92°F
weather icon Cloudy

City welcomes utilities director

Boulder City has hired its new utilities director, and his goal is to help make the town more sustainable.

“I look forward to working with the city executive team to help make Boulder City more resilient, sustainable and safe while at the same time make sure we are optimizing the value of our public dollars efficiently and effectively as we can,” said Dennis Porter.

Porter started working for the city on Monday, Nov. 26. He has a bachelor of science degree from New Mexico State University and is a registered professional engineer in Nevada, Arizona and South Carolina.

Porter has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience and has handled multimillion-dollar operations for three large water utility organizations. He previously worked as assistant director of water services for Phoenix as well as chief operations officer/chief administration officer for Greenville Water in Greenville, South Carolina, and director of utility services for Henderson.

He said he took the job because he wanted to return to Southern Nevada.

“Previously, I spent 20 years in the Las Vegas/Boulder City area and this was a good opportunity for me to reunite with family, friends and former work colleagues,” he said. “Boulder City, in particular, is an exciting place to be because of residents’ dedication to green, sustainable energy and commitment to water conservation.”

Boulder City’s utility director position is new and Porter was hired four months after City Council removed utilities from public works and created a new department that encompasses planning, maintenance and water operation, wastewater, electrical and landfill.

“Utilities director is one of the most prominent positions on the city’s leadership team,” said City Manager Al Noyola. “Dennis comes with outstanding experience in much larger communities and we are thrilled to have him on our team. We look forward to his insight and expertise on utilities management.”

“Water is a vital interest in Southern Nevada,” Porter said. “I’ve spent the last three decades looking at best practices and I’m committed to bringing that experience to Boulder City.”

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.

MOST READ
LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
THE LATEST
Toll Brothers gets split decision

The development of the area near Boulder Creek Golf Course known as Tract 350 (the sale of which is slated to pay for the majority of the planned replacement for the aging municipal pool) may have hit a snag last week as the planning commission voted 5-1 to deny the developers’ request to build houses closer to the street than is allowed under current law.

Council gives nod to 185 new hangars

There is at least one part of Boulder City that is set to see growth in the coming years. A lot of growth.

Boulder City ready to celebrate America

Boulder City resident James Cracolici may have put it best when he called the annual July 4 Damboree, “The crown jewel of all events held in Boulder City.”

BC can ban backyard breeders

Although there is nothing on any city agenda yet, the resolution of the issue of whether pet breeding will be allowed in Boulder City took a huge step forward last week as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford released an official opinion on the intent and limitations of state law that had been requested by city staff last year.

Completion dates for two road projects pushed back

Mayor Joe Hardy tacitly acknowledged that Boulder City gets, perhaps, more than its fair share of funding from the Regional Transportation Commission, given the city’s size.

Businesses recognized at Chamber awards night

The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce’s annual installation and awards night featured many business owners in town and even had an appearance, albeit an A.I.-generated one, by Audrey Hepburn.

Parallel parking approved

Like so many other things in the world of Boulder City government, the issue of reconfiguring parking in the historic downtown area along Nevada Way, which generated enough heat to cause council members to delay a decision up until the last possible moment, ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

Ways to reduce summer power bills

Now that the thermometer is on the rise outdoors, the cost to cool homes and businesses on the inside is doing the same.