Los Gatos Weekly-Times


Brian Loventhal	Gay Strand

Loventhal named interim manager in Monte Sereno

By Jeff Kearns

City Planner Brian Loventhal takes over June 19 for Monte Sereno City Manager Gay Strand, who is leaving the city for a new job with the county. Loventhal will serve as interim manager until sometime after the November elections. The council wanted a five-month period, Mayor Suzanne Jackson said, so that the new council will have a chance to appoint the new manager. Three council seats are up for grabs this year.

Loventhal will continue to run the planning side of the city, and City Clerk Andrea Chelemengos will pick up some of the slack with planning duties.

With Strand leaving and building official Manny Kadhodayan recently departed for a position with the city of Sunnyvale, Monte Sereno is down to a skeleton crew of just three full-time employees--the lowest in nearly a decade. The council will be paying building officials from Los Gatos and Saratoga to take over Kadhodayan's plan-checking duties for up to 10 weeks.

Loventhal may apply for the position permanently, but says he doesn't know at this point if he wants the job. "It's going to be a trial for me, too." In addition to dealing with an already heavy workload, he's also working on a degree at Santa Clara University Law School on land use, environmental law and government contracts. Loventhal started as the city's assistant planner five years ago, and was promoted to city planner two years later.

For councilmembers Joel Gambord and Gordon Knight--the only two whose terms do not expire this year--the shakeup leaves the city staff just the way they wanted it. The two tried last year to replace Strand with Loventhal and combine the duties of city manager and city planner, as well as those of building official and city engineer.

"I'm looking forward to it," Knight says, "Brian is very well qualified." He hints that he and Gambord may push to keep Loventhal as both manager and planner as a cost-cutting move.

Strand, who has accepted a position as administrative services manager at the Santa Clara County Library system, is tight-lipped when asked why she's leaving the city.

"The less said, the better," she says.

"I'd much rather work somewhere where my bosses are all moving in the same direction," she adds. Monte Sereno's councilmembers frequently find themselves at loggerheads on a variety of issues, including how to manage their manager--or if they should at all. In March, the council identified "mutual respect of councilmembers and staff" as one of its longterm goals.

As manager, Strand was a key player in the negotiations to end the deadlock on the garbage contract between the city and Green Valley Disposal last summer. Strand also oversaw the completion and formalization of the city code, which she says was in disarray when she arrived at the city almost two years ago.

Jackson isn't happy about losing her manager but says she can understand why she might have made the choice to leave.

"It's embarrassing because she was so professional and had such background and education and training, but sometimes it was like she was in a no-win situation," Jackson says.

"She probably made the right decision to leave what was becoming an untenable situation for her there, but it's Monte Sereno's loss," Saratoga City Manager Larry Perlin says. "She was as good a manager as a small city like Monte Sereno can hope to find."

"She's an excellent manager," said Los Gatos Town Manager Dave Knapp, who often worked with Strand. "She's extremely bright and very analytical, but she also knows how to deal with people as well. The county library system is very lucky to get her."

Strand started her career in public sector in 1973, when she took a job at the city of Camarillo in Ventura County after getting her degree in public administration from USC. She went on to work for Monterey County and earned a master's from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. After a stint with the city of Seaside, Strand spent five years as assistant city manager in Santa Cruz before moving to Monte Sereno.

Strand says that whoever takes over as manager has to keep a finger on the pulse of legislation in Sacramento, as well as what's happening in a regional context. "If Monte Sereno's representatives and residents don't watch out for the city's interests, no one else will," she says. "You have to pay attention to issues like water and sewage. They're mundane, but they effect the quality of life here."

The outgoing manager says she's not interested in speculating on the future of the city, namely the November elections. "It's entirely up to the people of Monte Sereno what kind of government they want in place," she says.

The city is holding a reception for Strand Tuesday, June 16, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers.

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