construction

Plans to install solar panels at five Carson City schools can proceed on schedule, a district court judge ruled today.

Carson City District Court Sr. Judge Deborah Agosti said it was her opinion that the Carson City School District acted within the scope of the law when it came to a joint bid opportunity with the city of Sparks to install the panels.

On Monday the Northern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council filed a petition in Carson City District Court to stop progress on the nearly $11 million project.

Millions of dollars in solar energy projects slated for the Carson City School District hang in the balance after a lawsuit was filed on Monday by a Nevada construction union.

The Northern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council filed a petition in District Court to stop Carson City School District’s plan to build solar energy arrays at five separate school locations in Carson City. A hearing is set for Thursday, 9 a.m. in Carson City District Court.

With the end of the year brings continued road improvements in the Carson City region. Here's what's happening this week:

— Expect minor delays from Fairview Drive between Butti Way and 5th Street roundabout which will be reduced to one lane with flaggers during daytime hours because of water utility improvements.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Despite a dramatic slowdown in Nevada’s population growth, and even some net out-migration for the first time in recent memory, the U.S. Census Bureau report today shows the state will gain a fourth congressional seat in 2013.

Here is the Carson City road construction report for today, Monday, through Dec. 26.

Water utility improvements continue, and the following areas will be affected:

— Fairview Drive between Butti Way and 5th Street roundabout will be reduced to one lane with flaggers during daytime hours.  Expect minor delays.

— Butti Way between Airport Road and Fairview Drive will be reduced to one lane with flaggers during daytime hours. Expect minor delays.

A $4.1 million road widening project that began in January of this year on Roop Street ended Thursday and was celebrated by Carson City officials, nearby residents and, of course, motorists.

A ribbon cutting ceremony at William and Corbett streets marked the occasion. The project — paid for with regional transportation and utility taxes — has been in the works for years, originally planned for construction in 2005 at a cost of around $7 million. However plans were temporarily shelved as the city assessed and paid for other pressing needs.

CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval today said he is disappointed with an order from a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel dismissing Nevada’s legal challenges to the high level nuclear waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain.

Carson City officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16 to reopen N. Roop Street following the completion of the reconstruction/widening project. The public ceremony will take place on North Roop Street between William and Corbett streets.

The following Carson City road information applies to the period of Dec. 13-19, 2010:

The Nevada Department of Transportation will continue working on a freeway landscaping project at the Fifth Street overpass over the freeway and at the Fairview Drive Interchange. Single lane closures are expected on the northbound on ramp from Fairview Drive to the Freeway. No delays are expected. Single lane closures with flaggers are also expected on Fairview Drive and on 5th Street in the vicinity of the Freeway, with minor delays expected.

Well worth the wait and tremendous cost savings to taxpayers, the Roop Street road construction project in Carson City will be celebrated on Thursday, Dec. 16 with a ribbon-cutting dedication ceremony.

After nearly a year's worth of "road closed" signs accompanied by a few already-late-for-work-motorists with finger-gesture and other anger management-related issues, the $4.1 million reconstruction and widening project will permanently reopen following the public ceremony at the corner of William and Corbett streets.

A Q&D Construction crews installs "cattle drive image panels" on the Fairview overpass above Highway 395 on Monday afternoon in Carson City. The work, which is part of the Carson City Freeway Landscape Project that includes landscape, art and history along the freeway corridor, will continue through the week. Go here to see more images. Photos by Cathleen Allison

Looks like there’s finally an opening date set for Roop Street. They’ve been rebuilding the stretch of Roop between Washington Street and the Lone Mountain Cemetery ever since the early summer. This has caused big headaches for traffic around town, since that is one of the major north-south routes through that part of town. Although, they wisely waited until the Stewart Street extension was done, so at least there was an easy detour to get around all the construction. But it will still be good to get all the cones and detour signs down and be able to sail through.

The Roop Street widening project is continuing and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. The following impacts are expected this week:
· Roop Street is closed from William Street to Stewart Street through the completion of the project.
· Long Street will be closed from Stewart Street to Marian Street. Traffic will be detoured via Stewart Street, Corbett Street, and Molly Drive.
· Beverly Street will be closed to through traffic at Roop Street.
· Traffic crossing Roop Street may do so at Corbett Street.

A year-round supply of fresh leafy greens and other nutritious foods has been the wish of Penny Reynolds, culinary arts director for Carson High School. And now those hopes will soon come to be as The Greenhouse Project, a community-based greenhouse and garden, takes root in Carson City.

A ground-breaking ceremony held on Friday marks the beginning of a project that many believe will be a model for Carson City, the state of Nevada and the nation. Construction will begin next week.

