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The Town of min N E V A D A a n The Minden Town Board meeting was held on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at 1602 Esmeralda Avenue in Minden, Nevada beginning at 6:00 p.m. Board members present: Ross Chichester, Bob Hadfield, John Stephans, and Steve Thaler. Staff present: Andy Concannon, Trish Koepnick, Bruce Scott. I Meeting called to order by Bob Hadfield 1. Pledge of allegiance led by Bob Hadfield. 2. Chichester/Thaler moved to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Thaler/Stephans moved to approve the minutes of September 2, 2009. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Approval of vouchers. 5. No public comment. II. Staff Reports 1. Public Works: Andy Concannon was present to give report; Greg Hill was on vacation a. Well 5 had a new VFD installed; there are some problems to be resolved. The new bubbler for the water level was installed by the crew at a savings of $2,950.00 less than the quote. b. We are still waiting for two more new back up pumps to arrive. c. Concrete replacement and grinding is in progress at Minden Park in areas where the sidewalk is lifting. 2. Engineering Report: Bruce Scott a. We are working through the FEMA and Douglas County floodplain process in regard to the Buckeye facility. Near the end of November we will file for a letter of map amendment to allow us to take most of the site out of the flood plane. Mr. Hadfield noted that the congressional delegation has joined in regarding the dispute over the new maps, and meetings are scheduled for the citizens to understand the need for insurance etc. If FEMA says they will take ---PAGE BREAK--- another look at this, it is uncertain what map would be followed. Mr. Scott said that we will be out of the floodplain one way or another, whether it is the new FEMA elevation or the current elevation. Douglas County is moving ahead with the appeal; there is a real sense that FEMA has been pretty heavy handed. b. RCI found out today that Valley Concrete has not been paid, Bruce will be talking to George to pursue payment on behalf of Valley Concrete, and we do have a bond that protects them. Wilson Construction should also be paid through the bond. c. District Court has thrown out the lawsuit of the Pyramid Lake Tribe because they did not post the bond so the state court action at this point is done. Bruce has questioned if the state engineer’s office will move ahead with the issuance of permits, but there has been no response yet. d. We filed routine extensions for water rights to keep in good standing. e. Mr. Scott inquired if the slurry seal is improving in Mackland. Mr. Stephans believes it is better because of the higher temperatures and traffic. f. Our first credit for the domestic well credit program will come from Barbara Seeman on Zerolene. She has connected to our system and taken her well out of service. g. We will look at a minor design review for CVI tonight; there may be some relocation of water mains. h. We are continuing to work with all parties to go ahead with water line agreement, it is moving slowly. Mr. Hadfield reported on the meeting that he attended last week concerning the waterline. Goal is to finalize agreement to be approved by all parties in December. We are looking at different financing alternatives and trying to fine tune the numbers for all the entities, with the primary goal to get water to Indian Hills as soon as possible. We will be meeting again in a few weeks. Everyone is optimistic that the work can be done for a very good price, but more time and money will be involved if we deal with bonding. i. The geotechnical report for the water tank is complete. Working on visual simulations for location and moving forward with design elements. At this point we are waiting for funding to be in place. j. We had talked about possible well drilling for test wells; this remains on hold until we feel able to proceed. We may want to delay the possible construction for the well at the Ranch at Gardnerville and focus on Booster well. Until we see a better financial clarity we will not move on these yet. Mr. Hadfield said that one component of this discussion is if there is an attempt to figure when growth will begin again. If there is growth, water hookup fees can be a component in the financial plan. He is fairly certain that no one anticipates the Minden Town Board Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 2 of 7 ---PAGE BREAK--- rapid growth that we experienced in the past to start up again, and sewer demand is down and water use is not going up. New needs for water will be driven by either the need to replace “bad” water for “good” water or new hookups. In any agreement we have we will be reserving funds for future capital improvements and those funds can be used only for those specific purposes, including any interest earned. Mr. Scott noted that Carson City recently reduced their connection fees dramatically. Mr. Hadfield said that Carson City knows the limits of their growth; the biggest unknown is Douglas County because we don’t have the restrictions on