The Grand Lake Board of Trustees has announced the hiring of a new town manager and he plans to start Friday.

After two rounds of interviews with six candidates, the board selected John Crone to fill its town manager position. Crone will step into a position that has been vacant since the end of June after town manager Jim White retired.

Originally from Dillon, Crone has worked as the housing manager at Winter Park for almost four years. The position overseeing the town’s attainable housing program was newly created when Crone began.

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Before that, Crone worked as an attorney in Summit County. He received a law degree in 2010 and also has experience as a builder and developer.

With four years of experience working alongside government in Grand County, Crone feels prepared to move into his new role.

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“It’s a step up from what I do,” Crone said. “I get immense job satisfaction from working in municipal government. It utilizes the skills and talents that I have and Grand Lake is a beautiful town.”

Some of Crone’s goals include building on a year-round economy in an area dependent on summer tourism, providing a better connection between Grand Lake and the rest of the county and balancing the growth of the town with its history.

“There’s so much growth,” Crone said. “I think the biggest challenge will be preserving the character of Grand Lake. Its character is so unique in Colorado.”

Crone’s last day as Winter Park’s housing manger was Tuesday and he plans to jump straight into the town manager position Friday.

“I’m really looking forward to the job to tell the truth,” Crone said. “There are some things we have to do right away.”

With Grand Lake’s year wrapping up, Crone wants to be a part of the budget process as much as possible. The Grand Lake board is also looking into hiring a new town planner, which is a process Crone will be a part of.

Crone’s salary has been set at $92,000. Grand Lake received 23 applications, which were narrowed to a field of 10 before the two scheduled interviews with six total applicants in September and October.

“The town was honored to receive a variety of well qualified applicants,” interim town manager Katie Sickles said in an email.