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Published on 10/06/1999 All articles from this issue

Mark Miller takes to the Hills as new city manager

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By Leslie K. Martin / Town Crier Staff Writer

Mark Miller is looking for a long tenure as the new city manager for Los Altos Hills.

Relaxed, easy-going, with a broad, engaging smile, Miller, who started the job Sept. 20, hopes to walk all of the town's 75 miles of pathways, to familiarize himself with the street names, and to get to know as many Hills residents as possible.

A native of Pennsylvania, Miller thanks Chevron for initially instigating the move west for his first job.

"My wife Lynda and I have made our home here for about 20 years now, and we've never looked back," Miller said. "I think the Bay Area is the prettiest place in the world to live."

An engineer, Miller worked in the private sector until 1987, when he earned his graduate degree in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley.

"I love public service," Miller said. "It's an opportunity to see democracy at work.

"In Los Altos Hills people can go talk to their council and often get immediate results. It's very gratifying to me to be able to see the changes.

"Large government changes don't have the impact that local government does."

Said Los Altos Hills Mayor Elayne Dauber, "From the very first interview every member of the city council was impressed with Mark Miller. His public works background, hillside experience, and enthusiastic, outgoing personality made him a perfect candidate for our city manager position."

The father of two, Miller has worked in public service in Mountain View, Larkspur, and most recently as the general manager of the Tamalpais Community Services District.

Miller said he likes being accessible to residents and looks forward to an ongoing relationship with the community. "This is an exciting town," Miller said. "It's got a lot of very positive attributes. Los Altos Hills has managed to retain its rural face, and I'm just going to try and continue that."

Miller made note of the "professional town staff" and the hard-working town committees, and said he hopes to "implement some of their good work."

Another area he will address is disaster preparation. "I'm hoping to not have any major damage in earthquakes while I'm here, but we're aware of the need to be prepared," he said.

Miller said public works' staff are currently preparing for winter, clearing drains, checking that grading operations won't cause problems when rain hits, and bracing for possible power outages caused by storms.

Rain or shine, Miller seems prepared and happy to weather the Hills.