2012 brought many changes to Henderson

A year in Henderson has gone by with a mixture of new hirings, longtime employees retiring, developments breaking ground and some proposals finding rocky footing.

John Marz fills vacant Ward 3 seat

The first major appointment for the year was at a special meeting Jan. 23 when the City Council voted 3-1, with Gerri Schroder casting the dissenting vote, to appoint John Marz to the vacant Ward 3 seat.

The seat opened when Councilwoman Kathleen Vermillion left office Jan. 3.

All 11 candidates made a three-minute presentation during the meeting.

Marz, a resident of Henderson for 26 years, attended his first meeting as a councilman Feb. 7.

Henderson settlement

At a Feb. 7 City Council meeting, council members unanimously approved a $158,000 settlement for Adam Greene, who was beaten and kicked by city police in 2010 while he was in diabetic shock.

He also received $35,000 from the state, and his wife received $99,000 from Henderson.

Greene was stopped Oct. 29, 2010, and the incident was recorded on a mounted camera on the dashboard of a Nevada Highway Patrol car.

Mark Calhoun Retires

After nearly 30 years of service to the city of Henderson, Mark Calhoun announced his retirement Feb. 13 as the city manager. His last official day was May 17.

Calhoun, born and raised in Michigan, moved to Henderson in 1983 to start with the city as an engineer. He also served as the public works director and the assistant city manager.

When the former city manager, Mary Kay Peck, was fired in 2009, Calhoun signed his three-year contract with the city.

Jutta Chambers Retires

In a private staff meeting Feb. 16, Henderson Police Chief Jutta Chambers announced that she would be retiring effective March 1.

Chambers had been with the city 29 years and was the first female police chief.

Citywide Recycling Program

The Henderson City Council voted 5-0 to implement a citywide single-stream recycling program at a March 6 meeting. The program is scheduled to go into effect next fall.

Instead of the three separate bins, residents would be able to place all recyclable items in one cart. People would be able to choose a 35-, 65- or 95- gallon cart.

Trash pickup would go from twice a week to once a week under the new program.

The city implemented a pilot program Dec. 9, 2010, in 25,000 Henderson homes, including neighborhoods such as Pittman, Tuscany, Inspirada, Palazzo at Seven Hills and Windmill Crossing.

A survey was also conducted by the Cannon Survey Center at UNLV between Sept. 30 and Oct. 17, 2011, to determine residents' opinions on the program. The survey asked 604 people about their satisfaction levels.

The results were presented to the Henderson City Council on Jan. 17, 2012, revealing that 96.4 percent of residents agreed the carts were easy to use.

Some residents who criticized the program attended the City Council meetings voicing their concerns, which ranged from an increased odor to the inability to move larger carts.

Jacob Snow appointed as City Manager

The city appointed Jacob Snow as its new city manager after Calhoun retired. He was sworn in at an April 3 City Council meeting.

Snow had gained recognition as the general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, where he had worked since 1999.

Snow grew up in Boulder City and has lived in Henderson since graduating from Brigham Young University.

Patrick Moers named Police Chief

One of the jobs Snow was tasked with was finding a replacement for Chambers as police chief. He recommended Patrick Moers, a longtime employee, to the City Council at a July 3 meeting.

Moers took his oath of office at the July 17 City Council meeting.

He had served as the interim police chief since March, when Chambers retired. Before taking over as chief, Moers had served the city since 1991, when he started as a patrol officer.

He had climbed the ranks, serving in departments such as patrol, traffic, crimes against persons and investigations. Moers was named deputy chief at the beginning of 2012.

Henderson Libraries Ballot Proposal

A 2-cent tax-rate increase proposed by the Henderson District Public Libraries to offset a 30 percent budget decrease was voted down Nov. 7.

Of the 117,573 votes cast for Question No. 1 on the ballot, 64,566, or 54.92 percent, voted against the increase.

Henderson Libraries receives 5.75 cents per $100 in assessed property value, lower than other library system in Clark County. The increase would have helped the library system's shortfalls.

Tom Fay, the executive director of Henderson Libraries, said the library district had tried to contend with the budget by making other reductions, including the reduction of hours and pay.

Henderson Libraries announced in August that it would be closing all six branches on Mondays, which went into effect in September for two branches and in October for the remainder.

The Lydia Malcolm Library, 2960 Sunridge Heights Parkway, and the Galleria Library inside the Galleria at Sunset mall, 1300 W. Sunset Road, closed indefinitely after the vote. While raising awareness about the ballot question, Fay said the closures would happen if the tax rate wasn't increased.

Henderson Stadium

In November, Chris Milam, the developer behind the proposed Las Vegas National Sports Center LLC, said the project wasn't viable.

The proposal was announced in 2011 to create a 17,500-seat stadium on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management near the M Resort, 12300 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Snow said he received notification Nov. 28 that Milam was terminating the project agreement.

Cowabunga Bay

On a relatively warm December day, city officials and developers gathered for the groundbreaking of what will be Henderson's water park.

On Dec. 4 developers Shawn Hassett and Ben Howell announced their plans to bring Cowabunga Bay to the corner of U.S. Highway 95 and Galleria Drive, across from the proposed Union Village site.

The developers were approved to purchase the land by the Henderson Planning Commission in November 2011. They then teamed up with Huish Entertainment Group, which owns Cowabunga Bay.

Hassett said the park is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend and be open daily through Labor Day weekend. He added that the park is expected to be open weekends through October.

Representatives from another proposed water park in the southwest area of Las Vegas, known as Wet 'n Wild Las Vegas, announced that their park is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend.

Hassett said the market is big enough to hold multiple water parks and he isn't worried about competition.

The former Wet 'n Wild closed in 2004.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.