Carson City Board of Supervisors vote to retain an license South Carson Street right-of-ways

The Board of Supervisors decided to retain and license right-of-ways it now owns along South Carson Street.

The city acquired the patchwork of right-of-ways when it took over the road from the Nevada Department of Transportation two years ago. Most of the property is used by businesses along the route for parking, signage, and landscaping.

“We basically have four options,” to abandon, sell, lease or license the properties, Dan Stucky, deputy director, Public Works, told the board on Thursday.

Licensing the land will allow the city to retain the property while the businesses can still use it for their purposes under multi-year licensing agreements.

“Licensing it the city is reserving all its rights for highway use,” said Supervisor Lori Bagwell.

The property does include a deed restriction that requires it be used for highway use. But the land is not currently used for highway use and the restriction can only be enforced by the adjacent property owner, which is the one using it for parking or other purposes. The right-of-ways do not fall within the previous seven lanes of the road, which is now being narrowed to five lanes.

Licensing also gives the city a uniform way to deal with dozens of discrete properties.

“If we choose licensing it can be applied to all properties,” said Bagwell. “We can create a nice, sold legal document.”

The board directed staff to craft a template for the agreements.

The supervisors heard an update on Tahoe Western Asphalt, an asphalt plant at the border of Lyon County that has been the subject of complaints from nearby Mound House residents who say the plant produces noxious odors.

The Planning Commission amended Tahoe Western’s special use permit and the business appealed that to the board, which denied part of the appeal and required the plant to provide an update on its permits with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection.

Jeremy Clarke, Simons Hall Johnston, an attorney for the business, said the plant has installed new filters, which have reduced the odors, and Hope Sullivan, planning manager, Community Development, confirmed the city has received only one complaint about the plant so far this month.

The plant’s special use permit will be reviewed by the Planning Commission again in October and Bagwell suggested the commission add a requirement the business submit maintenance records on the filters to ensure it continues to mitigate the odors.

The board approved a $117,378.50 contract with CCS Presentation Systems to equip the Bob Boldrick Theater for public meetings and to retrofit the Sierra Room, where most meetings usually are held, to make it safe for the public during the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, the public is restricted from public meetings.

Money from the CARES Act for expenses incurred due to the public health crisis is paying for the project.

The board also allocated $790,469 in CARES Act money to nonprofits and approved a plan of expenditure for the $10.2 million in federal money from the act it is receiving.

The vote, however, had to be redone at the end of the meeting. In the initial vote, Mayor Bob Crowell was absent and Supervisors Brad Bonkowski and Stacey Giomi both abstained due to conflicts of interest, leaving only Bagwell and Supervisor John Barrette to vote.

“It was an oversight on my part,” said Dan Yu, assistant district attorney and board counsel, who said a majority vote was required.

So Crowell phoned in and the vote was retaken with a 3-0 vote and two abstentions.

The board reappointed Mike Jones and appointed Steve Kehm and Bobbi Rahder to the Culture and Tourism Authority, and heard on first reading an ordinance revising municipal code to remove property ownership as a qualification for supervisors. The qualification was in the original city charter then removed but city code was never amended to reflect the change.