Regular Meeting

City of Elko ) County of Elko ) State of Nevada ) SS August 13, 2024 The City Council of the City of Elko, State of Nevada met for a regular meeting beginning at 4:00 PM, Tuesday, August 13, 2024. The meeting was held in the council chambers, 1751 College Ave., Elko. This meeting was called to order by Mayor Reece Keener. The public can watch the meeting by phone, tablet, laptop, or computer by going to the link provided on the agenda. Questions can be sent to cityclerk@elkocitynv.gov. I. CALL TO ORDER The Agenda for this meeting of the City of Elko City Council has been properly posted for this date and time in accordance with NRS requirements. II. ROLL CALL Present: Reece Keener, Mayor Mandy Simons, Councilwoman (left at 5:59 PM) Chip Stone, Councilman Clair Morris, Councilman Giovanni Puccinelli, Councilman City Staff Present: Jan Baum, City Manager Dave Stanton, City Attorney Dale Johnson, Utilities Director Jim Kerr, Water Superintendent Paul Algerio, Public Works Jim Foster, Airport Manager James Johnston, Fire Chief Ty Trouten, Police Chief Ralph Negron, Development Manager Julie Davis, Financial Services Director Candi Quilici, Accounting Manager James Wiley, Parks and Recreation Director Susie Shurtz, Human Resources Manager Annette Robinson, City Clerk Technician II Rachel Randall, Planning Technician Justin Alanis, Facilities Superintendent III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. COMMENTS BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 1 of 23  Pursuant to N.R.S. 241, this time is devoted to comments by the public, if any, and discussion of those comments. No action may be taken upon a matter raised under this item on the agenda until the matter itself has been specifically included on a successive agenda and identified as an item for possible action. ACTION WILL NOT BE TAKEN There were no public comments. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. July 23, 2024 Regular Session The minutes were approved by general consent. VI. PRESENTATION A. Presentation of a plaque by the Mayor in honor of Dr. David M. Hogle for his many years of service to the community, and matters related thereto. INFORMATION ONLY - NON ACTION ITEM Mayor Keener introduced Dr. David Hogle and asked him to say a few words. Dr. Hogle said it has been his honor to serve the folks of the county. He has had two careers, 22 years as an able-bodied person and then 22 years as a disabled person. He thanked the community and his compatriots in the community and his staff for allowing him to continue to do what he did. It's not often one can take great pleasure in helping folks. It has been a blessing. Up next, he plans on moving to Spokane and fishing. Mayor Keener added that he was very instrumental in mentoring a lot of other physicians and interns from the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, throughout his career. He then presented the plaque, which reads, “Doctor David Hogle, MD, Internal Medicine Specialist at Elko Clinic, with heartfelt gratitude, we honor your 48 years of unwavering dedication, compassionate care, and exceptional service to the residents of the City of Elko. Your wisdom, kindness, and commitment have touched countless lives, leaving an indelible mark on all who have had the privilege to know you. Thank you for your lifetime of healing and hope.” B. Reading of a proclamation by the Mayor in recognition of the month of September 2024, as Suicide Prevention Month, and matters related thereto. INFORMATION ONLY - NON ACTION ITEM Mayor Keener said this item will be moved to the following meeting, at the request of the Suicide Prevention Month organizers. C. Presentation by the Community Development Department regarding ongoing violations of the Elko City Code, including a public nuisance at 440 Grant Street (Shady Elms Mobile Home Park), and matters related thereto. INFORMATION ONLY – NON ACTION ITEM August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 2 of 23  The City of Elko has received and investigated many complaints from neighboring residents regarding the Shady Elms Mobile Home Park located at 440 Grant Street since August 27, 2021. City Staff has also seen the property firsthand and has confirmed the presence of conditions and activities, including possible criminal activity, that are believed to constitute a nuisance under the City Code. Elko City Manager requested that an item be placed on the next agenda to review these matters. The City Attorney’s Office will explain actions currently underway to address these issues and will describe the process set forth in the City Code for abating nuisances. RN Ralph Negron, Development Manager, went over the presentation provided in the agenda packet, which provides photo documentation of ongoing violations at Shady Elms Mobile Home Park from August 2021 to present. In addition to numerous complaints from residents, the police department has received 217 calls and the fire department has had 35 call outs. Violations range from trash and weeds, abandoned vehicles, vandalism, tagging, squatting, burned down trailers, and exposed electrical panels. This spring, a tenant’s sewer line was blocked, so the tenant ran a new line to what they thought was a sewer main, but ended up connecting to a water shut-off valve. That was reported to NDEP as a biohazard. NV Energy’s service manager, Dick Campbell, called today. They are having several issues with power being stolen. Also, when their servicemen have gone out to disconnect the power, the lines have ended up being hot. They have come very close to someone getting