The Fallon City Council approved at its Feb. 18 council meeting a fair market price appraisal for property it owns on 1050 W. Williams Ave.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
The Fallon City Council voted Feb. 18 to set a fair market price for property the municipality owns on West Williams Avenue.
According to Trent deBraga, deputy city attorney, the city owns property at 1050 W. Williams Ave. The property has once been a home to a feed store, a pizza place and a radio station. The appraisal to determine a fair market value was done on Jan. 22, deBraga said.
Cindy Fogel with Johnson/Perkins/Griffin conducted the appraisal, and she also appraised the half-acre property in November 2022 when the city was considering buying in the parcel. The city bought the property June 29, 2023, as part of its redevelopment plans.
Mayor Ken Tedford said the property was initially purchased for redevelopment in accordance with Nevada Revised Statues along the north Whitaker Lane commercial block on West Williams Avenue. When asked if the property and former building of the former KHWG Radio station was inspected, Tedford said he and city employees inspected the building and found the interior was cleaned out.
Councilwoman Kelly Frost made a motion to accept the fair market price, and Councilwoman Karla Kent seconded. The vote passed 2-0. Councilman Paul Harmon was absent.
In another transaction involving property, the council approved two agenda items for Whytnee Fain. She is applying for both on-premise drinking establishment liquor and cabaret licenses for Grey Area Productions, which is doing business as The Venue Troys Double Shot Event Bar and Catering at 111 S. Allen Road. The last business to occupy the premises was a restaurant.
According to the request for council action, the cabaret license will allow the establishment to provide live entertainment or dancing.
The applications had been reviewed by Fallon Police Chief Ron Wenger, City Engineer Derek Zimney, deBraga and Deputy Clerk Elsie Lee.
The vote on each license was 2-0.
In its final agenda item, the council didn’t take any action of transferring a non-restricted gaming license from the Stockman’s Casino to Clarity Game Opco, LLC.
David Ross, chief executive officer of Gaming Asset Management in Las Vegas, informed the council all employees except the management team, which is part of the current owner Full House Resort, will transfer to the new company.
Ross said Clarity hopes to close the sale with the Stockman’s by April 1.
The council discussed two programs intended to benefit local community health and approved a street zoning change request Feb. 4.
The council heard a presentation of the Churchill County Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Plan from Churchill County Social Services Director Shannon Ernst and Jennifer McClendon, a consultant with Turning Point, Inc.
Ernst said she and Mandie Hammer of Churchill County School District began collaborating on the plan in January 2024 and then brought Turning Point on board in March. The company facilitates and supports change for and with children, youth, families and other residents of Nevada’s communities.
“We were brought in because of the recent impact of suicide in the schools and community,” McClendon said. “We also found pretty early on that behavioral health is having a significant impact on the court system and with law enforcement. It's just taking a really heavy toll in terms of resources of people, time and energy.”
Their collected data showed that almost 90% of local justice systems cases involve mental health and/or substance abuse issues. The program committee also learned that a shortage of safe housing, difficulty in gaining access to care due to a shortage of mental health professionals, transportation barriers and gaps in both the initial crisis response and follow-up care services are some areas of concern in Fallon and Churchill County.
A five-year plan was created for the top three priorities of agency collaboration and resource mapping, promoting open communication about mental health and creating a fully resourced system to meet community needs. Each of the priorities were attached to an action group whose members will be meeting monthly, McClendon said.
In an effort to increase the number of long-term primary care providers in Churchill County the council heard a presentation about a medical residency program in the works from The Fallon Rural Family Medicine Residency Development Steering Committee. University of Nevada, Reno/Renown Family Medicine Chair Amy McGaha, Central Nevada Health District Health Officer Tedd McDonald and Banner Churchill Community Hospital CEO Rob Carnahan said the group is working to establish a UNR Rural Family Medicine Program at Banner Churchill Community Hospital over the next two years.
McGaha said a student who graduates from the UNR medical school and also completes their residency training through UNR is 80% more likely to stay in Nevada to establish a practice. If the program works as currently projected the first student residents would come to Fallon in July of 2027.
The council held the final public hearing to consider a zoning change for 210, 220, 230, 250-252, 270 and 298 S. Taylor St. City Engineer Derek Zimney said notification letters were sent ahead of the hearings to 58 property owners whose property is located within 300 feet of the change. He did not receive any responses or public comments about the request, which the council subsequently approved.
The neighborhood block was a R-2 Limited Multiple Residence District and all except residential address 245 became a C-1 Limited Commercial District. The intent of the rezoning is to better represent the characteristics of the area and their current and future uses.