Diamond Bar Picks First City Manager

The Diamond Bar City Council, searching for a city manager who is well-versed in traffic issues and the challenges of running a newly incorporated city, has chosen the city manager of Big Bear Lake.

Robert Van Nordt, 46, was hired last week by a unanimous vote of the council as Diamond Bar’s first city manager. Van Nordt became Big Bear Lake’s city manager shortly after it incorporated in 1981 and has worked to solve the growing traffic problems there.

“I love to solve problems,” Van Nordt said from his office in Big Bear Lake. “I’ve been dealing with new-city issues for the past eight years.”

Mayor Pro Tem Paul Horcher said Van Nordt’s rapport with San Bernardino County officials may come in handy as Diamond Bar seeks to end a dispute over a barrier that County Supervisor Pete Schabarum ordered placed across Grand Avenue at the county line in order to block San Bernardino County’s planned expansion of the road.