The Carson City supervisors are trying to dispose of city property on 2621 Northgate Lane. They began ironing out the process at their meeting Thursday. The city first bought the Northgate property in 1982 and tried to auction, then sell it, in 1997, but no buyers were interested. The more recent discussion to dispose of the property began in 2017, when staff warned city officials that maintenance costs are increasing. An assessment in 2020 revealed that the building would need $1.6 million in repairs over 10 years. Currently, Ron Wood Family Resource Center, Capital City C.I.R.C.L.E.S., Nevada Rural Counties RSVP, and UNR Cooperative Extension are all tenants at the Northgate Property. They each pay $1 per year in rent. They agree that they enjoy sharing the building. “We are a very cohesive group. We offer different services. We work together,” said Joyce Buckingham, executive director at Ron Wood. During the meeting, her organization expressed the most interest in submitting a bid to purchase the building. UNR Cooperative Extension came in support, but extension educator Lisa Taylor said that UNR would not submit a bid for the building. She also cautioned the supervisors to consider what will happen to tenants after the sale of the property. UNR Cooperative Extension has had office space at 2621 Northgate Lane since 1987. While the supervisors did not take action to start the bidding process, they did agree on some details. The minimum price they will accept for the property is $385,000, and they would like to open the sealed bids at their first meeting in July. The highest bidder will make a $15,000 deposit on the building and have 70 days to make payment in full. The supervisors would like to add the condition that the qualified nonprofit that buys the building may not sell the building unless they find another qualified nonprofit to buy it. They decided to table the agenda item to give city legal counsel more time to research and draft that stipulation. They will continue the discussion April 21. The supervisors also reviewed updates to the city’s policy on investment of surplus funds. In response to public comment, Mayor Lori Bagwell clarified that the city does not have “surplus funds” per se, but the city does invest money that it does not immediately need in the short-term. Nevada Revised Statutes allow local governing bodies to place funds in authorized investments, like bonds and debentures of the United States and Nevada’s Local Government Investment Pool. “We’re not going to be investing in Bitcoin or anything like that. … What Carson City can invest in is legally authorized. … We’re trying to reduce as much risk as possible,” said Andrew Rasor, Carson City treasurer. The new investment policy is longer, and it includes parameters on who is authorized to move and invest funds and what investments are not allowed. It also has an ethics section to require that staff in the Treasurer’s Office disclose conflicts of interest. Bagwell praised the thoroughness of the updated policy. Among other agenda items, supervisors: • Held the annual Liquor and Entertainment Board meeting. Carson City issued 18 liquor licenses in 2021 and conducted 116 compliance checks. Thirty-one businesses failed those compliance checks. Sheriff Ken Furlong commented that he attributed some of the failures to inattentiveness during the pandemic. He expects fewer compliance failures in 2022. • Reviewed the language of a 2022 Ballot Question on whether the city will be allowed to continue to collect a 5 cent tax on diesel fuel. They appointed resident Jim Dodson to craft a ballot argument in favor of approving the ballot question, and they appointed resident Chris Harris to prepare arguments against approving the ballot question. Carson City Clerk-Recorder Aubrey Rowlatt also announced that voters who would like to opt-out of mail-in ballots need to submit their opt-out paperwork by April 15. The “Mail Ballot Preference Form” is available at https://www.carson.org/government/departments-a-f/clerk-recorder/elections-department/absent-ballots. Mail Ballot opt-outs must be submitted in writing to the Clerk’s Office on 885 E. Musser St., Ste. 1025.