land, etc. as they do in Carson City. 4. Board member reports a. Mr. Sheets is currently in eastern Nevada. b. Mr. Hadfield looked at the sheds at CVI, in case they are historical. c. Mr. Stephans reported on the Christmas meeting held last week. The tent will be shipped right to office and we have 5 days to set up and determine if there is any problem or damage. We will have the Carson Valley Middle School choir on Saturday, and on Sunday the music will be the group “All Hat and No Cattle.” We need to start using the Town of Minden welcome banner; there will be a new banner for German Christmas market. Friday and Saturday night we would like the board to help with the letters for Santa. LED lighting will be done for the gazebo lighting. Roxanne requested the use of the tin soldier lighting if not being used. Mr. Stephans inquired on the status of the banner pole on Esmeralda. He would like to wear elf costumes in the Parade of Lights. Howard Herz showed the poster for the Christmas marketplace. Bev Giannopulos noted that we will also have pony and train rides. d. Mr. Chichester said that we are continuing to receive manager applications through November. 5. Chairman’s report presented by Mr. Hadfield: a. Breakfast at Minden Park for Marines being deployed to Afghanistan was held on Friday October 9. There was a good community turnout, and the Town donated the use of Minden Park and the CVIC Hall kitchen. b. Haunted Weekend will be October 22-25. This year Minden will have its first Minden ghost walk. c. The play “Moon over Buffalo” will be held in the CVIC Hall for the next two weekends. Minden Town Board Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 3 of 7 ---PAGE BREAK--- III. Discussion and possible action: Approve, approve with conditions, or deny request by Larry Henry for approval of minor design review for a 2600 square foot addition to the Carson Valley Inn. Bruce Scott introduced the item. The CVI is doing a modest expansion. They will be enhancing the façade of the casino and adding landscaping. His letter of September 28, 2009, recommends approval with minor conditions. Larry Henry gave some background on the new ownership of the Carson Valley Inn; this project will be under that new ownership, with the previous owners being very cooperative. The essential proposal is to expand out from the west side of the existing CVI near the existing restaurant and kitchen facilities. The expansion would serve as a new loading dock and receiving area for deliveries as well as a dry and cold storage facility. They will be removing the first metal building and beautifying the corner with landscaping to further screen the two remaining metal storage buildings, which will be painted brown. The owner would like an electronic reader board on the side of the building, and it is shown on the exhibit just to get feedback. New owner is looking at the Inn to be a locals place but also a more of a destination resort with a higher standard. Public comment: Bev Giannopulos questioned if the reader board would replace the existing sign or supplement it. Mr. Hadfield noted that signage is a different issue; it must meet the county requirements and is not part of the action tonight. Bev also questioned where the entrance for delivery trucks will be. There will be one less egress ingress from 395, which is a big plus. Mr. Hadfield appreciates that the design brings back the ambiance of the Inn; it links the building together and provides a nice landscaping area that breaks it from being a solid wall across. Chichester/Stephans moved to approve with the conditions set forth in Bruce Scott’s letter of September 28 to the Minden Town Board the request by Larry Henry for approval of minor design review for a 2600 square foot addition to the Carson Valley Inn. Motion approved unanimously. IV. Discussion and possible action: Approve, approve with conditions or deny request by Adelina Delagarza for refund of deposit that was processed for cleaning charges from event on August 29, 2009, in accordance with the Town of Minden CVIC Hall policy. Ms. Delagarza is disputing the cleaning charges and asking for a refund of $400. Cassandra Galarza represented her family. She disputed the cleaning charges saying that they left the hall clean and had removed all the gum from the floor. Mr. Chichester questioned why gum was on the floor to begin with and believed that there must have been some remaining. Mr. Hadfield questioned their use of the room which they had not paid for; Cassandra said that they used it only to change clothes. Minden Town Board Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 4 of 7 ---PAGE BREAK--- Mr. Chichester noted that we generally do not keep deposits unless warranted; we have to trust that our employees do not make these things up. There were four hours of cleaning done by the employees, and according to our policy, gum on the floor calls for immediate forfeiture of the entire deposit. Mr. Thaler agreed with Ross and noted that we need to be good stewards of the Town’s money and hold people accountable. Mr. Hadfield could understand the reason for different perceptions, but we have rules to follow. Chichester/Stephans moved to forgive the $75 charge for the extra hour of use, with the Town keeping the cleaning deposit. