3rd Street downtown plaza is top priority

Creating a downtown plaza by closing off 3rd Street from Carson to Curry streets is the top priority of the Carson City Redevelopment Citizens Committee (RACC).

The committee, preparatory to meeting with the Board of Supervisors this fall on priorities for use of un-designated redevelopment funds, met Wednesday to establish a list of top prospects. Community Development Manager Lee Plemel reported Thursday the amount involved for this fiscal year is almost $272,000.

The downtown plaza concept on 3rd Street was touted by Ronni Hannaman, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce and a RACC member, and also was supported by a couple of other members as the top prospect among various possibilities under consideration. Other panel members listed the 3rd Street conversion fifth or sixth and it garnered the best score. Second in the scoring was improvement of community sidewalks.

Special events funding, which has been done in past years with un-designated redevelopment funds, trailed and didn’t even make the top five after the scoring exercise was finished.

Third in the running was street lighting, fourth was a sign outside Fuji Park and Fairgrounds, and fifth was putting up directional signs in the community.