Carson City officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 16, to reopen N. Roop Street following the completion of the reconstruction/widening project.

The ceremony will take place on N. Roop Street between William Street and Corbett Street. City officials will be joined by representatives of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the private sector firms which participated in the design and construction of the road. Following the ceremony, the traffic control barriers will be removed, and the road will be opened to public travel.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A panel of private sector fiscal experts today projected the Nevada state general fund will have about $5.3 billion in tax revenues to spend on government services for the next two years.
The Nevada Economic Forum spent the day making projections for gaming, sales, business and other major tax revenues for use by Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval and the Legislature in crafting a balanced budget for the two years beginning July 1, 2011.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Nevada Republican Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval announced today his selection of 29 Nevadans to serve on his transition advisory team, including Bill Bible, former president of the Nevada Resort Association, and state Sen. Dean Rhoads, who backed Sen. Harry Reid’s re-election bid.
The diverse group of community leaders from across Nevada will provide input and feedback to Sandoval on a wide range of issues.

The Carson City road report for the week includes some street closures for the annual Silver and Snowflake Festival on Thursday, the public works department reports.

The event and parade will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and will include the following street closures:
— Carson Street from Robinson Street to Fifth Street
— West Musser Street from North Carson Street to North Nevada Street

The Carson Nugget Development Advisory Committee voted Monday night to forward the still-changing plans for the Carson City Center/Nugget Project to the Board of Supervisors.

The committee heard a presentation from P3 Development about the feasibility plan they said showed that the project was viable.

Celtic Lawn and Landscape recently showed its holiday goodwill by giving back to the town of Dayton, Nev. When the owner and employees of Celtic heard that the Dayton Toy Drive had already received 60 applications from families in need of gifts for their children, they came up with a creative way to help.

With 300 jobs added to the labor force, the unemployment rate in Carson City fell to 12.5 percent in October from 13.3 percent in September, according to a report released today by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Carson City area employers added 300 jobs in October, and are down just 500 or 1.7 percent from the same month a year ago, the report states.

"We are delighted. It is always a good sign when new businesses come in such as Kohl's and Big Lots and hire people," said Ronni Hannaman, executive director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce. "The retail community has pulled us out of some of the hiring doldrums."

One point I think you could get all sides of the debate over the Carson City Center/Nugget Project to agree on is that it's a very complicated deal.

But after spending a good deal of time looking at the newly released feasibility study for this project, it struck me that it's really not that complicated. If you strip away all the extraneous issues about the land leases and who is paying who, it comes down to a simple trade.

It boils down to this: the Carson Nugget is giving the city a piece of land to build a new library and public plaza. In return, the city is building the Nugget a new parking garage for its casino and future hotel/conference center.

Road Report as of November 5, 2010. The following information applies to the period of November 8-14, 2010:

The Roop Street widening project is continuing and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. The following impacts are expected this week:

• Roop Street is closed from William Street to Stewart Street through the completion of the project.
• William Street will have intermittent lane closures at Roop Street on Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for westbound traffic.

A breakfast Thursday morning hosted by the Northern Nevada Development Authority will feature a panel of experts who will discuss the business of energy, industry and innovation.
The meeting will be held at the Carson Nugget. Doors open at 7 a.m. with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $20 for NNDA investors with reservations and $35 for guests or at the door. Questions, contact NNDA at (775) 883-4413.

With the focus on business development, the discussion will focus on ways to make the region innovative and profitable.

The panel includes:

The Nevada Appeal today has the story of a missing historical marker. You know those blue markers in the shape of Nevada that dot the landscape? Sometimes they go missing, either through theft or vandalism, or they’re removed during the course of nearby construction. Sometimes they are put back in place after the construction is done, as was the case with the marker in front of the Carson City Courthouse on Musser.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The question of how well the Gibbons administration has done in quickly and efficiently deploying Nevada’s share of stimulus dollars is difficult to quantify.

Monday morning's Carson City commute may bring with it some debris-dodging following Sunday's wind and rain storm. The Carson City Public Works Department will have no doubt worked throughout the night clearing the streets. Give 'em a wave for their efforts if you see them on the streets.

The Secretary of the Interior announced the approval of $90 million in funding for continued restoration at Lake Tahoe along with other park and trail projects in Nevada as part of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.

The funding includes money for the purchase by the Forest Service of the 13 acre Schulz property near the Kings Canyon Waterfall as well as funding up to 40 percent of the $1.6 million for the acquisition of the Bently, Carson River Canyon property. The balance of the funding and future management will be through the City’s Open Space Program.

Construction on the new Aaron’s store in south Carson has gone vertical. You may remember this as the site where the old Carpet Barn used to sit.