Regulations may impede sale of fairgrounds

Carson City officials may have a hard time trying to sell a part of the Carson City fairgrounds.

About 4.5 acres of the fairground property were granted to Ormsby County under a lease from the Bureau of Land Management in 1966.

Deputy District Attorney Neil Rombardo told city supervisors Thursday no legal issues prevent the city from selling the city's fairgrounds. The status of the patent, which now lies with the U.S. Forest Service, is "uncertain" he said.

However, Carson District Ranger Gary Schiff said Wednesday the Forest Service has an "obligation to honor (the patent) as it was set up."

"The process is what it is," he said. "There are 4.5 acres considered national forest land, and that land is on a recreation permit. If the city used it for anything else, it would revert to the national forest."

In 1998, Forest Service officials sent City Manager John Berkich a letter noting the lease on part of the fairground property, which sits on the southern end of the property. Part of the Forest Service property lies under Highway 395.

Julian Smith, attorney for the Concerned Citizens to Save Fuji Park and the Fairgrounds, said the group will pursue all legal options to stop the city's proposed sale of the fairgrounds.

Besides the Forest Service issue, Smith said state law may allow the group to claim the city is breaching public trust.

"Nobody planted a tree down there thinking they were going to help balance a budget in 10 years through economic development," Smith said. "There were thousands of people in Carson City and elsewhere that donated their time and materials to Carson City to this park. We say there is a public trust, the city can't accept a tree from us and then cut it own to balance their budget."