LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

It's nearly two years until North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon ends his third and, because of term limits, final term.

But already City Hall is buzzing about who wants to replace him.

At least two City Council members, Shari Buck and Stephanie Smith, have announced plans to run for the city's top spot. Many expect longtime Councilman William Robinson to join them on the 2009 ballot.

Other names mentioned include Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, and Planning Commissioner Jay Aston. Lee said he has not decided whether to run, and Aston said he was not ready to discuss a possible candidacy with the news media.

Call it one man's battle to keep the three branches of municipal government independent in Boulder City.

Municipal Judge Victor Miller, appointed in 1984, wants to move the judicial branch - the Municipal Court - from under the executive branch, City Hall.

It sounds like a middle school civics lesson, but Miller wants sovereignty.

He currently answers to the city clerk, while all other department heads answer to the city manager. The city manager, clerk and attorney answer to the elected City Council. Miller wants to join that group.

In other suburban cities, the municipal judges are elected, meaning they answer to the voters. Boulder City Council, however, appoints its judges.

North Las Vegas took a step toward building a new fire station at Gowan Road and Fuselier Drive at last week's Planning Commission meeting when the commission recommended a permit be granted to build the station in a residential area.

The planned 15,000-square-foot station will replace Station 53 on Martin Luther King Boulevard. The move will place the station closer to many homes, reducing response times, said Cedric Williams, a fire department spokesman.

North Las Vegas has seven fire stations in the city of 214,000 residents. In addition to the station at Gowan and Fuselier, there are plans to build at least one more in the next two years to meet the demands of the nation's fastest-growing city.

St. Rose Parkway soon will likely see more commercial development.

The Henderson Planning Commission is expected to approve a development agreement for the 126-acre City Crossing at the southwest corner of St. Rose and Executive Airport Drive.

The mixed-use development will include four office buildings, two hotels, a movie theater, 252,000 square feet of retail space and 1,200 residential units.

City Crossing will be among the first large developments on St. Rose , a road the city hopes to transform into a major commercial corridor near its intersection with Eastern Avenue.