Planning director hails from Las Vegas
The Flathead's quality of life has snagged another newcomer - in this case the county's new planning director.
Jeff Harris, currently the manager of planning and fiscal services for Clark County, Nev., signed an employment contract with Flathead County on Monday.
He will start his new job on June 21.
Harris was one of 10 applicants for the position, which has been open since former director Forrest Sanderson resigned at the end of last year. The job was re-advertised in March after Ravalli County Planning Director Pat O'Herren turned it down.
Human Resources Manager Raeann Campbell said Harris was the clear choice from among the candidates.
"He has the skills we were looking for," Campbell said. "He's been a planning director, he's supervised a large staff and he's worked in an area that's experienced rapid growth."
Clark County, home to Las Vegas, grew by 85.6 percent from 1990 to 2000, adding more than 634,000 people. By comparison, Flathead County grew by 25.8 percent, or 15,253 people.
"He was ready to get out of Las Vegas," Campbell said. "He wanted a change in his quality of life."
Harris was unavailable for comment this week. Prior to starting work for Clark County in 1986, he was an assistant planner in Nye County, Nev., and spent eight years with various open space and natural resource agencies in Nevada and Utah.
"He has a master's degree in environmental planning from the University of Nevada
and a bachelor's degree in forest management and natural resources from Utah State University," Campbell said.
Harris served as Clark County's advanced planning manager and parks planning manager prior to becoming manager of planning and fiscal services. He currently supervises a staff of 22, Campbell said, and is involved in developing comprehensive plans, facility master plans and capital and operating budgets.
An Internet search turned up several stories involving Harris, particularly regarding his role as parks planning manager.
For example, the Clark County Wetlands Park was named one of the five best wetlands restoration projects in the world in a 2002 Harvard University poll.
The 2,900-acre project "has been compared to [New York's] Central Park because of its importance," Harris said in an October 2002 story in the Christian Science Monitor. "When we're done, it will have 30 to 50 miles for hiking, equestrian and mountain bike trails."
The park, which will take at least a decade to fully develop, was a joint effort involving several federal, state and local agencies. It rehabilitated a 10-mile-long gully that had been used for years as a wastewater dumping ground, creating "one of the largest swaths of locally preserved land in the nation," according to the Monitor story, and the largest designated open space in the Las Vegas Valley.
A Las Vegas Sun story indicated that Clark County's goal was "to ensure that every resident is within 500 yards of a trail that connects to a park."
"There were times when politicians in Clark County looked at federal lands as irrelevant, evil or as a roadblock to the future, but today I think they realize the different agencies are in it together," said National Recreation and Park Association Executive Director Destry Jarvis in that March 2002 story.
Harris' annual salary in Flathead County will be $65,000, Campbell said, which makes him one of the highest-paid county employees.
Salaries for several county officials - including the commissioners, school superintendent and clerk and recorder - were raised about 12 percent this fiscal year, to $53,865, bringing them into line with other Montana counties.
Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com