City Center Project on minds of many at State of the City forum

Developing downtown Carson City has been one of the city's top priorities for years, but it also has been one of its biggest challenges, according to Mayor Bob Crowell.

And part of that plan, the City Center Project, was a hot topic at Carson City Chamber of Commerce's second annual State of the City forum on Friday.

Crowell, along with the majority of the Carson City Board of Supervisors, believes the project will be just what the city needs to turn around its lagging economy.

"Perhaps it exists, but I know of no other community in the United States where a major business enterprise in the center of a community has been made available for community use," Crowell said, referring to the land donation and financial assistance provided by the Mae B. Adams Trust through the Carson Nugget.

"It is a gift to our community the likes of which we may never see again and one which we must make every effort to capitalize on for the long-term health of our city," he said.

Last year the board passed a motion agreeing that if the Mae B. Adams Trust and the Library Foundation raised $21 million in private funds and the trust donated its land, the city would enter into a long-term lease to build a Knowledge + Discovery Center on land now owned by the Carson Nugget and used for surface parking.

Last week, however, a group of opponents filed a petition they are circulating that says, "No public funding shall be used for the proposed Carson City Center Project ... without a majority vote of the people approving such funding."

During a question-and-answer period after Friday's speeches, one of the petitioners, Linda Barnett, asked whether the board had any intention to "let the people decide" whether to go forward with the project.

Supervisor Shelly Aldean answered that under a representative form of government, "We were elected to make these decisions."

She said the board had listened to objections during public hearings and responded to concerns by redesigning the project a number of times and eliminating sales tax revenue as a source of funding the project.

"We've built in safeguards to protect the sovereignty of the city," she said.

After Friday's event, Barnett, general manager of the Carson City Hampton Inn and Suites, said she hopes the matter will be put to a vote.

"Let the people of Carson City decide whether they want to move forward with this. The only way to know is to put it to a vote," she said.

Ron Swirczek, a member of the Carson City School Board and a former supervisor, said that the proposed Knowledge + Discovery Center, the heart of the City Center Project, was critical to the city's future success.

"It would be one of the finest learning centers in the world, and it will bring in businesses (whose owners) want their children to have these kinds of opportunities," Swirczek said. "If we make our kids successful, then we're all successful."