The Carson City Board of Supervisors on Thursday will consider funding for a number of projects, including a program to help downtown businesses spruce up their properties.
The Facade Improvement Program would match up to $25,000 for improvements to building exteriors such as painting, lighting, doors and updated signage. The businesses would have to pay up front and be reimbursed by the city for its portion.
Eligible businesses are located in redevelopment area 1 — downtown Carson Street from a few blocks north of William Street to Little Lane and the commercial blocks east and west — and redevelopment area 2 — all commercial areas south of there as well as NorthTown Plaza at the southwest corner of College Parkway and Carson Street.
The board will be considering establishing the program and funding it from the Redevelopment Revolving Fund for $150,000 in fiscal year 2015-2016 and $50,000 the following fiscal year. The board will also consider allocating $15,000 and $25,000 from the same fund for the same years, respectively, to support street closures for special events.
Future of fair(s) to be discussed
The supervisors also will decide whether to continue putting on the Nevada Fair, an event located the last two years at the Carson City Fairgrounds and Fuji Park.
The event drew an estimated 21,000 attendees in 2014 and 28,000 in 2015, and made a modest profit last year of about $5,000 that can be used to help run the 2016 event.
But, according to city staff, several city departments donated time, including the Parks & Recreation Department, which donated at least 637.50 hours, cutting into its routine department work.
City staff recommends charging admission in 2016 or dropping the event since another organization with rights to the Nevada State Fair formerly held in Reno and a separate event from the Nevada Fair is hosting that fair at Mills Park June 9-12.
Discontinuing the Nevada Fair this year would obviously avoid confusion with the Nevada State Fair. Holding a comprehensive state fair combining the livestock portion of the Nevada Fair with the Nevada State Fair beginning in 2017 has also been discussed.
Water facility contract
The board will consider approving a $30 million contract with K.G. Walters Construction/Q&D Construction for phase 1 of upgrades at the Water Resource Recovery Facility.
A second contract for about $1 million, for inspections and testing at the water facility, could be awarded to Construction Materials Engineers Inc.
The upgrades include a new bio-reactor, a secondary clarifier, a new digester mixing and heating system, two new standby generators and major upgrades to the existing electrical and controls system.
The project timeline calls for phase 1 to be finished in 2018, when planning and bonding is completed for the second phase of the project.
Block grants, etc.
The board of supervisors will take action on allocating the city’s Community Development Block Grant Funding for 2016-2017, after which will be a 30-day comment period on the action plan.
The total funding is expected to be about $350,000 and an Application Review Workgroup has made recommendations for awards for public service activities and public facilities.
The ARW choices for the first category are $30,000 to the Ron Wood Family Resource Center Reach Up program; $12,000 for Food for Thought; and $10,442 for ESL In Home Program of Northern Nevada.
For public facilities, the ARW recommends $18,062 to Clear Creek Bowmen/Department of Parks & Recreation and $208,938 to Nevada Rural Housing Authority.
Other items on the board agenda include:
A purchase agreement with South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling/Douglas Disposal & Recycling Services for landfill tipper equipment to bring solid waste to the Carson City landfill.
Annual reports from the Department of Alternative Sentencing and the Open Space Advisory Committee.
The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, in the Sierra Room at the Carson City Community Center.
