by surprise that it was something I really wanted after learning about Kersey. It has come a long way and I'm excited about helping it go even farther."

For half of her time in Windsor, Brown was a one-person office. In Kersey, she'll lead a team of 20 in addition to contract employees who work in planning, engineering and building and oversee a $1.5 million budget.

Throughout her 13-year tenure in Windsor, Brown has been responsible for bringing in nearly $1 billion in new investment, more than 2.5 million square feet of space for commercial businesses that created or retained more than 3,000 jobs and led to a total payroll of $181 million. Her list of successes includes Future Legends Park and the expansion of Vestas Blades America in 2018, Windsor Mayor Paul Rennemeyer said.

Over the decades, as Windsor grew, it built a reputation as a business-friendly community. It created an economic development office to put together incentive packages and support businesses any way it could.

From 2003 through 2020, Windsor provided nearly $11 million in various economic incentives including fee waivers, property tax rebates, sales tax share backs and, in some cases, land. In return, the companies benefiting from the incentives invested about $640 million in building or renovating their plants and buying equipment. They created about 1,900 new jobs and kept another 1,140 in town, according to the economic development office.

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In 2011, the town hired Brown — then Stacy Johnson — to lead its economic development efforts.

The two largest packages in the town's history: nearly $4 million to Blue Ocean Enterprises to renovate the Windsor Mill and $3.5 million in land for what is now the Future Legends Sports Complex came during Brown's tenure. But perhaps the most transformative package of all was the $617,964 in incentives provided to Vestas Blades America in 2007 and 2018.

"Windsor is clearly better off now than we were 13 years ago because of her passion for business," Rennemeyer said. "She's a champion for business ... our largest primary employers are here because of Stacy. Future Legends is here completely because of Stacy."

Brown, who graduated with a degree in journalism, public relations and advertising media from the University of Northern Colorado, previously worked for the now defunct Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation serving Larimer County and the city of Lakewood's economic development department.

Last year, she received the 2023 Economic Development Achievement Award from the Economic Development Council of Colorado, the group's most prestigious honor.

"I don't know anyone who has garnered more respect in their profession than Stacy," Rennemeyer said. "She is the best of the best."

The town expects to launch a search for Brown's replacement in coming weeks.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Windsor economic leader Stacy Brown named Kersey town manager