hurt. Mr. Campbell would to have a conversation with the owners to discuss a single primary meter source for the entire park. Positively, Mr. Negron spoke with Watkin Services yesterday. They are providing a quote to remove 13 trailers from the park. A permit has been issued for the sewer line to be reinstalled. The park manager, Suzette, has been working with Manpower to clean up some of the areas. Mayor Keener said he took a drive up there and was astonished that those kind of conditions exist here in our community. It is a slum. The photos don’t do it justice. He asked if he had any contact with the principal owner in Arizona. Mr. Negron said some letters have been delivered, but they have not responded. He believes they are talking with Suzette instead of directly with the city. Council Member Giovanni Puccinelli said he works with a guy that lives nearby who has complained to him about this place for 2-3 months solid. People are throwing trash in his yard, and piling stuff up against the fence to the point where his fence broke. He did say that last week, he saw some things being cleaned up and two of the trailers were removed. Council Member Mandy Simons said she also knows someone who lives close by who has been concerned about criminal activity. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 3 of 23  Ty Trouten, Police Chief, said there have been a numbers of calls. Just yesterday, there was a subject who resides there that was on probation for stolen firearm and drugs. He and his girlfriend both went to jail. The theory of displacement is when you eradicate criminal activity in one area, it pushes elsewhere. One of the major subjects from the other public nuisance we are dealing with went right over to here. There is criminal activity going on. Mayor Keener said whenever we get to the point of filing a nuisance, and approving it at the council level, there should be something in there to have the electrical problems remediated. Katie McConnell, McConnell Law office, speaking on behalf of the property owner, RCE Development LLC, said she has been corresponding with the City’s legal counsel, Dave Stanton, for the past six weeks. Last year a new park manager was hired, Suzie. She is on site. Regarding the property owner’s company, there was a change in management in 2021. Four Peaks Capital Partners, or the Four Peaks Group, is based out of Arizona, but now the principal is in Austin, TX. She is in direct contact with them. Two weeks ago, four RV’s were removed. Lostra Brothers will be removing three more. They are still waiting for the quote from Watkins Services, but hope to get it soon so they can get them scheduled in the next month or two. They can remove both mobile homes and the burned down mobile homes. PlumbLine has been engaged to deal with the sewer issue. Regarding crime, that revolves around two specific tenants and they have started eviction proceedings against them. She believes once they get these two tenants evicted, and trespass them off, a lot of the major criminal activity will stop or start to dissipate. Neither the owners nor herself disputes it's a disaster and it needs work. She accepted the service of the nuisance and her clients are not fighting or hiding from it. They will do their best to try to keep in communication with the City and work towards mitigating this. Mayor Keener asked why her client let things degrade this much. Ms. McConnell said they thought the local management was taking care of all of these issues. There have been some evictions, but then the tenants would just move right back in. Having an on-site manager will really help with that. Mayor Keener asked if Michael Ayala is still a principal in this group. Ms. McConnell said Mr. Ayala is the principal of Four Peaks. He had a former partner based out of Arizona that is no longer actively involved. She has had a number of video conferences with him over the last two months. He is her number one point of contact and the City is welcome to go through her. Council Member Clair Morris asked how long Mr. Ayala has owned it, because it was a problem 20 years ago. He remembers raw sewage running down the streets, extension cords running to and from homes. It has gotten worse. Ms. McConnell responded close to 15 to 20 years. She thinks Mr. Ayala purchased it as an individual and then when he became part of the Four Peaks Group, it was sold to the Group, which happened August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 4 of 23  about six or seven years ago. Her client is committed to working towards getting this nuisance abated and getting the park cleaned up. Mr. Negron said he thinks the amount of work needed to get everything cleaned up was just too much for Suzette. They need to bring in a contractor with some heavy equipment. It's a major safety concern for not just the people living there, but for people making deliveries and others working there. Mayor Keener asked Ms. McConnell what her client can do to bump up the timeline. Ms. McConnell said the single biggest issue is the evictions. She has to get them out before they can legally go in and clean up those spaces. The evictions were served on August 12th and they have 21 days to respond. When she spoke with her clients last Friday or Thursday, it was about getting a contractor in to clean up the common areas. Anything that's not specifically rented or possessed by someone else, they can clean up now. She would be happy to get her clients in touch with NV Energy and anyone else. She could report back next month. Mayor Keener asked for a report back at the next City Council meeting