Carson City group discusses ‘Blue Line’ removal

The Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee (RACC) met Monday and took no action, but had a lengthy discussion about long-term projects that change over time.

The projects at hand were the replacement of the Blue Line walk in the historic district and the Re-Imagined Space public art project.

Both projects were recommended by RACC to the Board of Supervisors, which approved them.

Re-Imagined Space, approved for $10,000 out of RACC’s 2018 fiscal year budget, is a project to place art in or on vacant buildings in the city’s redevelopment areas to address issues of blight.

The money was requested by the then-Carson City Visitors Bureau (CCVB) to purchase equipment needed to display the art.

Since then, the project has moved over to the city’s arts and culture office, which installed a large photographic mural called The Ropers on a Stewart Street building with half the funds.

Mark Salinas, arts and culture coordinator, said the plan for the remaining $5,000 was to fund a visit by San Francisco artist Kindah Khalidy, who would hold public workshops to create pieces of art to be distributed throughout the redevelopment areas.

The project has received additional grants from the Nevada Arts Council and Southwest Gas, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada is planning its own event with the artist.

“When you presented with Joel (Dunn, former CCVB director) it was supposed to be for drapes and lights and not the art itself,” said RACC member Ronni Hannaman. “What happened to that?”

Hannaman said she supported the project, but it was more of a project for the Cultural Commission, which receives $25,000 in funding from RACC.

“I think we need to be clear that if things change it needs to come back to RACC,” she said.

The Blue Line project, approved for $26,000 out of RACC’s 2017 fiscal year budget, has also morphed, but due to changes made when it went before the supervisors.

When recommended by RACC, the project was going to replace the painted blue line that guides walkers.

But, the board and city staff decided to remove the painted line and replace it with signage and a smartphone app that guides the tour.

“It’s been a maintenance nightmare for years,” said Dunn, now a consultant working with the Culture and Tourism Authority, referring to the painted line.

Dunn said eliminating it also provided the opportunity to rebrand the walk as the Kit Carson Trail.

At the end of the meeting, Lee Plemel, director, Community Development, said going forward staff would bring projects back to RACC for review if changes triggered reevaluation.