Genoans begin hunt for new manager

Town board members met Wednesday night to discuss the budget and hiring a new town manager.

Candy Dance accounts for $303,769 of the town’s revenue, almost five times the money raised in property taxes.

The manager’s job has been posted to the county web site and closes on April 5.

The salary is posted at douglascountynv.gov and pays $56,056-$84,094.

Town Manager JT Chevallier announced earlier this month he was leaving his post after two years to take a position as assistant community services director for Douglas County.

Chevallier, who was the owner of a Lake Tahoe adventure film company and coordinated marketing for the Tahoe Fund, was hired in January 2019

The town manager’s position is the key coordinator for the town’s annual fundraiser, held the last weekend in September.

Genoans have been raising the majority of the money to support the town’s operation and preservation for more than a century.

The first Candy Dances were literally dances where candy was served to raise money to install and maintain streetlights in the town, where the sun goes down notoriously early.

In the mid-1970s, an arts and crafts fair was added to fund children’s activities and became so successful that it expanded to take over the entire weekend. An estimated 30,000 visitors come to the town to shop at the booths spread from one end to the other.

Before the Genoa Town Manager’s position was established in 2002, a town secretary provided administrative support for the board and a volunteer served as chair of the event.

Early in the century, responsibilities for managing the event were included in the manager’s job description.

On Wednesday, town board members said they wanted to conduct in-person interviews, which means they will need a venue that will accommodate residents and candidates for the position. The meetings where interviews are conducted are required to be public under the Nevada Open Meeting Law.

Chevallier said that if work on the Town Hall is completed in time, the town could celebrate reopening the hall and interview candidates.

“What a ribbon cutting that would be to open the new Genoa Town Hall and hold interviews for the new town manager,” Chevallier said.

However, if there are delays, he said he’s reached out to Minden for the possible use of the CVIC Hall for interviews.

Minden has been conducting in-person meetings using the hall through much of the coronavirus outbreak.

Most of the work collecting applications and confirming basic qualifications will be done by Douglas County Human Resources, since the town board is advisory to the county.

It could be mid-April before the town receives finalists to consider for the position.

Chevallier is the sixth town manager to serve in the position over the past two decades. County Vitality Director Lisa Granahan and Public Information Officer Melissa Blosser have served as interim managers over the years.

He also is the fourth manager of one of Carson Valley’s towns to take a leadership position with the county in the last few years.

Predecessor Phil Ritger was named the county’s public works director in 2018. Gardnerville manager Tom Dallaire became community development director and Minden manager Jenifer Davidson was named assistant county manager.