two weeks from today. Council Member Simons added that then we would at least know if the evictions went through. Ms. McConnell said she didn’t think they would be done by then, but there will be progress. Mr. Stanton provided some information on where we are in the process and what some of the things are that may or may not happen as we move forward. Where we are right now is under Elko City Code 5-1-7A, the police chief has given the owner of the property, through Ms. McConnell, the 10-day notice to commence the process of abating the nuisance, which was served last Friday. If there isn't work toward abating the nuisance within that 10-day period, then it comes back to the city manager who has a number of things she can do. One of them is to provide a further notice of the existence of the nuisance and then give the owner another five days to ask for a hearing in front of the City Council. There's also a process for seeking a criminal sanction. And there's also a process by which the city can abate the nuisance on its own using its own resources, and then come back and bill the property owner for the cost of abatement and place a lien on the property. All of which we, of course, would really rather not do. But these are all options that are available. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. VII. PERSONNEL A. Employee Introduction: 1. Sarah Khouangrasvongsay, City Clerk Technician I, Clerk's Office 2. Derick Madrid - Facilities Maintenance Technician, Facilities Department 3. Alfredo Nunez - Equipment Operator I, Streets Department Annette Robinson, City Clerk Technician II, introduced the new City Clerk Technician I, Sarah Khouangrasvongsay. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 5 of 23  Ms. Khouangrasvongsay said she is from Roseburg, OR. She has lived in Elko for the last 12 years. She is married and has two kids. She has over 20 years working in customer service, starting at McDonald's and ending as the Senior Manager in sales and marketing for the biggest casino and hotel here in Elko, where she worked for over 8 1/2 years. She looks forward to growing and learning with this team. Justin Alanis, Facilities Department Superintendent, introduced the new Facilities Maintenance Technician, Derick Madrid. Mr. Madrid said he was born and raised in Elko and Spring Creek. He lived in Twin Falls for 5 years but has since returned. He is married with two kids and is excited about this opportunity. Paul Algerio, Street Superintendent, introduced new Equipment Operator I, Freddie Nunez. The Street Department has one more position to fill. Mr. Nunez said he is married with two step kids. He and his family enjoy all kinds of sports, outdoor activities, and digital entertainment. He really appreciates the opportunity and said it was nice to meet everyone. The council welcomed each new staff member. C. Review, consideration and possible approval of a City of Elko Organizational Change to include an appointed City Engineer Position and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION The City of Elko has operated without a Public Works Director since March 2023 and without a Civil Engineer since December 2023. Since this time the city has been unsuccessful in several recruitment efforts for the Civil Engineer position. The City of Elko Charter includes in Section 1.070 “Appointive Offices” (g) City Engineer, who may be the City Manager. It is the recommendation of the City Manager to reorganize the City of Elko Organizational Chart to include an appointed City Engineer position. This position would manage the Public Works Department, Engineering Department and perform Civil Engineer Services. A condensed version of the current and revised City of Elko Organizational Chart is included in the packet. This proposed Organizational Change would only be implemented if the city is successful in recruiting for the Appointed City Engineer position. JB Jan Baum, City Manager, said after the first couple of recruitments for the Civil Engineer position, the grade was changed. Two additional requirements since then have been unsuccessful. The Public Works Director position has never been filled. Management thinks this change might be a good solution to filling this position. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 6 of 23  Mayor Keener said it makes very good sense. If we're going to have to pay more for the position to recruit the right person, we need to increase the bandwidth of their responsibility and supervisory oversight. He is in favor of the change. Ms. Baum added that the budget includes funds for both the Public Works Director position, and the Civil Engineer position, so we have plenty of budget because this position wouldn't make as much as both combined. We have not received any information from the class comp study. This will be an appointed position. Council Member Morris said it makes sense. Combining two positions into one will save money and hopefully we can get a good applicant. Council Member Puccinelli and Council Member Simons agreed. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Simons, seconded by Council Member Stone to approve a City of Elko Organizational Change to include an appointed City Engineer Position with the condition that the change only be implemented if the city is successful in recruiting the Appointed City Engineer Position. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) D. Review, consideration, and possible approval of an updated position description for City Engineer, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION The City Engineer position description has been updated with revisions to accurately reflect the duties and requirements of the position, based on the proposed reorganization presented to Council. The City Engineer position, an appointed official, has not been staffed since 2006. This update provides duties for the position, which if approved by the City Council would encompass responsibilities over Public Works and Engineering Departments. SS Susie Shurtz, Human Resources Manager, said the updated job description is a combination of the previous City Engineer position, the Civil Engineer position, and some pieces from the Public Works Director position, to encompass all of the essential duties and functions of this position. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Puccinelli, seconded by Council Member Morris to approve the revised City Engineer position description as presented. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 7 of 23  E. Review, consideration, and possible approval of an updated position description for Administrative Assistant Confidential, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION The Administrative Assistant Confidential position description has been updated with revisions to accurately reflect the duties and requirements of the position. This update provides general duties for the position, of which the City of Elko currently has 5 Administrative Assistant’s in the Confidential classification, staffed in 5 separate departments. The designation of “confidential employee” is defined in NRS 288.420: “Confidential employee” means an employee who provides administrative support to an employee who assists in the formulation, determination and effectuation of human resources policies or managerial policies concerning collective bargaining or supplemental bargaining. SS Ms. Shurtz said Human Resources is getting ready to post this position. This is a generalized updated job description, as each assistant serves a similar function in each department (see meeting minutes packet). Mayor Keener asked if anyone had any questions. There was no response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Morris, seconded by Council Member Stone to approve the revised Administrative Assistant Confidential position description as presented. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) VIII. APPROPRIATION A. Review and possible approval and/or ratification of warrants, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION ** A motion was made by Council Member Simons, seconded by Council Member Puccinelli to approve the regular warrants for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 in the amount of $97,623.47. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) ** A motion was made by Council Member Simons, seconded by Council Member Puccinelli to approve the regular warrants for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 in the amount of $1,952,509.53. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) ** A motion was made by Council Member Simons, seconded by Council Member Puccinelli to approve the hand-cut checks in the amount of $944,767.38. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 8 of 23  ** A motion was made by Council Member Simons, seconded by Council Member Puccinelli to approve utility refunds in the amount of $3,194.93. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) B. Review, consideration, and possible award of a contract for Public Works Project EL-2024- 437; the City Sports Complex Phase 1 Concrete Project, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION Council approved the solicitation of bids for the Sports Complex Phase 1 Concrete Project at its meeting on May 14, 2024. Bids were due on August 2, 2024. One bid was submitted by Q&D Construction. The base bid was $1,420,997.50. Additive Alternate 3 was $110,842.50. Additive Alternate 4 was $118,160.00. The bid was deemed responsive. JW for SAW James Wiley, Parks and Recreation Director, said the bid from Q&D Construction is just under the budgeted amount, so staff is recommending awarding the base bid only, without the bid alternates. The bid has been deemed responsive by the city clerk's office and A.M. Engineering (see agenda packet for recommendation letter). This project will include a lot of hardscape concrete, which will make the area ADA compliant and prepare the site for additional items such as shade structures and landscaping at another time and date. There were three contractors in attendance at the mandatory pre-construction meeting, but contractors are extremely busy, and the bid went out at the tail end of the construction season, so we only received one bid. Council Member Chip Stone asked about the cost of the flagpole lighting being around $41,000 (Item Nos. 3 & 11 on the bid tabulation provided in the agenda packet). Mr. Wiley said the flagpole was included in the cost. However, because he doesn’t have another bid to compare it to, he can't say that item, nor any of the others, are on the mark. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Simons, seconded by Council Member Morris to award the contract for the base bid for Public Works Project EL-2024-437; the City Sports Complex Phase 1 Concrete Project, to Q&D Construction in the amount of $1,420,997.50. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) C. Review, consideration, and possible award of a contract for Public Works Project EL-2024- 452; the City 14th Street Storm Drain Replacement Project, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION Council approved the solicitation of bids for the 14th Street Storm Drain Replacement Project at its meeting on June 25, 2024. Bids were received on July 31, 2024. There were August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 9 of 23  four bids submitted and reviewed by city staff. The bids received ranged in value from $269,781.00 to $475,920.00. The low bid submitted by Great Basin Engineering was deemed responsive. PA for SAW Mr. Algerio said two of the four bids that were received were deemed non-responsive. Staff recommends awarding the project to the low bidder, Great Basin Engineering, as their bid was deemed responsive. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Stone, seconded by Council Member Morris to award the contract for the Public Work Project EL-2024-452; the City 14th Street Storm Drain Replacement Project, to Great Basin Engineering in the amount of $269,781.00. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Review, consideration, and possible approval of a Non-Exclusive License Agreement for the Geothermal User Group to permit geothermal lines and related apparatus over, under, in, along and across public roads of the city, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION The Geothermal User Group is rehabilitating the existing geothermal system that will require the routing of new infrastructure which by necessity will involve the utilization of public roads. The proposed license agreement stipulates the terms and conditions of road occupancy. The initial term is for a period of 25 years. The term takes into consideration the cost and the life of the asset. The license agreement may be renewed for an additional 25-year term. PA for SAW Mr. Algerio said this agreement is similar to a franchise agreement. The 25-year term with an option to renew for 25 is based on the cost of the infrastructure and the term that that infrastructure would be usable for. There is no contact information for the Geothermal User Group, so there would be a condition that we be able to add that later when they provide us with it. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Morris, seconded by Council Member Stone to approve a Non-Exclusive License Agreement for the Geothermal User Group to permit geothermal lines and related apparatus over, under, in, along and across public roads of the city. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 10 of 23  B. Review, consideration, and possible approval of an excavation permit for 602 Country Club Drive under Section 8-2-6 of Elko City Code, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION Elko City Code Section 8-2-6 requires that except in an emergency, if a permittee wishes to excavate within a street or paved alley that is five (5) years old or less, the permittee must receive City Council approval prior to excavation. In granting approval for a new excavation permit pursuant to this section, the City Council may place any conditions on the permit it determines are reasonably necessary to protect the City streets. The Geothermal Users Group is proposing an extension of the proposed geothermal system from the north corner of the intersection of Country Club Drive and Golf Course Road to the recreation center currently under construction. The street cut will occur in an area where street improvements were constructed in 2021. Staff are recommending council approval of a license agreement between the City and the Geothermal Users Group as a condition for approval. The requirements for the patch back will be coordinated by the street department under the street cut permit. PA Mr. Algerio said since council just approved the license agreement, this comes next. The Geothermal Users Group wants to cross Country Club Drive to bring the geothermal line into the rec center. Staff is not asking for any special conditions with the cut permit. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Stone, seconded by Council Member Puccinelli to approve an excavation cut permit for 602 Country Club Drive under Section 8-2-6 of Elko City Code. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) C. Review, consideration, and possible initiation of a conveyance of City-owned property located at the intersection of Delaware Street and Ruby Vista Drive, referred to as APN 001-860-106 and approximately 5.6 acres in area, to the Boys and Girls Club of Elko Inc., and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION On June 11, 2024, the City Council took action to reserve APN 001-860-106 for a period of one year for possible conveyance to the Boys and Girls Club of Elko Inc. The Boys and Girls Club of Elko is now requesting that the city commit to the conveyance of the property. Rusty Bahr with the Boys and Girls Club will have a presentation. JB Ms. Baum said she wanted to clarify that this is not the actual conveyance. This is just the start of the process of beginning the contract with Mr. Stanton. There will be some reversionary clauses that will need to be discussed. