Young new second in command at HPD

Longtime Healdsburg Police Sergeant Kevin Young was last week
promoted to Lieutenant, a new position that elevates the veteran
police officer to second in command of the department.
The promotion also means Young will serve as acting Police Chief
when Susan Jones retires at the end of June. The current plan calls
for Young to serve in that role until Jan. 1, 2011 when a permanent
chief is hired, but Healdsburg city manager Marjie Pettus said last
Thursday the plan might change.
The city originally planned to delay hiring replacements for
Jones and Healdsburg Fire Chief Randy Collins—who is also retiring—
personnel moves that could save nearly $400,000. Pettus is now
reconsidering that plan after receiving word that city Electric
Utility Director Elizabeth Kirkley is leaving Healdsburg to take a
job in Lodi, a loss that will leave the city with three director
vacancies this summer.
Pettus had hoped to fill some of the management void left by
Jones and Collins with her own experience and help from second in
commands at the fire and police departments, but a third vacancy
might be too much. “I can only wear so many hats,” said Pettus. “My
plan is to talk to the council to develop a strategy on how we move
forward pending those three vacancies.”
Young said Monday he has confidence that the city’s leadership
would “figure it all out” and pledged himself to his new role.
“I’ll do whatever I need to do to carry us forward,” he said. “I am
invested in this community.”
Young, 49, is a 22-year veteran of the Healdsburg Police
Department, serving the city since 1988. He was promoted to
Sergeant in 1995 and has served as the force’s detective, training
officer, range master and has managed the dispatch team. He has a
Bachelor’s of Science in occupational studies from Cal State Long
Beach and an AA/AS from Santa Rosa Junior College.
“He’s calm, he’s thoughtful,” said Jones. “He really considers
the effects his decisions will have on not only the employees here
but on the community. He’s tenacious.”
Young said he’s been waiting for the Lieutenant opportunity for
years. The Healdsburg Police Department once offered the position,
but former chief Rick Alves did away with it 15 years ago when he
reorganized the department. Alves was himself a Lieutenant before
he was offered the chief job.
Now Pettus and the department welcome the position back to
Healdsburg. “There has not been a number two mid-management
position at the police department for several years and I think it
will really increase the efficiencies of the department,” she said.
“It will be a help to the new chief coming in to have a right hand
person. It’s also important from my perspective because it gives a
career path to our officers. We want to retain good employees.”
The new Lieutenant job will also provide experience and training
for Healdsburg officers interested in becoming future Healdsburg
Police Chiefs. Currently, the city must look for replacement chiefs
outside of the department to find candidates with the necessary
management experience.
“The Lieutenant can act as police chief in my presence,” said
Jones, explaining the differences between a Sergeant and a
Lieutenant. “He can make decisions on expenditures and has the
authority to deal with personnel issues and discipline. He can
attend meetings and represent the city.”
The Lieutenant position is part of a department reorganization
that began when longtime Sergeant Rick Urteago retired earlier this
month. Gone are both Urteago’s and Young’s Sergeants positions,
replaced by the Lieutenant job and a Corporal position. Officer
Tanya Potter learned last week that she’d been promoted to
Corporal.
News that Young had been promoted came shortly after, a goal he
said he’s been working toward for many years. “My whole career I
have always looked ahead to find a new challenge, to work with the
knowledge I have gained,” he said. “My role is ensuring that we
start the process of not just training officers to do their core
work, but also to start integrating into the community, and
understanding the direction the city is going in.”
Young said he plans to make himself available to the community
to discuss any concerns or issues. “They should feel comfortable
approaching me after the transition,” he said. “I’ll be more than
happy to talk to them.”
Sgt. Rick Urteago retires
Former Healdsburg Police Sergeant Rick Urteago, 56, is easing
into retirement life after calling it a career earlier this month.
Urteago began his career in law enforcement in 1976 as a reserve
officer and was offered a full-time job in 1980. “Looking back, it
was the best move I ever made,” he said. “It’s just a great
community. I started when there were 5,000 people in town, and now
there are over 11,000. There’s been a lot of changes.”
Urteago plans on being busy even in retirement. His family owns
a Laundromat on the north end of town and several rental properties
in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa. “I plan to do a lot of fishing,” he
said with a laugh.
When did he know it was time to go? He said his wife had been
asking for years, but it was only recently that he realized it was
time to hang up his badge.
“I’ve always talked to people who retired in this business,” he
said. “They say you’ll know when it’s time to retire, and they’re
absolutely right. I’ve seen my share of, unfortunately, death, and
fights, and dislikes. The general public never called us if things
were good. But this is the career I chose, and if I was able to
help someone, I felt pretty good about it.”