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hadfield said that it boils down to the fact that we have very high standards; our job is the care of the hall and next time the renters will have a clear understanding of the rules. V. Discussion and possible action: Approve, approve with conditions or deny request for approval of the architectural/engineering fee proposal from Ganther Melby, LLC for the Buckeye Maintenance facility based on the Scope of Service and the Preliminary Estimate of Probable Construction Cost. Mr. Scott said that this is very comprehensible proposal from the architect. His suggestion is to consider moving forward without a major financial commitment at this time. Mr. Hadfield inquired about the schematic design, and Mr. Scott said we need to take a step at a time and find out what we want conceptually, then move on to the schematic. Mr. Thaler thought that Q&D would do some of the items that are noted for the architect, and we haven’t pulled the architect and Q&D together to come up with a plan. Mr. Scott agreed that we need to know how the two interface, but with the way the statutes are set up, Q&D is stepping back and waiting for the architect, who works for us and not for Q&D. No public comment. Chichester/Thaler moved to move ahead with the program development and the conceptual design, with a fee of $7,000 total for both of those combined. Motion carried unanimously. Next step will be to get the committee together with Q&D and the architect. Mr. Thaler emphasized not wanting to spend all the money on preliminary and then having no money left for the project. VI. Discussion and possible action: Approve, approve with conditions or deny approval of the clarification of the policy and procedure to be followed by Town administration regarding deposits for rental of the CVIC Hall. Mr. Stephans noted that we recently instituted a new tiered rate structure for rentals and deposits for the hall. He would recommend that the deposit is processed only for first time renters. Minden Town Board Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 5 of 7 ---PAGE BREAK--- Mr. Chichester said that he would also add anyone that had a bad track record would have their deposit processed, and wants to make sure that the county rules are followed regarding checks being held. Mr. Hadfield would like to make sure that we document any problems with a digital camera, dated and time stamped. Because we do not do an inspection with the renter at the time of closing, the custodian locking up needs to take a preliminary look at the condition of the hall before he leaves the building. It was noted that this issue came up due to a longtime renter being concerned with the change in policy and did not believe we should process her deposit check. Public comment: a. Marlena Hellwinkel agreed that we should definitely take pictures, thought that holding deposit checks might make more work for the staff, and noted the possible manipulation of the system by people who live out of Douglas County. b. Sandy Deyo thought deposits from service organizations should be held and deposits from private parties should be cashed. Pictures need to be on scale so size, etc. can be recognized. c. Robert McMillan thought that there should be a walk-through with the renter when the person comes to close up so the renter would know immediately what the problem is. d. Bev Giannopulos agreed with taking pictures, but did not think the maintenance person should be a policeman. Mr. Hadfield wanted to note that it is nice to see Bob Gardner in the audience. Stephans/Chichester moved to motion that rental deposits be processed for first time rentals and large private parties, service groups deposits will be held, former customers of the CVIC Hall with no problems will have the deposit held while former renters of the CVIC Hall who had problems will have the deposit processed. Motion carried unanimously. Staff Reports Continued Mr. Keele apologized for being late. He said he finally had a chance to visit with Alan Smith, the attorney for Gateway Center and Jeff Lowden concerning the cleanup effort. The indemnity provision has been removed; the insurance pool says there is no concern about the debtor indemnifying the town. Mike McCormick from the District Attorney’s office said that we need a hold harmless provision. Alan Smith said there is authorization for Mr. Lowden to talk and sign the agreement; essentially we have the approval signed by the principal and authorized by the attorney. It was noted that Greg would prefer that cleanup with NDF be scheduled when he is back from vacation. We will be meeting with water counsel prior to the November meeting. Minden Town Board Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 6 of 7 ---PAGE BREAK--- Hadfield/Chichester moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:01 pm. Motion carried unanimously. Minden Town Board Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 7 of 7