Minutes before a College Park City Council meeting this month, City Manager Joe Nagro leaned back in his chair and read a handwritten thank-you note he received from a city resident. The note read: “I remember when there used to be discontent between the city and the university.”

Though Nagro did not know the sender, the corners of his mouth curled upward as he read on — knowing that the relationship between city residents and university officials and students has changed since he became city manager in 2005.

After serving the city for more than 25 years, the longtime resident and city official announced at the Jan. 13 City Council meeting that he would retire in June.

Nagro, 69, has an “everyman” personality, City Planner Terry Schum said, and some colleagues and students said he has been an agent of change for the city.

At that meeting, College Park Mayor Andy Fellows said the city was experiencing “rough, rocky times” when Nagro first became city manager, but Nagro bailed out the city from a transition period of turmoil among leadership, he said.

Nagro served four terms on the City Council starting in 1989 and said a decade ago there was a lack of communication between the city and this university.

“It has always been a problem to get the residents to trust the university,” Nagro said. “It’s important to build that sense of trust.”

College Park District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn said he was impressed with Nagro’s passion for breaking down barriers between students, residents and this university.

Starting in 2005, both Nagro and Schum met regularly with John Porcari, the university’s former administration and finance vice president, to discuss the future of College Park and to improve lines of communication.

“Just opening up communication with the university is an accomplishment itself,” Schum said. “Our best example is our work in making downtown College Park a college town.”

Nagro said he also values student voices from the university and has worked to build a stronger relationship between the city and the Student Government Association.

“Students are part of the city,” Nagro said. “They represent the university and I enjoy working with them. I mean, I was one of them many, many years ago. I lived around here in the ’60s.”

Cole Holocker, the City Council student liaison, has worked closely with Nagro since the beginning of his tenure in June 2014.

“Joe has always been very practical about ways to best serve students and the community and has always been willing to discuss ideas for initiatives, offer feedback and suggest ways the city can help,” said Holocker, a sophomore government and politics major.

Nagro also helped improve law enforcement and redevelop the Route 1 corridor. During his tenure, Nagro said he worked on projects such as the parking garage on Knox Road, which offers nearly 300 spaces and is located above Ledo’s Restaurant.

Nagro said he might move closer to his grandchildren in Anne Arundel County, but he does not have any concrete retirement plans beyond spending time in his Ocean City home “doing nothing.”

“I have a grandchild who plays football, and I would like to be able to go to his games,” said Nagro, who has pictures of his grandchildren lining the shelf next to his desk. “I didn’t go to one game last year because they are usually on Friday afternoons, which was when I was working in College Park.”

The city will open a nationwide search for Nagro’s replacement. Many of his colleagues said it would be difficult to find someone to replace him in the coming months.

“He has been an excellent resource and a tremendous asset to this city,” Schum said, “but I think it is the right time for him to move on.”

Nagro said his replacement must be someone who fits with both university and city residents.

“[As a city manager] you got to be able to get down to certain levels,” Nagro said. “We have a pretty diverse community, and City Council has got to find somebody who can get along with different types of people in the city.”