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News Briefs

City settles wrongful termination lawsuit

Boulder City has paid a former utilities department employee nearly $60,000 to settle a wrongful termination suit filed in December, according to a city administrator.

James Petrie, who worked in the utility department as a billing and collection supervisor starting in 2011, was fired in December after a third-party audit found $50,000 missing from the city’s bank accounts.

Petrie was fired for failing to properly complete his work commitments and sued the city for wrongful termination. He was supposed to enter into arbitration in April, but Petrie’s attorney said in March that the city, Teamsters Local 14 and Petrie reached a “mutually agreeable resolution.”

The city disclosed May 24 that it spent $58,408, more than the amount of money that went missing, to settle the suit.

City discloses salary of new police chief

Boulder City’s newly minted police chief, Timothy Shea, will make $122,713 in his first year in office, according to city administrator Bryce Boldt.

Shea was announced as the new police chief May 17 and will take office June 1, replacing former Police Chief Bill Conger, who pleaded guilty to failure to perform duty after he chose not to pursue a criminal case against former animal control supervisor Mary Jo Frazier.

Conger’s salary in 2015, which was paid through a contractor, was $121,476, Boldt said. Sgt. John Glenn, who took over for Conger in January as interim police chief, made $168,580 in 2015, the website shows.

Shea has more than 40 years of law enforcement experience and is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. Before working in the Las Vegas Court System Shea was bureau chief of field operations for Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in Washington.

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Council tees up multiple pet issues

Long-running issues involving pets in Boulder City are about to heat up again as three resolutions were introduced at this Tuesday’s council meeting. Resolutions have to be introduced in a meeting prior to them being discussed or voted on. These resolutions are scheduled to be discussed and acted upon in the council’s Feb. 25 meeting.

City continues dark-sky initiative

When driving around town, some may have noticed that many of the city’s street lights have a different look to them.

Airport development readies for takeoff

The city council discussed and provided direction to city staff Tuesday on a plan to develop additional hangars at the Boulder City Municipal Airport as well as development of a larger area for multiple uses including additional hangars.

Downtown Disney

This past Saturday, more than 200 people donned their best Disney outfits for the monthly Wine Walk, hosted by the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. There were nearly two dozen downtown locations for attendees to stop for wine, including those pictured at the Boulder City Company Store, Beer Zombies and Hangar 502. Each walk has a theme, with the next being March 8 with the theme of Vegas Golden Knights.

Removed city gate causes concern

On Jan. 28, School Resource Officer Eric Prunty, who is assigned to BCHS by the Boulder City Police Department but also serves the three other public schools, contacted Garrett Junior High Principal Melanie Teemant regarding “a campus security issue.”

The bond between Boulder City and Searchlight

If you talk to the staff at Harry Reid Elementary School in Searchlight, you may hear them describe their campus as “the heart of the community” or “the jewel of the desert.”

Council gives lake-view lot to chamber

After a very short introduction by city staff and without discussion, the city council voted unanimously last week to give a 50-foot-square piece of city-owned land to the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

20-year lease extension up for vote

The gun club was not the only entity with lease extension business before the city council in their meeting last week.

Commercial zoning in Eldorado approved

The going-on-a-year-long process of adding four acres of land to Boulder City and approving it for commercial use is all over except the shouting as the city council voted unanimously and without discussion as part of the consent agenda to approve the changes to the city’s land use map as well as amending the zoning map to allow for future commercial development.

Out of this world: A look at Fisher Space Pen

In a popular episode of “Seinfeld,” appropriately entitled “The Pen,” Jerry and Elaine travel to Florida to see his parents. There, a neighbor, Jack Klompus, shows off a pen that the astronauts used in space because of its ability to still write, even when upside-down.