$14.9 million Mills Park grant request before supervisors

With a master plan in place for Mills Park, the Carson City Board of Supervisors will weigh going after a significant amount of grant money to fund projects at the site.

Meeting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the community center, supervisors will consider authorizing the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department to submit a nomination to the Bureau of Land Management’s Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act Round 20 grant program for approximately $14.9 million.

Pre-applications for the program are due Sept. 14, and final applications are due Nov. 5. No city match is required for the grant program.

Supervisors approved a draft of the Mills Park Master Plan in March. It included a new connector road, Foley’s Forest Lane, that would connect both sides of the park, a splash park, a new playground, expansion of the existing skate park and a designated dog park, among other objectives.

According to engineer estimates, the new splash park and parking — the biggest ticket item — would cost about $3.35 million.

“The Mills Park Master Plan was approved by the board earlier this year after an extensive public comment and review process,” reads a staff report “The park is aging and in need of capital reinvestment for the benefit of the community and to better serve the public.”

The parks department has seen recent success with SNPLMA grants, securing funding for the Riverview Park Trailhead, a new segment of trail on the west side of Prison Hill and water rights for Buzzy’s Ranch.

“One of the things that’s kind of cool about it is this funding does not come from tax dollars but the revenue from sale of BLM land, so Carson City is getting these projects done without expending tax dollars,” Trails Coordinator Gregg Berggren previously told the Appeal.

SNPLMA was approved by Congress in 1998.

“Since land sales within the Las Vegas Valley began under Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, almost $4 billion has been generated for improving communities by restoring habitat, reducing hazardous fuels and much more,” according to a BLM news release. “Over 1,500 projects have been approved for funding by the Secretary of the Interior.”

In other action:

• As part of the consent agenda, supervisors will review two proposed settlements related to opioids that could bring millions to the city.

The state of Nevada negotiated the settlements, and Carson City would receive payments as a political subdivision of the state. The first settlement is with Walgreens, and the second is with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries LTD and its affiliates.

“Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, Carson City would agree to release and forever discharge its ‘Released Claims,’ as defined in the settlement agreement, in exchange for Walgreens’ payment of $218,940,036.51 to the state of Nevada to be allocated among the state and participating political subdivisions in accordance with the terms of the One Nevada Agreement,” reads a staff summary.

The same would be true of the settlement with Teva. Walgreens’ portion to the city is estimated to total about $2.18 million, “which will be paid in 15 annual installments beginning in

December 2023.”

Teva’s portion is estimated to be about $1.45 million “which will be paid in installments over 20 years beginning in July 2024.”

“The proposed settlement would not affect Carson City's claims against other parties involved in the manufacture, distribution or dispensing of opioids,” reads a staff report on both consent agenda items.

• Supervisors will hear a report on the 2022-26 Strategic Plan that was approved in September of 2021.

The item is discussion only. The strategic plan “was prepared to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations and ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals,” according to city staff.

The annual report can be viewed online: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2140277/FY23_Strategic_Plan_Annual_Report_Final.pdf.

• Supervisors will convene as the Board of Health and will hear a report from the city’s health department on legislative changes from the 82^nd Nevada Legislature that could affect public health in the state and city.