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 11 of 23  Mr. Stanton requested that the motion include some language to the effect that the conveyance is conditional upon entering into a mutually agreeable purchase and sale agreement with the Boys and Girls Club of Elko. Rusty Bahr, Boys and Girls Club of Elko (BGC), said their goal over the last 2 1/2 years was to build an event center in Elko County. They want to build a venue that's between 50,000 to 70,000 square foot, with a 5,000 to 10,000 capacity, for major events such as concerts, PBR, equestrian events, and major sporting events. When events are not scheduled, it can be used for sports and recreation programs because it will have four gyms. It will boost both the economy and the quality of life for our citizens. They have hired an architect, but design work has not started. They are not sure what the building will look like yet – how many stories, how wide, bathroom capacity, number of concessions, kitchen, lobby, vendor space, administration area, locker rooms, bar, etc. They are hoping by the end of this year they will have a good idea of its size, which will determine parking requirements. They will need to run 16 events per year to break even. A similar event center in Fallon runs over 45 events per year. They are projecting about a $38 million economic impact. It will help the city of Elko with an increase the hotel taxes. The projects design team includes, Myers Anderson – architect, Summit Engineering - civil engineers, Michael Clay – contractor, Southern Bleachers – seating, and Prefer – arena and corrals. The cost projections for the center are at about $32 million. The project may be phased and other amenities may be added down the road. Any study required for the development, like a traffic study, will be done. The Boys and Girls Club will own and manage the event center. This will not be a public works project so there will not be prevailing wage. Their first step was to get initial funds. The county agreed several months ago to fund $15 million. A committee was put in place to work on a grant agreement and last week the County Commission unanimously approved the agreement. There are a lot of stipulations, like they have four years from August 7th to break ground or the money reverts, and they can’t spend the money without getting approval from the County Commission. $1 million has been freed up for pre-design so far. Their next step is to get the land, which is why they are here today. They have evaluated a number of different locations, and believe that this location is the one that can work best. The adjacent property is BLM-owned and leased by the school district. That lease comes up this next year. The event center’s operating budget will be $2.7 million. The BGC is a private organization, so they will not be getting taxes to operate it. They will be responsible for its success or failure. It won’t come back on the taxpayer. This is a land donation only. The CEO of the BGC will be the CEO over this organization as well. They will hire an executive to run it and have also budgeted $120,000 for consulting fees. They have a master plan. The building will go on the City of Elko parcel. They know there is a neighborhood. They will try to make it soundproof at least on the one side. They will also move the August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 12 of 23  building to the far side of the property to get it furthest away from the subdivision. They are also planning a parking garage. They are here today to ask council to vote to move forward with this. This is just to authorize the staff to start moving down the pathway of doing this. There are no agreements in place. They will go through the same process they did for the pool. Mayor Keener reiterated that there will be a reversionary clause in any type of conveyance that would happen. If the project is not built, it will revert to the city. Mr. Bahr said it will be configured similar to the Senior Center. There will be two government entities, one is giving a major amount of funding and the other would be giving the land. Council Member Stone ask about capacity, special dirt for the floor surface, and RV set-ups. eat. Mr. Bahr said they have a major goal of having a 6,000-seat capacity with 120 boxes going around it. There will be sport flooring and artificial dirt will be brought in for things like equestrian events. It will not be a dirt surface where flooring would be brought in. They are looking at several surfaces. RV spaces are planned, but they may be pushed out to a phase two. Council Member Morris said he is looking forward to it. It is going to be a nice facility. Mayor Keener called for public comments. Cathy Linn, 3801 Lupin Street, Kittridge Canyon, asked the council and Mr. Bahr if this was in their backyard would it improve their quality of life? She was sure they would say, “no”. There will be noise and traffic pollution. She does not think this is a good location and asks the council to reconsider transferring this land for this purpose. She is not against the project, but she is against this location. There is only one exit down Delaware Street. During events, consider what will happen if emergency vehicles or ambulances need to get through. Mayor Keener thanked her for her comments. Traffic studies will be done and they will be presented in a public forum. She will have further opportunity to comment. Ms. Linn asked if the traffic study will be done before the transfer of land. Mr. Bahr said the City can transfer the land without the traffic study. They can't build anything without meeting the needs of the study. Once the land is conveyed, then that triggers the rest of those studies. If the studies come back and make the land unusable based on those studies, then the land would revert. Mayor Keener asked Mr. Bahr to address the statement that there are other places this can be built. Mr. Bahr said they have exhausted what they think is any opportunity to do this. Other areas considered included land out by Carlin – too far away from infrastructure; near the railroad tracks – too narrow; property near Komatsu – not financially feasible at $8 million cost; Spring Creek – not enough