A decade ago, Jim Park was sitting in his house in Pahrump with his wife Pam sipping coffee and reading a newspaper. An employee of Clark County who commuted to Las Vegas regularly, Park's interest was piqued while reading about a manager position in a small town much farther north of the Mojave Desert.
"Three weeks later, we were headed up here," Park recalled. "I was blessed and fortunate to be chosen for the job."
The 46-year-old Gardnerville Town Manager was in his office on Wednesday, discussing why he's now leaving the Eastern Sierra for the Midwest, more specifically for the state of Indiana where he's accepted a position with the Department of Defense.
"For 25 years, I've worked in local government, and I have loved every single minute of it," Park said. "This is a chance to work for the federal government and do things I find highly interesting. This is a chance to continue public service doing something different."
Having served as a staff sergeant armor officer in the U.S. Army National Guard as a young man, and later as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Park is excited to work once again in support of the nation's defense, though this time in a different capacity.
His new job title is contract administrator for the DOD's Defense Contract Management Agency, which is located in Fort Wayne, Ind.
"I can't tell you," he said, smiling, when asked what kind of defense contracts he'd be working on. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Positions like this are few and far between."
Although excited about the future, Park, whose last day is March 19, was saddened by the thought of leaving behind the small town he's called home for the last 10 years.
"It's bittersweet," he said. "It's family here."
Raised in Las Vegas, Park's career in local government began 25 years ago when he started cleaning toilets for the Clark County Parks and Recreation Department. Fifteen years later, after earning two degrees, marrying a fellow Southern Nevadan and fathering two children, Park was the department's senior management analyst, a position he gave up when he moved his family to Gardnerville in 2000.
"We were glad to come up here," he said. "It was a nice change of pace, a nice change of climate."
Although coming from an area that was rapidly growing, Park said he still had to prepare himself for the boom Carson Valley was experiencing in the first half of the decade.
"We were looking at two or three subdivision improvements every month," he recalled. "We were just trying to keep up our service delivery."
At first, Park said, he found a town board with a lengthy wish-list and limited funding.
"There were many significant projects the town board wanted to see done, but, frankly, there was not enough revenue," he said. "Consequently, we phased in the improvements."
Phasing wasn't the only way Park completed projects during his tenure.
"We've brought about $4.4 million in outside funding into little old Gardnerville by leveraging grants and partnerships," Park said.
The proof is in the park, namely Heritage Park in downtown Gardnerville, which was dedicated in 2004. GE Energy, Soroptimist International of Carson Valley and the U.S. Forest Service were just some of the groups that pitched in.
"Everyone came together," Park said. "For the first six months, no one knew where Heritage Park was. It's neat to see that most people know where it is now."
Over the years, the Movies in the Park series and other events have helped draw residents to the area. Trout-stocked Martin Slough up the street hasn't hurt the cause either.
Park said Gardnerville just secured $960,000 in Question 1 grant money to extend the Martin Slough trail area southeast and preserve parts of the historical Hellwinkel Ranch.
"Gardnerville has been working cooperatively with the town of Minden for 15 years on how to move people from Lampe Park through a multi-trail system to the town of Minden," Park said. "With the Hellwinkel place, we've made some significant headway."
Under Park's watch, the downtown core has gained decorative lighting, new street signs, and the rehabilitation of Eddy Street. But it's the Main Street Gardnerville revitalization program, with their wine walks and other promotional events, that Park is perhaps most proud of.
"They'll always have a special place in my heart," he said. "They are the only Main Street program in the state of Nevada, and they're going gangbusters. They're really making a difference, getting people to realize that this is their community."
Park said Gardnerville is well-positioned for the future. He said he will be providing the town board with some options during their March meeting, including the potential consolidation of the town manager and town engineer positions.
"The option has weight given the current pressure on governments and businesses from the economy," Park said. "We have to figure out how we can continue to provide our service area with diminishing revenues, how we can best use the taxpayer's dollar."
Park said he has confidence in the town staff.
"One thing I'm proud of is the dynamite team here in Gardnerville," he said. "There's nothing they can't do."
With his son Robert graduating from Douglas High School this spring, and his daughter Alyssa graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno, Park said this corner of Nevada will always be a huge part of his family.
"I'll miss the people the most," he said. "I've been blessed to have been a part of the Gardnerville organization and community and have enjoyed being God's tool in all the successes we've enjoyed."
