County manager receives top award

San Miguel County Manager Les Montoya received a top award during a recent state conference.

Montoya was honored at the 12th Annual New Mexico Infrastructure Conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, held Oct. 24 in Albuquerque.

He received the Joe Guillen Award for New Mexico for Outstanding Community Development Service.

The award is given annually to an individual whose work has been dedicated to serving New Mexico communities and whose efforts have contributed to the long-term health and sustainability of the community. The awards dinner was attended by public officials and employees from throughout New Mexico.

Montoya is a lifelong resident of Las Vegas and is a graduate of Robertson High School and New Mexico Highlands University.

He is married to Rosemarie Armijo Montoya, and they are the parents of two boys and two girls. Montoya began his 27 years of public service with the city of Las Vegas, where he served as sanitation director, utilities director and city manager, holding the position of city manager for nine years in a row. Since 1999, Montoya has served as San Miguel County manager.

During his career as a city manager and a county manager, Montoya has overseen and directed many capital improvement projects, including improvements at the Las Vegas city water treatment plant, a new city fire station building and city recreation center, a new county public health facility, and the recently completed District Court building.

Montoya has also overseen improvements and additions at the county jail, carried out a countywide emergency response communications system and spearheaded five community development projects.

The capital improvement projects overseen by Montoya total more than $30 million and have improved services and government productivity for the residents of both the city of Las Vegas and San Miguel County, according to a press release.