Mammoth Town Council chooses Interim Town Manager

Following an afternoon closed session meeting on Sept. 24, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council announced it had hired Dan Holler, formerly town administrator for Grass Valley, Calif., as the new Interim Town Manager. Holler is expected to begin work on Oct. 1 in Mammoth Lakes, Councilman Matthew Lehman said.

According to a press release issued by the City of Grass Valley following Holler’s resignation at the end of August, there was “a desire by the City Council to move in direction for which Holler sees himself as not being the best fit for the City … The change will allow Holler to focus on new opportunities in both the public and private sector, without impacting Grass Valley.”

The release went on to say, “For Holler the past 5 and ½ years has been challenging financially for the City and managing that process with the loss of Redevelopment, with an aggressive capital investment program, ongoing service demands and looking for creative ways to help the economy has been very demanding.”

Holler was quoted in the release as saying, “For me and the City, it is time for a change. The City has a bright future and will continue to serve its residents, businesses and visitors well.”

According to www.theunion.com, “As the city of Grass Valley moves ahead with its search for a new municipal executive, it will spend more than $81,000 to honor a severance agreement with former City Administrator Dan Holler, whose resignation was announced in late August. Holler’s severance includes three months of aggregate salary plus a final payout of accumulated leave balances.”

Holler’s last day with Grass Valley was Sept. 3.

Lehman explained that there was no set timeline for Holler’s work, and expected it could take 3-6 months, especially with the upcoming holiday season.

“For the first few weeks, he will be familiarizing himself with town employees and our situation,” Lehman said.

He added that it would be Council’s and Holler’s goal to establish what they want in a town manager and then go find that person.

“Rather than putting someone in place and then shaping the town around them as we have done in the past,” Lehman said.

Photo: www.theunion.com