FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 14, 2018
The Sierra Vista Metropolitan Planning Organization (SVMPO) will welcome its new administrator on Thursday, Sept. 20, at its regularly scheduled board meeting.
The SVMPO board selected Karen Lamberton as SVMPO administrator after a nine-month recruitment and interview process. Lamberton previously served as Cochise County’s Transportation Planner. Prior to coming on board with Cochise County, she worked on long-range transportation planning activities for Pima Association of Governments, in Tucson, Arizona. Lamberton holds a master’s degree in Planning from the University of Arizona and has been certified in that field since July, 2000.
The Sierra Vista Metropolitan Planning Organization was formed in 2012 when the Sierra Vista region met the urbanized population threshold of over 50,000. Regional government agencies were first created by federal legislation in the early 1970s to enhance regional communication with the goal of building a connected transportation system with limited federal, state, and local dollars. Today the SVMPO includes the Town of Huachuca City and reaches to the Coronado National Forest boundaries, representing a population of more than 70,400.
“The interview panel was very impressed with Ms. Lamberton’s credentials” says Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller, chair of the SVMPO board. “Lamberton has been a proactive champion for developing a safe and effective transportation system in southern Arizona for several decades.”
“I am looking forward to working with the SVMPO board on innovative solutions for transportation and economic development in the greater Sierra Vista region,” Lamberton says.
To learn more about the Sierra Vista MPO and regional transportation planning projects, please visit www.svmpo.org.