Interviews set for attorney, manager jobs

The public will have an opportunity in the next two weeks to hear from top applicants for the open city attorney and city manager positions through a series of special City Council meetings.

A special meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, April 5, to interview the candidates for city attorney, and one at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 14, to interview the candidates for city manager. At each meeting, council will direct staff on the next steps with the finalists.

The semifinalists for city attorney are Christi M. Kindel, deputy district attorney for Nye County; Jason B. Patchett, assistant general counsel for University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Stephen F. Smith, attorney with his own practice; and Brittany L. Walker, acting city attorney for Boulder City.

Each of these semifinalists will be interviewed in person.

Elko County Deputy Civil District Attorney Megan A. Smith was also a candidate, but according to Communications Manager Lisa LaPlante, she asked to be removed from consideration for the position.

In his cover letter, Patchett said he is a Southern Nevada native. He has legal experience with various Clark County departments including the Clark County Board of Commissioners. Additionally, he has experience as a real estate attorney.

Smith has been an attorney for 30 years and in that time has worked as a private attorney and has represented the Southern Nevada Health District, Division of Industrial Relations and Nevada Power Company. In his cover letter, he said he has “dealt extensively” with budget constraints and problems.

Kindel has 23 years of experience and worked as the city attorney for Mesquite and assistant city attorney for Sparks. She was one of the final candidates in 2017 for city attorney after David Olsen retired. At that time, she was then Councilman Kiernan McManus’ second pick for the position and the late Councilman Warren Harhay’s first pick.

Kindel was also copied on emails sent to McManus in 2019 from a resident who was expressing a desire to be appointed to City Council. In it she wrote she would “certainly support” putting this person on council; however, he was not appointed.

Walker earned her law degree in 2017 and has eight years of experience working with law firms, organizations and the Nevada State Assembly. Before coming to Boulder City she worked for Holland & Hart LLP in Las Vegas.

The candidates for city manager are Jessica J. Brown, director of finance for Placentia, California; Edward O. Dickie, town manager for St. James, North Carolina; Dana P. Hlavac, development services administrator for the city of Las Vegas; Forrest H. Neuerburg, city manager for Monte Vista, Colorado; and Taylour R.B. Tedder, assistant city manager for Leavenworth, Kansas.

Each of these semifinalists will be interviewed through video conferencing.

Former director of local government affairs for Ice Miller Whiteboard Legal Counsel Michael Reese was also a candidate, but LaPlante said he asked to have his name removed from consideration.

Brown has more than 20 years of experience in public administration, mostly in finance. She also said Boulder City has been her “second home” for years and she wants to call this community home.

According to his application, Dickie has 24 years of experience. He also said he has been watching the job opportunities in town for more than 17 years for the right one.

Hlavac has been working in different roles for Las Vegas since 2014. He is also a licensed attorney and wrote in his cover letter that his “ultimate commitment is to ensure the most efficient operation of a government that has the highest degree of integrity and in which individuals are treated fairly in a manner consistent with the community’s best interests.”

Neuerburg has worked in public administration for 26 years and has experience in Wyoming and Colorado. In addition to working as a city manager, he has worked as city planner, city administrator, utilities superintendent and airport manager.

Tedder has five years of experience as assistant city manager in Leavenworth, Kansas. According to his cover letter, he has a variety of other experience, including with information technology.

There will be limited in-person attendance at each meeting as well as opportunities for public comment. Those who want to attend must call 702-293-9208 for reservations. The meetings will be livestreamed at www.bcnv.org/streaming and aired on BCTV Channel 2.

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