Hearing to determine Canyon General Improvement District

VIRGINIA CITY -- A final decision is expected at a hearing in District Court Friday on the controversial appointment of two new members to the board of the Canyon General Improvement District.

The five-member board was reduced to three members in January following the recall of chairman Pat Shannon and resignation of Robert Schnaufer.

At a special meeting called by the district, Buddy Mays and T.K. Davidson were named to the board with just two of the district's five-member board, Marvin Clark and David Cockerton, present. A third member, Brad Bryant, was called away on personal business.

It was a move that some Rainbow Bend residents and Storey County officials challenged, and a political struggle followed.

Storey County District Attorney Janet Hess sought an opinion from the state attorney general, who said that all three board members, not just the two present, would have to agree to the appointments to constitute the necessary quorum.

In the wake of that decision, Storey County officials appointed Rainbow Bend residents Ed Gilbert and Gary Hokensen to the Improvement District's board. Mark Gunderson, attorney for the Canyon General Improvement District, contends that two members of the board constituted a quorum when there are only three members. The district stuck by its decision, naming Mays and Davidson to the board.

Storey County and its board of commissioners filed a motion in First Judicial District Court to remove Mays and Davidson, replacing them with Ed Gilbert and Gary Hokensen.

In his decision, Judge William Maddox supported Storey County officials' appointment. Any action taken by that board, primarily in February, was voided. The decision could be challenged, leading to Friday's hearing.

Created in 1993 by the Storey County Commission, the Canyon General Improvement District manages water, sewer, streets, storm drains, and cable TV for the small community of about 300 homes adjacent to the Truckee River in northern Storey County.

What: District Court Hearing concerning appointment of members to Canyon General Improvement District

When: 2:30 p.m. Friday

Where: District Court, 26 B Street, Virginia City