Frisco's First And Only City Manager, George Purefoy, Announces He's Retiring At The End Of June
FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Frisco's first and only city manager, who served for over 34 years, said today he plans to retire at the end of June.
George Purefoy, whose first day on the job was November 1, 1987, said he is planning for his last day to be June 30, 2022. In an email sent to all city employees, Purefoy said that "the only reason for my retiring is that since I will be 70 this June, I need to take some time to do some of the big items that Debra [his wife] wants to do while we are both still physically able to do so."
When Purefoy started on the job, the City of Frisco employed only 50 people and its population was about 5,000. Now, Frisco employees over 1,300 people and its population has grown to about 215,000. It's become one of the fastest growing cities in America.
"Frisco is the city it is today because of the vision and leadership of George Purefoy," said Mayor Jeff Cheney. "For more than 34 years, George has collaborated with city councils and guided our staffs to shape our growth. He started with a community of about 5,000 and helped transform it into one of the fastest growing cities in America for two consecutive decades."
Purefoy was considered the "lead architect" of the city's public-private partnerships that resulted in the development of several prominent Frisco hotspots like Toyota Stadium and the Comerica Center. But Purefoy said the credit is not all his.
"All of the accolades Frisco has received are due to the combined effort of our elected leadership and us (all of you)." Purefoy was tempted to stay on a little longed, but "realized that a new city manager coming in now would be great timing for the handoff to new leadership from the City Manager's office to bridge the current to the future Frisco."
Still, for some, it's difficult to imagine a Frisco without Purefoy after his long tenure.
"We'll be sad to see George go," said Mayor Cheney. "And we'll miss his wisdom when it comes to deal making and crafting public-private partnerships. It's no understatement. This is the city George built."
An executive search firm has been hired to help find a new city manager. The firm anticipates posting the position sometime in February and finishing finalist interviews by the end of May. A hire date is yet to be determined.
