Longhofer delays resignation until March

Indian Hills General Manager Dennis Longhofer said Tuesday he is not resigning immediately, but won't renew his contract in March.

"That's where I'm at right now. I have not resigned," he said. "I have to finish some major projects. That's how I ended it."

Longhofer told trustees of the Indian Hills General Improvement District he was resigning from his $107,000-a-year jobon Nov. 14 during their regular meeting, prior to a scheduled review of his performance.

The issue arose when consultant Sandra Haugan was hired to assess operations at Indian Hills and focus on key officials, including the general manager.

In a previous interview, Trustee Kathryn Clark-Ross said the review, which was designed to scrutinize the district at all levels, indicated Longhofer needed to improve managerial skills.

"I haven't met with her (Haugan) often. She's been mainly concentrating on the management positions in the office," Longhofer said. "I haven't had many meetings with her."

He pointed to accomplishments during his 21 months in the position, including $400,000 in water and sewer connection fees set aside for future projects and an additional $200,000 in the emergency fund.

"That wasn't done before, and that's one reason the district had to take a $2 million bond for sewer and water improvements," he said.

Efforts between Indian Hills and Douglas County led to the purchase of two new pieces of large equipment for Indian Hills, as well as the cooperative completion of projects, including paving and stripe painting.

Indian Hills is also working on a new environmentally friendly systems which recycle sludge disposal rather than burying it, Longhofer said.

"We want to do what's right," he said. "NDEP (Nevada Department of Environmental Protection) has been very cooperative with us, giving us the time we need to work on it. I can't thank them enough for their help."

Longhofer was hired to replace General Manager Jim Bentley in March of 2006.

Before accepting the Indian Hills position, Longhofer worked as operations supervisor for the South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District for 29 years. In that time, the Lake Tahoe plant received the national Environmental Protection Agency award twice for operations and maintenance.

Longhofer grew up in Southern California. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1971 and served in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division, the last combat unit in that war, he said.