Looking in on: suburbs

By Mike Trask (contact)

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007 | 7:01 a.m.

The reasons for North Las Vegas Police Chief Mark Paresi's dismissal remain murky more than a week after he was removed from the city's top law enforcement post.

Last Monday, Paresi was placed on paid leave by City Manager Gregory Rose. He remains on paid leave this week while he and the city negotiate a severance package.

City officials have declined to specify why Paresi was removed from the $160,000-a-year post. However, Paresi had been criticized by residents and police officers for trying to bring in outside staff to fill positions rather than promoting from within.

Police union representatives repeatedly have declined to comment on the former chief.

Sources familiar with Paresi's removal said he was told during a morning meeting with Rose on Oct. 29. At the meeting, he had to turn in the keys to his city vehicle, forcing him to call for a ride home from City Hall.

The sources said internal strife and union pressure prompted Paresi's removal. He had been hired in 2002 after serving for more than 18 years with the Portland Police Bureau in Oregon.

The final straw, sources said, was his hiring of another Portland officer. That officer was slated to fill one of two new positions - a deputy chief and a third assistant chief - the City Council approved earlier this year.

The hired officer's first day was the same day Paresi was placed on leave. The officer quit when Paresi told him of the change, City Hall sources said.

Boulder City Manager Vicki Mayes will face a public performance evaluation today at a special meeting that some vocal residents say could become contentious.

Already one local blogger, Frank Fisher, has been calling for her firing. And several outspoken residents are likely to attend the meeting to harshly criticize Mayes for what they see as the city's unwillingness to communicate effectively with the public and the city's handling of a potential lease deal for a hotel at the Boulder Creek Golf Course.

A September meeting at which Mayes was to outline her goals included a nearly 45-minute rambling discussion of the city's dealings with the public and the media.

New City Council members Linda Strickland and Travis Chandler have said Mayes needs to be more accountable to the public.

Council members already have set several goals for Mayes, including improving employee morale, planning Eldorado Valley's future and finding a way to help fund a needed water intake valve at Lake Mead.

City Attorney Dave Olsen faces a similar evaluation Nov. 20.

Boulder City residents, including people such as Fisher, have long complained about the finances of the Boulder Creek Golf Course, one of two courses owned by the city.

Chandler has called for a study on whether the course - which since 2004 has cost the city more than $4 million - can ever turn a profit.

The questioning and complaining led to the recent creation of a five-member advisory committee to look at the city's finances, specifically those at the golf course. The panel, expected to include members with backgrounds in business and finance, also will review the city budget and ways to help pay for the intake valve.

Next week the council is to set requirements for those seeking to serve on the committee.

The suburbs just keep growing.

Henderson and North Las Vegas are expected to be home to more than 500,000 people by 2025.

The growth has led to worries about water, transportation, school s and just about every other public service.

One driver - headed toward the new master-planned Mountain's Edge - had an idea about how to solve the problems. His bumper sticker read: "Save Las Vegas. When you leave, take someone with you."