City of Aspen fills three key positions
New director of IT named, as well as chief building official and senior project manager
John Sobieralski has been promoted to director of the city of Aspen’s information technology department after working internally for the organization for nearly two years.
He has more than 44 years in the Roaring Fork Valley and 21 years of IT experience, most of which are with the city.
He started with the organization as a support specialist with the help desk before advancing to the positions of network administrator, network coordinator, cybersecurity administrator and IT deputy director.
Sobieralski has guided the city’s move to virtual servers and cloud-based applications, built two modern data centers, and migrated the organization to the more secure aspen.gov domain.
“Digital technology is constantly evolving, and my job is to stay on top of it to provide the best level of IT services to city staff, so they in turn can do their best work for their customers, the residents of Aspen,” he said in a press release. “Likewise, it is essential we stay ahead of cyber security threats, so that our community knows information is safe and operations won’t be disrupted.”
Two other key positions have also been filled within the municipal government, including senior project manager Jenn Ooton, who will work within the city manager’s office.
She was previously assistant city manager for Glenwood Springs, overseeing economic and community development.
“I look forward to joining the amazing team working on the new Castle Creek Bridge project and supporting Aspen’s policy agenda,” said Ooton in the release.
Bonnie Muhigirwa has been promoted to the city’s chief building official.
During her 15 years with the city, she has served multiple roles including as a plans examiner and, most recently, as the deputy chief building official.
Aspen’s chief building officer provides oversight of complex permitting, inspection, code development and enforcement, and contractor licensing processes.
In 2021, the building division issued approximately 1,000 permits, with a value of $259 million.
City officials said in the press release that Muhigirwa’s experience with Aspen’s specific regulations and the unique built environment here will be invaluable as she leads staff in developing and updating the building and energy code, as well as improving the permitting process.
Aspen begins striping downtown
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year when Aspen starts striping a little on the side.
