City's deputy public works director retires

The city of Fallon sent off Kevin Gulley, public works deputy director of electric utilities, with a luncheon at the Fallon Convention Center to mark his retirement after serving the city since 1997.

At the Dec. 28 luncheon, Mayor Ken Tedford reflected on the hard work Gulley has done in his nearly 30 years of service. Tedford said he has “always valued Kevin’s knowledge of where almost every bit of electricity runs through the city.” He also said Gulley’s expertise has been necessary for safety and stability during outages and upgrades to the system over the years.

Gulley said he began his career with on-the-job training in 1976.

“I fell into place with the right people and then kept going and going,” Gulley said.

As a lineman and on-call troubleman, Gulley said he has essentially been “married to the city for 30 years,” sometimes missing important family moments and many of his children’s sporting events.

Even so, Gulley said his career has been interesting and rewarding and that he would recommend it for the thrill-seeker personality who isn’t generally afraid of anything. Not everyone can handle climbing up and working at the top of a utility pole, especially during inclement weather. While dealing with high-voltage can be dangerous, and even fatal, Gulley said there’s many opportunities for someone who can learn to work with it safely. It’s also one of the higher paying of the skilled trades.

Tedford acknowledged Marco Guerrero was hired in November as Gulley’s replacement. The city council then presented Gulley with a lamp and a clock as tokens of the city’s appreciation.

• In other business, during the special meeting Dec. 28, the council approved the purchase of approximately 5,879 square feet of land from a parcel owned by Pony Express Stations, LLC and at 1110 W. Williams Ave. for $88,185.

The sale includes only a piece of the property along the east edge. Some of the available parking spaces will be eliminated for Loanmax Title Loans, the business currently occupying the building on the parcel.

Councilwoman Kelly Frost asked if the business would still have enough parking if the purchase was approved. City Engineer Derek Zimney replied that it would because at this time there are 15 to 20 extra spaces above the requirement for the size of the building.

The city purchased the land for future road and infrastructure improvements at the intersection of West Williams Avenue and Whitaker Lane.