Churchill County commission takes care of business

Churchill County commissioners took care of business Sept. 18 in a meeting that lasted a little more than one hour.

Ken Collum, field manager for the Stillwater field office, Carson City district, updated commissioners on Bureau of Land Management activities. He said geothermal leases included 4,300 acres in Churchill County north of Dixie Valley, and the winning bid was $96,000 from Western States Environmental Resources. He said 50% of the money goes to the state of Nevada, while 25% goes to the county and another 25% to the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Collum said drill seeding will cover 4,000 acres of lower elevation land that was burned because of the July 2017 Draw Fire. The Draw Fire burned more than 20,000 acres. He said seeding also will occur on the east side of Fairview Peak.

The Labor Day weekend, according to Collum, attracted only 400 visitors to the Sand Mountain Recreation Area, down from a pre-holiday estimate of 2,500. Collum said hot weather may have been a factor. Also, Public Lands Day is Sept. 28.

Commissioners also took action on the following agenda items:

Passed an ordinance removing the sewer line access fee from section 13.05.370(B)(1) of the Churchill County Code. Instead, commissioners said anyone wishing to connect will pay a flat fee of $6,500.

Sheriff Richard Hickox said his department no longer has use for five older vehicles because of major mechanical problems. Hickox was given the option to either sell or dispose the vehicles.

Commissioners approved two agenda items that overlapped. They agreed to have a preliminary engineering report defining a redundant water supply for the existing Sand Creek Water System for $150,000, and they approved submission of a loan application to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program. The request is for the funding of a Preliminary Engineering Report defining a redundant water supply for the Churchill County Sand Creek Water System for $150,000, and authorizing the county manager to sign the loan application.

Commissioners approved a preliminary engineering report to determine the feasibility of moving and rebuilding the existing Golf Course Waste Water Treatment Plant to the Churchill Hazen Industrial Park for $96,000.

Commissioners Bus Scharmann and Pete Olsen, along with County Manager Jim Barbee, spent the week of Sept. 9 Washington, D.C., where they met with Nevada’s congressional delegation and attended meetings. Among the items they discussed were the U.S. Navy’s Fallon Range Training Complex’s modernization proposal and lands bills.