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Library manager Betsy Peek to retire; town manager reports hires, green-waste haul and police stats
Summary
Library Manager Betsy Peek is retiring after six years and was honored by the council. Town Manager Christie also reported staff hires (four key positions filled), a successful green-waste event (139 tons), public-works corridor cleanup, and May police statistics during the monthly report.
Betsy Peek, who has led the Pinetop-Lakeside Public Library since July 2020, told the council she will retire in the coming days. In a public comment and later in the town manager’s report, staff and council praised her six years of service, noting expanded collections, community programming, outdoor storywalks, and stronger partnerships with town departments.
"It has been my honor to be an important part of the town of Pinetop-Lakeside," Peek told the council, describing projects she led including interior improvements, expanded children’s and local-history collections, grants for outdoor seating and flower gardens, and the Woodland Lake storywalk. Town Manager Christie read a tribute acknowledging Peek’s role in transforming the library into a community gathering space and asked attendees to join in applause.
In the monthly-manager report, Christie highlighted several municipal updates: public works crews completed a substantial corridor cleanup (including street sweeping and weed removal) and parks staff prepared fields for regional tournaments; the town collected 139 tons of green waste (31 loads) at an estimated cost of about $3,900, down from ~$5,000 the prior year; and town staff installed bullet-resistant glass at the justice court to enhance staff safety.
Christie announced four key hires: a new community development manager (Jennifer Butterbro), public works operations manager Frank Nurano, street supervisor Clay Reedhead and building official Jared (Grataville), and said recruitment continues for a park supervisor and the library manager position Peek will vacate. Christie also summarized police activity for May, which the report lists as approximately 462 calls for service, 392 officer-initiated incidents, 199 traffic stops, 45 arrests (four felonies), and 87 citations; Christie corrected a minor internal typo in the presentation when noting the month.
The council also heard community updates on the senior center, ongoing food-bank demand, a planned community luau fundraiser and neighborhood cleanup projects. The meeting concluded with reminders of upcoming events and the council’s meeting schedule.
