Singlaub sees no conflict in move to Lake Tahoe

John Singlaub and his wife, Katy, will soon be on the same side of the table when answering to county commissioners.

With Singlaub soon to be in command of the most powerful governmental agency at Lake Tahoe and Katy Singlaub managing Washoe County, the pair together will oversee a fair amount of real estate in Northern Nevada.

But they are accustomed to working together and don't see a conflict in the future, Singlaub said. Singlaub, 52, has spent nine years as the Manager of the Bureau of Land Management's Carson City Field Office where he has successfully worked through several projects with Washoe County, he said.

"We're not strangers to that," Singlaub said.

The pair have always had a special connection to Lake Tahoe, Singlaub said. In 1999, they married in South Lake Tahoe and Singlaub spent time in the eastern Sierra growing up.

Katy Singlaub moved to the lake from Southern California after college and never left the area. The two plan to move to Tahoe when Singlaub takes the helm as the newly named Executive Director for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, but they will keep one house in the Reno area until their youngest daughter graduates from high school.

"We need to get her through this critical time in her life," Singlaub said.

Singlaub said he doesn't know when he might start his new post. Associate Manager Elayn Briggs will fill Singlaub's management position until a new manager is named by the BLM.

Singlaub's new board of directors will include Washoe County Commissioner Jim Galloway, who also sits on the board overseeing Katy Singlaub.

Carson City Supervisor Shelly Aldean also sits on the TRPA board. Carson City is in the midst of suing Singlaub, the BLM and the U.S. Department of the Interior for selling a prime piece of land in northern Douglas County that the city said would severely impact its economy.

The recent lawsuit and contentious land sale is something Singlaub says he regrets about his time at the BLM.

"I regret the whole thing happened the way it did," Singlaub said. "It hurt our relationship. I think everyone would just like to see some resolution."

The court's decision was expected by the end of October, but recent action by the BLM's attorneys and Douglas County may cause a delay. Until the case is decided, the sale of 144 acres of BLM land can't be finalized to Carson auto dealers.

Singlaub came to Carson City from Colorado. He has worked for the federal government for the past 27 years. He currently manages a staff of 100, plus 100 seasonal firefighters.

His experience with conflict resolution, public participation and working with surrounding counties will help him at the TRPA, he said.

He is most proud of his work with Carson City in acquiring the Silver Saddle Ranch and reworking the BLM land-use plan to coordinate with the city's new master plan by setting aside open space areas, identifying land disposal priorities and excluding urban mining.

Singlaub worked with Washoe County in tailoring land-use plans for southern county areas, he said.

"That whole joint planning thing is something I'm really proud of," Singlaub said.

Singlaub said he will focus on bringing leadership to the TRPA, an agency that has been floundering lately, he said.

"We'll focus on the core mission," Singlaub said, "like water and air quality, things that can't be reversed."

The agency is setting out to create a new plan for the basin by 2007. Singlaub said he will focus on evaluating the agency's standards and goals to see if they are reasonable and realistic or if they need to be changed.

"It's kind of an exciting time."