Carson City Board of Supervisors vote to move Nugget Project forward
Submitted by admin on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 10:51pm
After a marathon meeting today, the Carson City Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to allow staff to begin negotiations on agreements to develop the City Center/Nugget Project.
But the project may face hurdles getting final approval, as two of those voting yes expressed concerns about the project.
Supervisor Shelly Aldean expressed reservations about the city using $1.2 million in general fund money to help pay for the $2.5 million in annual lease payments. Said she wants city staff to find ways to scale back the project, or to do it in phases to reduce costs. She had previously stated her strong position that she wanted to limit the funding to the proposed 1/8th cent sales tax increase and tax increment financing.
--See the real-time coverage from the meeting
Mayor Bob Crowell said he thought the project was the right thing to do, but said there were "dealbreakers" for him that needed to be dealt with in the negotiations, such as finding ways to minimize risks to the city's bond rating.
John McKenna called it a "building buildings" project that wasn't sustainable in today's economy, and was the lone no vote. Supervisor Molly Walt and Karen Abowd spoke strongly in favor of the project, estimated to cost the city $31 million.
Carson Nugget President Steve Neighbors was on hand, and had a few revealing things to add to the discussion. At one point, he told the board that he had been talking to a "backup" developer who might be able to offer more agreeable terms that P3 Development, the firm he picked for the project, and whose representatives were in the room.
Neighbors also said that the Hop & Mae Adams Foundation may consider donating the land under the proposed $7.8 million parking garage if it would help the city obtain federal money to help build it.
However, when asked why the foundation couldn't just donate all the land to the city instead of a 30-year lease-to-own deal, he said that the Carson Nugget Casino had to have control of its parking in order to remain a viable business.
Neighbors went on to say of the city found another source of financing for the project and paid off the lease-to-own deal with P3, then the foundation would turn over the land at that time.
City Manager Larry Werner also revealed that the city was planning on paying for the design of the public portion of the project separately because they wanted to control that aspect. No word on the cost of this, or how it would be paid for.
Public comment on the issue consumed about three hours of the meeting, that didn't adjourn until 7 p.m. Several representatives from building trades and library groups spoke in favor of the project, while opponents criticized the plans and the tax increases to pay for them.
One question from the audience asked if the new library would be delivered in turn-key condition, or if the city would have to pay extra for improvements to make it suitable for their operations.
We'll have more on this issue in the days to come.
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