Supervisors to vote on rec center bond

Carson City officials plan to raise more than $3.5 million to help pay for the proposed recreation center by issuing a bond that would be paid off by revenue from the Quality of Life sales tax.

The Board of Supervisors is being asked to approve a parks and recreation project bond to add to the more-than-$5 million already available to pay for the center. Its cost has been estimated to reach $8 million to $10 million.

Two locations are being eyed for the new center: One would be Western Nevada Community College; the other JohnD Winters Centennial Park.

"I think it shows another wonderful good-faith effort to work in partnership with WNCC," said Helaine Jesse, vice president of institutional advancement at the college. "Things seem to be fitting together very well."

The WNCC site would be shared - including construction cost - by the city and the college. Participation by the college still has to be approved by the Nevada system of higher education Board of Regents and the state Legislature.

WNCC has pledged to provide up to $8 million in matching funds if the center is built on the campus, Jesse said.

Officials from the city and college have been meeting during the past few months to iron out preliminary wrinkles, such as an initial operating agreement. They also have been examining how similar - and successful - joint-use centers are operated across the country, she said.

Working on an agreement for a WNCC site was approved by the supervisors. Centennial as a potential site, however, hasn't been brought to them as a proposal. The Parks and Recreation Commission recently recommended it as a viable place for a new center.

Carson City voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax called Question 18 for parks and open space in 1996. The bond would be paid off using this money in 2031, at a rate of $270,000 annually, according to the city's Finance Department.

A bond of the same amount was discussed in June, but postponed because city officials were leery about the idea because the city's financial outlook - and sales tax revenue stream - didn't appear as stable, said Supervisor Pete Livermore, who also sits on the Parks and Recreation Commission.

"It's going to take two to three years to build," he said. "Without Question 18 money, we wouldn't have any ability to fund these projects."

The regents are scheduled to meet June 8-9 at Truckee Meadows Community College, 7000 Dandini Blvd., Reno. They are expected to determine initial spending priorities, including whether the joint-use facility at WNCC is a high-enough funding preference for the state during its next two-year budget cycle.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.

If you go

WHAT: Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting

WHEN: 8:30 a.m. today

WHERE: Sierra Room, Community Center, 851 E. William St.

Also on the agenda:

• T's Tavern Liquor Board Hearing: The liquor license owned by Dave and Talea Morgan, who own the bar at 3679 S. Carson St., is up for review after the sheriff's department reported that a firearm was discharged inside the bar in February and a server was cited for serving alcohol to a minor. The Nevada Department of Taxation also investigated the business last year for purchasing liquor from a non-licensed wholesaler.