Supervisors to discuss grants and public lands

The Carson City Board of Supervisors will weigh several issues at their Thursday meeting and meet with the Planning Commission for discussion on the ongoing Master Plan update.

The regular meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. in the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St. The joint meeting starts at 2 p.m.

For the regular morning session, supervisors will consider grant awards to local nonprofits as part of the Community Support Services Grants program (CSSG).

“The CSSG program has available funding to award $332,687 from the General Fund to non-profit organizations that address a critical need in Carson City. Of that amount, $163,120 in funding was approved in December 2020 through the 5-year non-competitive grant program process,” reads a staff report. “At that time, awards were made to Advocates to End Domestic Violence for crisis intervention, the Carson City Senior Citizens Center for Meals on Wheels, CASA for Guardian Ad Litem advocacy for children, the Community Counseling Center for evidence-based addiction treatment, the Ron Wood Family Resource Center for youth services and to Nevada Rural Counties RSVP for senior independent living programs.”

The report says the remaining $169,567 is available in fiscal year 2025 through a competitive grant process.

“In addition, $120,000 from the Quality of Life Fund is recommended to be awarded to the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada pursuant to the Quality of Life Initiative, which is an initiative, included in the Quality of Life ballot question number 18, in 1996,” according to the report.

The city called for letters of intent on Jan. 22 for the next round of grant awards, and the grants administrator received interest from several parties. An application review workgroup in April recommended $7,500 for Friends in Service Helping (FISH), $20,000 for the Western Nevada College Foundation and $25,000 for Night off the Streets.

“These recommended grants total $52,500, leaving a remaining balance of $117,067,” reads the staff report.

In other action during the regular meeting:

• Supervisors will consider accepting a Recreational Trails Program grant for $75,302 with a 5 percent local match that would fund amenities in the Prison Hill OHV Area.

Amenities would include a vault toilet, traffic counters, informational signs and new fencing.

• Supervisors will consider an amendment to an agreement between the Sierra Front Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, Carson City and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office regarding some public lands controlled by the city and compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

“The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (OPLMA) authorized the transfer of 5,452 acres of public lands to Carson City,” according to the agenda. “Additionally, 489 acres were acquired in Carson River Canyon using Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) grant funds. These acquisitions required compliance with the NHPA. The original Programmatic Agreement (PA) was executed in 2012 and provides procedures for compliance with the NHPA.

“Since then, staff have identified challenges and inefficiencies associated with the procedures outlined in the PA, and staff have been working with the State Historic Preservation Office to amend the PA to streamline the process and allow for more efficient management of these conveyed lands.”

If approved, the amendment would be effective through 2055.

• Supervisors will consider the first reading of an ordinance changing some city right of way southeast of the Carson Mall from public zoning to retail commercial zoning to allow a new ATM in the parking lot area not currently allowed under public zoning.

On April 24, the Carson City Planning Commission recommended approval of the zone change.

• Supervisors will consider closing Rice Street for a special event proposed for July 13.

“The special events policy adopted by the Board of Supervisors included a ‘menu’ of street closures that the Public Works Director is authorized to approve,” according to the agenda. “The policy further states that requests that are not on the ‘menu’ will be considered by the Board. Rice Street is not on the menu.”

The applicant is requesting to close Rice Street on July 13 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. for the Nevada Jeep Club Block Party and Nevada Four Wheel Drive Association fundraiser.

Staff is recommending limiting the closure “to the portion of Rice Street from Carson Street to the eastern edge of the building at 112 Rice Street (The Tap Shack).”

“The staff further recommends that the road closure not compromise access to the driveway on Rice Street for the parking lot at 112 John St.,” reads a staff report.

At 2 p.m., supervisors will meet with the Planning Commission to go over the Master Plan update.

The consultant managing the update, Clarion Associates, “will provide an update on the status of the Master Plan update, provide an overview of the community input, review trends and existing conditions and present potential themes for the Master Plan update,” according to the agenda.