ST. GEORGE — Adam Lenhard bid farewell to the St. George City Council and city staff Thursday night during his last council meeting as the city manager.
The mayor and City Council announced in a joint statement earlier this month that Lenhard was resigning as the city manager “to pursue other opportunities” after serving as the city manager for nearly five years.
Addressing the City Council at the conclusion of the council’s Thursday meeting, Lenhard estimated he had attended around 1,000 City Council meetings over the last 20 years.
“It feels like a lot, a whole lot,” he said. “As I was looking around earlier, I got a little emotional. I was looking at our team and thought, ‘Man, I’m going to miss you guys.’”
Lenhard joined the city government in February 2018 following the retirement of Gary Esplin who served as the city manager for 41 years. During this time the city experienced skyrocketing growth.
Between July 2020 and July 2021 alone, the city grew by 10,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It was also marked as the fastest-growing metro area in the nation at the time. The population of the city itself is estimated to be nearing 100,000 people.
Lenhard shared that his family recently saw a theatrical production of “Camelot,” as a family member was a part of the ensemble cast. During the show, the song “How To Handle a Woman,” which included the lyrics, “How to handle a woman is to love her. Simply love her.” Lenhard said it reminded him of the city.
“I could not help but think about St. George and think of this incredible community,” he said. “How do you handle the fastest-growing city in the nation? You just love it. … I want to say publicly how much I love St. George.”
He thanked the council for the “privilege and honor” of working for the city and said he knew that each council member loved the city as much as he did.
The outgoing city manager then showed a photo taken of his family nearly five years ago during his first council meeting. It had been a lengthy meeting and he said the sense of fatigue his wife and children expressed at the time was apparent. He related that to how people often feel about long-running city meetings and how much of a thankless job elected officials and city staff had at times.
“It’s a thankless job to be an elected official, and I think it’s hard for city staff, but man, we love this city,” he said.
Addressing city staff specifically, Lenhard said, “Remember, this is a world-class city and you guys are a world-class team.”
Lenhard become somewhat emotional as he spoke, and noted he and his family were staying in St. George and had been presented with future “options and opportunities,” though did not go into detail. He would share more when those options were “more concrete,” he said.
Prior to joining the city staff, Lenhard worked for the city of Clearfield for nearly six years as its city manager and for over three years as its community development director before that.
He also has held several positions in public and private sectors working in planning, engineering and real estate development roles, including two years as planning director for the city of Eagle Mountain.
Like his future prospects, Lenhard has not publicly shared the details surrounding his resignation.
“We wish you the best and we’re glad that you are staying in the community,” Councilman Jimmie Hughes said.
As the city begins a search for a new city manager, John Willis, the city’s community development director, was appointed by the council to act as the interim city manager.
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