Parks and Recreation panel to put own stamp on lands bill

Parks and Recreation Commission members will make their feelings known today about the proposed federal lands bill.

Members of the commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Sierra Room of the Community Center, 851 E. William St., and will hear from residents before making their own priorities known.

"It is important to receive as much testimony from the public as possible to make sure we're doing things the public is in agreement with," said Juan Guzman, the city's open space manager.

More than 40 different sites around the city are being considered for new management methods or land swaps.

Some changes would result in new uses. Other plans would provide the city with authority on how certain sites are managed, but would also add responsibilities and costs.

Many of the sites are controlled by the federal government now and the city is seeking to take control for recreation uses or preservation.

Large chunks of west Carson, however, could be released from local control and given to the U.S. Forest Service.

Rising costs to make them less vulnerable to wildfires has been the reason cited by some city officials.

Others would prefer the city retain control. The state also has been eyeing some sections of the nearly 2,700 acres for park use.

Proposals for local control of Silver Saddle Ranch, Prison Hill and a site near Sedge and Deer Run roads to create a multiuse target range have been discussed at length by these commissioners.

Whether to seek ownership of the sites now occupied by the Edmonds Sports Complex and Centennial Park, and whether to obtain a 39-acre site west of Goni Road and Arrowhead Drive for a future community park, are other plans that should come up.

The concept to seek control of the 3,250-acre Prison Hill Recreation Area sprang from an earlier meeting of this group.

Some members want consistency of land use and control in the area if the city takes over the 868-acre Silver Saddle Ranch property from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Commissioners will be able to discuss and provide recommendations about all of the proposed sites, not just those where recreation uses are proposed or happening now, said Vern Krahn, the city's parks planner.

A new meetings schedule is being put together so some resident panels, such as the planning commission, can have a second look at the proposal and make known their priorities, Guzman said.

The Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote on the bill in December, but now won't do so until January.

Once these elected officials decide what sites should be included, the bill will be submitted to Nevada's federal legislators for consideration.

The next panel to focus on the lands bill will be the Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife, which meets 6 p.m. Monday in the Capitol Conference Room, City Hall, 201 N. Carson St.

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

If you go

What: Parks and Recreation meeting

When: 5:30 p.m. today

Where: Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.

Also on the agenda

• Whether to approve a draft interlocal agreement regarding the Lake Tahoe Bike Path Project

• Possible recommendation of concepts for parks and a trail within the Summer Hawk subdivision west of the intersection of Curry and Rhodes streets.