Ritter application sidelined while Lyon panel considers current candidate

Carson City Manager Linda Ritter has applied for the Lyon County manager's job, but may not get an interview if the Lyon County commissioners like what they hear from candidate Dennis Stark.

Stark, who had his public interview with the commission last month, is scheduled to meet with each commissioner individually on Thursday.

Ritter, currently the Carson City manager, has submitted her application for consideration for the position that has been vacant since Feb. 15, when then-Lyon County manager Donna Kristaponis was fired. Bob Hadfield has been serving as interim county manager since then.

Steve Englert, Lyon County Human Resources director, said two other applications had been received, but he had not had time to discuss their qualifications with Hadfield, so he declined to give any information on them.

Neither Ritter nor the other two candidates will be interviewed anytime soon, though the county manager issue will be on the agenda for the next meeting, scheduled Aug. 2.

Englert said at that meeting the commissioners could direct him to begin negotiations with Stark, or set up interviews with Ritter and the other candidates and begin the process over.

Ritter came close to losing her job after Mayor Marv Teixeira asked her to resign, but on July 10 was told she could stay on.

She has received positive job reviews the past four years.

Ritter also served as Elko city manager and assistant county manager for Elko County.

Lyon County Commissioners were eager to talk to Stark, despite the new applications.

"Linda would just be beginning the process," said commission Chairwoman Phyllis Hunewill. "If you have a couple more we can look at that, but I'm thinking we'll do our meetings with Dennis since he's in this stage of the process. We should finish that, and if that doesn't work out we can go through the process with the additional candidates."

Englert said Stark will be in the county for four days next week and will bring his wife. The meetings will not be open to the public, as he will meet with each commissioner individually.

Commissioner Bob Milz suggested Englert put the issue of other qualified candidates on the next agenda, since the next meeting will be after the Stark interviews.

Stark has served as city manager in Charlotte, Mich., in the south-central part of the state, since December 2003, and before that he was city manager for Litchfield, Mich.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.