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SATURDAY January 24, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 9, 2004 Nolte leaving city post By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings After serving the City of Ashland for 12 years as the city attorney, Paul Nolte will be hanging up his legal briefs, so to speak, in June. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings. Ashland city attorney paul nolte has announced his resignation, which will take effect at the end of June. Nolte, 59, plans to continue practicing law after his retirement from the city, but has not yet decided in what capacity. He is taking an early retirement due to changes in the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). Due to budget cuts in the last legislative session, retirement benefits would be reduced if he stayed longer, Nolte said. "There are regrets," in leaving, he said. "Without question, this is a wonderful place to work and an vibrant city to be in ... but I'm looking forward to do something different." City Manager Gino Grimaldi said Nolte will be missed. "I was disappointed to hear he was leaving," he said. "[Paul] has a wealth of knowledge. When he leaves, that all walks out the door. He brings a can-do approach to his work. He seeks solutions instead of pointing-out obstacles." Grimaldi said the mayor and city council will decide how to go about replacing Nolte in either February or early March. His last day will be on June 30. Nolte was raised in Roseburg and received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon in Eugene. He arrived in Ashland in October 1991. Nolte has been a private practice lawyer in Roseburg and on the Big Island of Hawaii, and as an attorney for the Douglas County office of the county counsel. In his tenure, Nolte has been impressed with the breadth of vision the city has shown in pursuing challenging, groundbreaking projects. Despite Ashland's relatively small size, the city has been part of major ventures such as starting-up the Ashland Fiber Network and purchasing the Mt. Ashland Ski Area, which Nolte said were quite daunting, yet memorable to be a part of. "The city is very progressive in what it does," he said. "It was just different to purchase the assets of an operating ski resort. We have a full-service entrepreneurial city." Nolte said he has enjoyed the wide variety of legal matters he has to deal with in his position. With so many departments he works with, such as public works and the city council, there's always something going on, he said. "There's enough flexibility and variety that on any day, there's probably 50 different things that I can start or finish," Nolte said. While he won't miss the numerous deadlines that go with his job, Nolte said he will miss the people he works with in the city and his staff in the legal department. "They're great people," he said. "They're knowledgeable and dedicated, which makes my job easier." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams