The town of Monument has appointed Madeline VanDenHoek, its current director of parks and community partnerships, to the role of interim town manager.

“She’s more than capable of doing this job, so I think it’s a great decision,” said Monument Police Chief Patrick Regan at a town council meeting this week.

The town recently parted ways with previous town manager Mike Foreman.

Regan and VanDenHoek had been acting co-town managers during the administrative leave of Foreman, which ended last week in a separation from the city. Monument mayor Mitch LaKind said in a statement on Thursday that Foreman and the city “agreed” on his departure.

The personnel issue that involved the former town manager of six years was not disclosed. The town council called for a “performance review” during his administrative leave period, meeting in several executive sessions in June.

VanDenHoek is a Monument native with years of experience in local government. She has worked in various roles at the city since 2013 and has a masters degree in public administration. She told town council that she appreciated the opportunity to “test drive” the role.

“I care a lot about our town, our employees,” she said.

VanDenHoek will oversee a city planning department coming off a months-long hiatus on accepting new construction projects during a busy local election year.

After chronic short-staffing in the planning department, a pause on new projects started in January ended July 15. Newly-hired planning director Dan Ungerleider said that he was “confident” the department could handle demand and backlog for upcoming projects seeking approval in the city.

This November, the town will elect four councilmembers and likely decide on one or more ballot measures. One measure would put in place a proposed 5% lodging tax on hotels, truck stops and short-term rentals, potentially funding Americans with Disabilities Act improvements at Monument parks and playgrounds to the tune of an estimated $220,000 in added revenue.

The town council has until its September meeting to finalize the ballot measure.

Tom Tharnish, Monument director of public works, told council that VanDenHoek had done well so far in the job.

“Her experience and expertise in a lot of areas has really come in handy, and it’s really been a stark change from where we were to how we’re getting things done now,” he said.