Candidates for Carson City mayor hope redevelopment record reflects kindly on them

Carson City mayoral candidate Tom Tatro likes to think he was a force behind the redevelopment that revitalized Carson's once decrepit downtown.

Incumbent Mayor Ray Masayko would like to think he played a role as well.

Masayko said his position has little to do with redevelopment. However, Tatro said it is fair to use his work in redevelopment as a yardstick by which to judge his ability to lead.

And when it comes to City Hall's actions in luring Costco, the two disagree on what was appropriate.

Neither takes full credit for the change in downtown over the last decade, giving the nod to the original Mainstreet committee, the chamber of commerce and other groups.

Tatro, 43, was on the Board of Supervisors from 1989 through 1999, and he served as chairman of the Redevelopment Authority from 1993 to 1998, a period which was arguably the heyday of redevelopment.

The St. Charles Hotel, once on the edge of condemnation, now a revived city landmark, has Room 303 dedicated to Tatro for "outstanding redevelopment effort."

Walking around downtown Carson City, Tatro is quick to break from conversation to point out a revitalized area. The former Golden Spike, now the Washington Street Station, was "basically a barn full of pigeons."

He worked with the state to get it to purchase the old First Interstate Bank building, which is being remodeled into exhibit space for the Nevada State Museum. That building had tinfoil in the windows, another was boarded up with plywood. The Bliss Mansion, now an attractive bed and breakfast, had no roof.

"Why care about downtown? It's the center of our city," Tatro said. "It's what gives the city its personality; it's what we grew from. Otherwise, we look like every other town in every other state.

"No one person can take credit for this," Tatro said. "But the chair brings everyone together.

"This is one example of what happened while I was chair. It's a fair thing to point out what was accomplished with leadership, bringing a focus and maximizing our efforts. The mayor is chair of the Board of Supervisors. The mayor creates an atmosphere and a level of energy to help things like redevelopment."

Masayko, 55, said he is no more than one voice on a five-person board when it comes to revitalizing the city's core.

"One member of the board doesn't have to have all the vision. It shouldn't be Kay Bennett or Pete Livermore. Why Ray Masayko?" he said. "We have a redevelopment chair who isn't me. Maybe I don't have a grandiose vision. I'm not someone who has grandiose visions using other people's money. Their vision is more important than what Ray Masayko thinks."

Masayko pointed out that he worked on both the original Mainstreet committee and with chamber of commerce boards during the inception of the popular incentive program.

While reluctant to give himself any credit, he said he worked with some property owners to clean up some businesses. He served as the chairman of the Redevelopment Authority in 1998. He sees that, the addition of nearly 1,000 downtown parking spaces and the relaxation of downtown building codes as major successes of the redevelopment program.

"I think people value the history of downtown Carson City, the quaintness of something that is different than a shopping mall," Masayko said. "Redevelopment has been good for Carson City. I don't have a vision of what Carson City is gong to look like, but it's always going to be historical. It's always going to fun to be here. People will come to shop, and special events will occur.

The redevelopment district was formed in 1986 to deal with a downtown devoid of business.

It is bounded basically by Fleischmann Street and Corbett Lane on the north, Mountain Street on the west, Tenth Street and Little Lane on the south and Roop Street to the west.

The district does extend along Highway 50 as far east as Saliman Road, encompassing all of Mills Park. But it is essentially 488 acres of Carson's historic heart.

The district was originally to end after 30 years; however, city supervisors recently voted to add up to 15 extra years to the life of the district.

The biggest change this year came as supervisors added about 16 acres near Fuji Park to the redevelopment district.

A 148,000-square-foot Costco warehouse is under construction on the site, slated to open Nov. 10. The city sold the land to Costco by putting the property in the redevelopment district, allowing the city to sell the land without going through the public bid process. It is the district's only satellite site.

Masayko consistently voted against the use of redevelopment law to benefit Costco, a move which Tatro has criticized.

"I didn't vote against Costco," Masayko said. "I voted against the use of redevelopment law that was inappropriate in my mind. You must make a finding that you can cure blight. I wasn't going to find a case of blight on a piece of sagebrush.

"Once you've made that step, you become a land seller, a land developer. The city is arguing for all the same things a private landowner does. The next piece of sagebrush that tries to jump into the redevelopment district - I probably won't find that blighted either.

"That wasn't the only approach to getting Costco. We'll never know, though, because we didn't take another option. Why sit back and say shoulda, woulda, coulda?"

Tatro said Costco is needed desperately because of the city's dependence on sales tax. Costco is estimated to bring in $1 million in sales taxes, not to mention about $86,000 in property taxes to help fund redevelopment.

He did say, however, that the project was more development than redevelopment.

"I just said the city needed to use whatever means to get Costco," Tatro said. "Costco represents $1 million, and that revenue is important to provide essential city services. I don't know what other alternatives were available. The worst thing would be to do nothing and let it go south. To have tools available to bring then here and not use them would be even worse. We had legal advice saying this was OK. I don't think this was anywhere near the most creative use of redevelopment law."