City shakeup costs jobs of three officials

Erin Neff

Friday, May 5, 2000 | 9:12 a.m.

The city's beleaguered Office of Business Development will lose its director and two managers as part of efforts to save money and re-evaluate redevelopment efforts.

Director Jeff Maresh, Assistance Manager Mario Garcia and Economic Development Manager Mike Majewski have all been asked to resign.

Kathy Somers, manager of the city's Neighborhood Planning and Support division, will take over the department on an interim basis.

"There's a real desire to streamline that function," Human Resources Director Rick Anderson said.

Majewski's last day will be May 12. The city is still negotiating with Maresh and Garcia about their departures. Maresh makes $97,300, Majewski $81,860 and Garcia $75,532.

During last week's budget workshop, Deputy City Manager Steve Houchens discussed plans to consolidate the efforts of the City Centre Development Corp. and the Office of Business Development.

The Office of Business Development's four divisions will be reduced to two, Houchens said.

One of the most noticeable problems facing the city's redevelopment efforts is a lack of communication between the various entities who handle some portion of the revitalization efforts.

Maresh's handling of his office was called into question during a recent joint meeting of the private sector City Centre Development and the City Council.

City Centre has jurisdiction over the city's downtown redevelopment area. But then-City Centre board president Jodi Goodheart alleged Maresh reached out to developers offering to negotiate details over which City Centre had control.

Maresh denied interfering with City Centre efforts only to have Goodheart hold up a letter he wrote to one of the developers as proof of his actions.,

The embarrassing moment for Maresh showed the council that city redevelopment efforts were often disjointed, if not disingenuous.

Somers, who has worked for the city since 1990, is familiar with the city's redevelopment efforts and its problems.

"I've had many opportunities both in West Las Vegas and in the downtown area to interact with people on redevelopment projects," Somers said. "Probably the biggest problem is a lack of coordination. There needs to be a truly coordinated effort."

The Office of Business Development has already undergone some changes. Pete Cummings, manager of the agency's International Affairs division, retired earlier this year.

His position will not be filled.

When Somers moves into the department in the next few weeks she will also be considering the council and City Centre's visions for redevelopment to determine how best the department can work.

"I have no idea where it's going," Somers said. "I really need to some serious assessment."

Erin Neff covers Las Vegas government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4062 or 229-6436, or by e-mail at erin@lasvegassun.com