Manager Holler bids goodbye to Carson Valley for Grass Valley

Former Douglas County Manager Dan Holler started work Monday as city administrator in Grass Valley.

Holler's going away party was March 20 at Genoa Lakes. It was the second party in less than a week for Holler, who worked for Douglas County for a dozen years.

On March 14, city council members, department heads, members of the Grass Valley-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce and Grass Valley Downtown Association gathered at the Holbrooke Hotel for a reception honoring Holler, 47, and his wife, Claudia.

"He's an open, community-minded guy who interacts well with the public," said Mayor Mark Johnson. The Hollers are in escrow for a house in Scotia Pines, a neighborhood in western Grass Valley, and as avid walkers are looking forward to being able to stroll into town, Johnson added.

In Nevada City, meanwhile, City Hall staffers, some council members and well-wishers gathered Friday at the Stonehouse restaurant to send off Mark Miller. Friday was Miller's last day as city manager. He stepped down to take a job as head of the Nevada County Sanitation Department.

The interim city manager, longtime area resident Gene Albaugh, started his 30-hour-a-week job with the city on March 5.

Grass Valley's interim city administrator has been Jeff Foltz, a former city manager of Yuba City. Foltz will continue through Friday, paving the way for Holler.

People who worked with Holler in Nevada have described him as being a hard worker, pleasant to work with and one who listens to workers and residents.

Holler will face some major challenges just as he comes on board.

He will have to deal with the city's declining sales tax revenue, stemming from the sour real estate market. The city expects to get first quarter sales tax figures in coming weeks.

The city also facing a trial against Newmont Mine Corp. after years of wrangling over damage to the city's sewer treatment plant. The legal fight has cost the city millions of dollars. The city also is moving ahead with a controversial application to reopen the Idaho-Maryland Mine.

Holler's contract calls for paying him $138,375 yearly, an increase from his salary of $133,000 in Nevada and a hike for the city from the $115,800 paid to his predecessor, Gene Haroldsen, who was fired in February 2005, shortly after newly elected council members took office.

The process of moving the city from one leader to the next has cost at least $188,000 in one-time costs. Holler will be leading an entity with fewer employees, a smaller budget and flat population growth.