City leaders, public thank retiring city manager and fire chief, list their accomplishments

Wednesday’s Palm Springs City Council meeting opened with a farewell to two retiring city leaders, City Manager Scott Stiles and Fire Chief Paul Alvarado, whose decades of public service drew praise, personal memories and a few laughs.

Staff kicked off the tribute to Stiles with a surprise video before Mayor Naomi Soto called his departure a bittersweet moment. Stiles, who has served as city manager since March 2023, retires Nov. 1 after 43 years in public service.

Soto thanked him for being “someone who listens deeply, someone who builds trust quickly,” then read a proclamation highlighting accomplishments during his tenure, including the opening of the Navigation Center, elimination of a building permit backlog, restoration of the Plaza Theatre and the $135 million convention center modernization now underway.

Council members followed with their own memories.

Councilmember Grace Garner recalled that one of her first acts as mayor was calling Stiles to tell him he had been hired. During his interview, she said, Stiles acknowledged having little experience with the LGBTQ community. He went on to attend nearly every LGBTQ event he could, including the White Party, and even dressed as Marilyn Monroe.

Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein called hiring Stiles “the first and best decision I made on council,” while Councilmember Ron deHarte credited him with moving the convention center project forward at “lightning speed.”

Stiles, however, was quick to redirect the praise. “I didn’t do any of them,” he said of the accomplishments Soto had listed, instead crediting city employees for their work.

He also thanked his wife, Kelly Stiles, for raising their two daughters and said he looks forward to “recalibrating” after a career in which weekends and vacations were routinely interrupted by work.

As for whether residents might see him returning to City Hall with an opinion or two, Stiles offered a promise: “You’ll never see me here in public comment.”

Residents added their own tributes.

Dean Lavine, owner of Blackbook in the Arenas District, representing Palm Springs Hospitality Association, recalled how Stiles once walked the street with a Public Works employee and arranged to have curbs painted red to address a neighborhood concern. Another speaker suggested Stiles could spend his retirement lobbying for the next pickleball complex.

With the farewells came the business of replacing Stiles. The council swore in Jim Vanderpool, who served as Anaheim’s city manager from September 2020 to February 2026, as interim city manager.

Council members unanimously selected Vanderpool on Oct. 21 as the search for a permanent replacement continues. He takes over Nov. 1.

Stiles recalled that Vanderpool was among the first to welcome his family when they moved to California in 2015. Vanderpool, meanwhile, acknowledged the challenge ahead, saying Stiles leaves “gigantic, gigantic shoes to fill.”

Attention then turned to Alvarado, whose 35-year fire service career is also coming to a close.

Soto described Alvarado and his wife, Kitty Alvarado , as two of the warmest and kindest people she has turned to during her time on the council. Alvarado, in turn, thanked his wife, the community and the firefighters who served alongside him.

Reflecting on his tenure, he highlighted the move to four-person staffing on every fire engine and truck company, the purchase of new fire engines and development of the city’s first wildfire mitigation plan. He also expressed hope that the city would continue clearing brush in designated fire hazard severity zones.

Council members praised those efforts and offered their own assessments of his leadership. Mayor Pro Tem David Ready called the four-person per fire truck staffing Alvarado was able to achieve a huge accomplishment and credited the fire chief with bringing the department up to date on annual fire inspections.

Garner recalled how Alvarado’s team helped protect neighboring communities during Tropical Storm Hilary, while Bernstein emphasized the importance of the department’s work, saying public safety is “part of our brand.”

DeHarte shared a more personal memory, recalling that when Alvarado arrived, he gave the new chief one assignment: Hire the department’s first female firefighter. Alvarado got that effort underway, deHarte said, adding that he hoped the chief would return for the opening of the city’s new fire station.

Alvarado assured him he would be there for the downtown station’s groundbreaking.

He closed with a philosophy he brought with him from Long Beach, where he previously served: “(Y)ou always want to leave it better than you found it, and that’s been my commitment since I’ve started here, to make this department stronger and better into the future.

“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, grateful for the opportunity to lead, and honored to have served as your fire chief.”

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