Supervisors OK roundabout sculpture, 3-2; NV Energy contract tabled

After two hours of public testimony and discussion Thursday, the Carson City Board of Supervisors approved a contract for a large steel sculpture in the roundabout at South Carson and South Stewart streets.

The board voted 3-2 authorizing the mayor to enter a contract with New Mexico artist Karen Yank for her proposed sculpture “Sense of Place.” The 20-foot-tall, 4,000-pound sculpture made of stainless and Corten steel could be installed as early as June. The motion stipulated the final design return to the board for approval after Yank agreed to modifications.

“Public art is supposed to be a collaborative process,” Yank said on live video during the meeting.

Yank later added, “Honestly, I do a lot of public outreach when I do projects, and I also create a video, and it’s all shared on social media and such. When people learn about the project, sometimes, you know, you do change their minds.”

Supervisors Lisa Schuette and Maurice White voted against the artist contract. White said the ad hoc committee that scored 153 submissions and finalists didn’t use criteria aligned with stated goals of the project.

“There is no doubt that Ms. Yank is a very talented artist. I appreciate all of the pieces that were submitted that we’ve looked at,” said White. “Nobody should be lost on the fact that I appreciate art very deeply. It’s something that I do myself. But I have to tell you in this case, I think the piece misses the mark.”

Schuette wanted the sculpture to mirror more particulars of Carson City, such as making the sculptural base of snowcapped peaks more like the mountains around Carson.

“It needs to be more about community vision versus the artist’s vision,” said Schuette. “And I say that with the utmost respect to the artist.”

Supervisors agreed that a cottonwood tree or another tree more significant to Carson City history and culture should replace the bristlecone pine proposed for the center of the sculpture.

Yank was open to the suggestion, though worried a Jeffrey pine would be too much like a Christmas tree.

“I think the cottonwood actually is a little closer to this rendition of the bristlecone pine because it’s got the big leaves, and it’s got a very beautiful understructure of the branches and such,” Yank said.

While members of the public also weighed in on the tree idea — including Ed Smith, former natural resource specialist for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension — some in the public worried about the project price tag of $200,000.

“However, should we be doing this here and now when we are facing a GID being slipped into people?” asked resident Rose Krueger, referring to the city’s recent interest in a general improvement district for road funding.

City Manager Nancy Paulson said the idea of a gateway monument originated in 2017 after the downtown corridor project was completed. She said $125,000 of the project’s budget came from redevelopment funds. Visit Carson City contributed $75,000 from the 1 percent of lodging tax designated for public art and culture. The lodging tax revenue is restricted for certain uses, as is redevelopment funding.

“Redevelopment funding comes from property taxes paid by property owners within the redevelopment areas, and it’s restricted for the redevelopment, rehabilitation and revitalization of the areas within the boundaries of the redevelopment areas,” Paulson said.

In other action:

• Supervisors unanimously approved the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which included an audit for the last fiscal year ending June 30. Independent auditor HintonBurdick gave the city an unmodified or “clean” opinion. The city was also recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence in financial reporting.

• Supervisors tabled a $6.5 million, three-year contract between NV Energy and Carson City through which the Carson City Fire Department would provide fuel mitigation and fire and disaster response services to the power company.

According to a staff report, CCFD’s five full-time wildland fire positions were originally funded in 2020 from an approximately $1.8 million grant administered by NV Energy and the Nevada Division of Forestry. At the time, the city board also approved, and later amended, a standby contract with NV Energy “through which NV Energy pays for CCFD services on an as-needed basis.”

“NV Energy and numerous fire agencies participated in negotiations to create a single template contract for all fire agencies; however, each fire agency is developing its own pricing schedule in Exhibit B to the contract, meaning the rates charged by each agency are permitted, and expected, to vary,” reads the report about the new contract.

However, supervisors and representatives from the District Attorney’s Office worried some of the requirements in the new contract, such as insurance, could expose the city to liability and other problems down the road.

“I am concerned about NV Energy placing this tremendous liability and risk on the city of Carson,” said Supervisor Curtis Horton. “You are a multibillion-dollar corporation owned by another multibillion-dollar corporation. We are not. We cannot expose ourselves to this level of risk and liability … the benefit is not there. The juice is not worth the squeeze. It’s got to work for everybody. It’s got to be reasonable, and this is not reasonable; these conditions are not.”

The city’s wildland firefighters are still funded through the standby contract, which is expected to come up for an extension next month.

• Supervisors reappointed Lucia Maloney and Gregory Novak to the Carson City Regional Transportation Commission for two-year terms. A third candidate, Josh Hobson, was encouraged to look for more volunteer opportunities with the city.

Members of RTC serve on the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) as well.

Supervisors also appointed Daman Baath to the Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority as a representative for the hotel/motel industry for a two-year term.

The appointments were unanimous.