City of Castle Pines - About the Staff

James McGrady, Interim City Manager/Transition Manager/Interim Utility Director

James C. McGrady has worked in the Colorado utility industry for over 28 years with an expertise in water resources planning and engineering. He recently retired as district manager for the Castle Pines Metropolitan District, a position he held since February 2005. During his tenure with the district, Mr. McGrady made numerous contributions to the Castle Pines community including: Refinancing of $31 million in historical debt that lowered interest expenses and removed restrictive covenants that prevented the district from issuing additional debt for the acquisition of renewable water. Reduction of historical debt by $11 million through the prepayment of debt. Issuance of an “AA” rating for the district by Standard and Poors in 2009.

• Development of an integrated water resource plan in 2006, including numerous public meetings and open houses to gain consensus.
• Purchase of 924 acre-feet of renewable water for the Castle Pines community.
• Purchase of1,500 acre-feet of water storage in Reuter Hess Reservoir in partnership with other regional participants at a cost $8.25 million.
• Participation on the oversight committee for the Chatfield Reallocation Process that guides the NEPA process with the Army Corp of Engineers.
• Issuance of $25 million in Certificates of Participation for the acquisition of water rights, storage, delivery pipelines and treatment.
• Implementation of a capital replacement program that upgraded six Arapahoe aquifer wells, one Denver basin well and one Lower Dawson well. This program helped to ensure that the district can meet its water delivery needs over the next 10 years.
• Negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement for a major pipeline delivery project that linked Centennial Water and Sanitation to the Castle Pines Metropolitan District.
• Successful conversion of CPMD’s water disinfection process from chlorine to chloramines, enabling the district to participate in various regional water delivery projects.

Previous to being hired as district manager, Mr. McGrady worked for Colorado Springs Utilities in the Water Resources Department, and served as utility director for the City of Fountain and for Aurora Water in its Water Resources Department.

Mr. McGrady has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and MBA from Regis University. He also has taken numerous engineering courses at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Idaho State University.

Dan Schmick, Finance Director

Dan Schmick most recently served as assistant district manager for the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District where he was instrumental in the preparation of financial documents for CPNMD renewable water resource projects and worked extensively in preparing the district’s operation budget.

Mr. Schmick has been in the accounting and public finance field since 1992. He previously worked for the national accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson, where he focused on special district services, and also with The Founders Fund.  He joined CPNMD in 2008 as finance manager.

"We welcome Dan Schmick as a tremendous asset to the City and integral to the vision of integrating the Metro District with the City," Council Member John Ewing said. "We look forward to working with Dan on behalf of all Castle Pines residents."

Prior to launching his financial career, Mr. Schmick served in the U.S. Army and has been on active duty and in the reserves for 26 years; he currently holds the rank of colonel.

Born and raised in the Wyoming cities of Cheyenne and Sheridan, Mr. Schmick holds his Certified Public Accountant license and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. and his Master’s of Business Administration from Regis University in Denver.

Schmick lives in Parker with his wife Jan; the couple has three sons, Hunter, Ryan and Jordan.