City OKs new redevelopment plan

Carson City will take an annual cut from the city redevelopment budget for general government services and repeal a plan involving the money that brought in Burlington Coat Factory, city supervisors said today.

The new plan introduced by Supervisor Richard Staub will take 10 percent from the annual redevelopment fund that pays for incentives, improvements and events in the downtown and south Carson City redevelopment areas and give that money to the city's general fund to pay for city services and staff redevelopment uses.

Money for the redevelopment fund comes from a portion of property taxes in the two redevelopment areas, which will be more financially independent of each other under Staub's plan.

This plan also replaces Mayor Marv Teixeira's plan voted in last month that would have taken $2 million from the redevelopment fund to pay for the $2 million incentive taken from the general fund that brought in Burlington Coat Factory.

Staub, who voted for the mayor's plan, said he was "on the fence" when he voted for it and was surprised when he saw reactions in the Nevada Appeal from Supervisor Robin Williamson and business owners criticizing the plan.

"We do the business of government here, not in the newspaper," he said at the meeting today in the Carson City Community Center. "We do it here."

He said he also thought that Williamson and Supervisor Shelly Aldean were right when they called the plan "double dipping" because the general fund would have been repaid the $2 million it spent on the incentive while collecting sales taxes from Burlington Coat Factory.

But Molly Walt, who is challenging Staub this election for the Ward 4 supervisor seat, criticized Staub at the meeting, saying the plan was still collecting more than it should from redevelopment.

The plan is also a problem because it doesn't benefit everyone like the mayor's plan would, said Supervisor Pete Livermore, the one supervisor who voted against Staub's plan. The original plan would have collected money for needed projects in the city including a fishing pond at Fuji Park.

Ralph Swagler, owner of Locals BBQ on the south side of the city, criticized how the city handles redevelopment in general, saying it focuses all its promotions and events in downtown and forgets about the south side.

"You would think this whole city revolves around six square blocks," he said.

Supervisors will look at new rules and regulations covering redevelopment at their next meeting later this month.

- Also at the meeting, Mayor Marv Teixeira said he would not put a small increase in business license fees on the agenda. City staff who said it was only an inflation adjustment and Teixeira said in an interview he understands what staff was trying to do but "this is not the time or climate."

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.