August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 13 of 23  infrastructure or water rights, like hotels and restaurants; the old parcel of land the charter school got, Kump and Herrera parcels, the current Convention Center, and the current fairgrounds. Council Member Stone said he liked that Mr. Bahr said they are very concerned about generating sound adjacent to a subdivision. Many years ago the fairground was on the outskirts of town, but now it’s not. Anywhere you live in Elko, you will hear a concert going on there. He empathizes and sympathizes, but he very much likes the idea of it being here. Mr. Bahr said their architect said there are ways they can redirect the sound. They know the neighborhood is there and that they are going to have an effect, but that area is designated for things like this. The bus barn is out there because it has been designated for a future high school. There are already several commercial buildings other there too. They think this is the best location and may be the only location. One of the goals all along was to help the city of Elko from an economic standpoint as well. Mayor Keener asked if there was anyone else wishing to make public comment. No response was given. A letter was dropped off later in the meeting regarding this item. That letter was read during the general public comment item (see below). ** A motion was made by Council Member Stone, seconded by Council Member Morris to approve the initiation of conveyance of APN 001-860-106 to the Boys and Girls Club of Elko and direct Staff to draft a resolution finding it is in the best interest of the City of Elko to convey the land and a purchase sale agreement with the following conditions to be approved by City Council at a future meeting:  A reversionary clause be included in agreement if the property is not developed within a certain period of time. The period of is to negotiated and included purchase sale agreement.  A traffic study is required upon completion of the design of the facility.  The Boys and Girls Club is to successfully negotiate additional acreage under the RP&P program with the BLM.  No construction is to begin until all the necessary funding has been secured.  The conveyance will be conditional upon the execution of a mutually agreeable purchase and sale agreement.  Additional conditions deemed by city management and city legal. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) D. Review, consideration, and possible approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the City of Elko for the development, management, and maintenance of a public fishery and park area within the city of Elko, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION Council instructed Staff to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) and the City of Elko for the development, management, and maintenance of a public fishery and park area within the city of Elko at its meeting on October 12, 2021. Since that time, NDOW has acquired property and water August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 14 of 23  rights necessary for the proposed project to move forward. If the MOU is approved, the next steps will be: 1. Draft an interlocal agreement between NDOW and the city addressing potential funding from NDOW to assist the city with funding for costs associated with design of the park areas. 2. Develop a conceptual design 3. Develop a preliminary cost estimate based on the conceptual design 4. Meet administratively for tentative approval of the conceptual design prior to additional actions. JW for SAW Mr. Wiley starting by thanking Assistant City Manager, Scott Wilkinson, for putting this together. He's been working diligently with NDOW to get to this point. The MOU is an agreement for a partnership between the city of Elko and NDOW. The end goal is to create an urban fishery in a park-like setting along the Humboldt River. There is a preliminary concept provided in the agenda packet. It covers two parcels – one that is 38 acres and another that is 17 acres. This will be quite an enhancement to the Humboldt River and our park system. The MOU goes into responsibilities and functions of the city of Elko, which mainly deal with areas outside of the fishing ponds themselves. Our responsibility will be to assist and develop and construct items such as parking lots, restrooms, pathways, walkways, and other amenities for the park. NDOW's responsibilities lie with acquiring the property, which they have done, acquiring the water rights, and then developing and constructing the fisheries, as well as managing them in perpetuity. Mayor Keener asked if grant funding would be received from Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) for infrastructure. Caleb McAdoo, NDOW Deputy Director, said they received a donation from NGM early on as a complement to the initial purchase of the17-acre parcel. As part of the master plan, there is a long- term goal of having an outdoor education community center on the property. Initially, they just want the park and the fishery. Council Member Puccinelli asked about who would be responsible for the water coming in and out of the fishery. Mr. McAdoo said Elko County donated 120 acre-feet of water rights to NDOW for this project. It is a conservative amount which will allow for evaporative loss. They view it as a non-consumptive system. As part of our agreement, NDOW will be responsible to get the water from the river into the ponds and back. Council Member Stone asked if there will be three ponds. Mr. McAdoo said it depends on what you classify as a pond because there are several depressions, but yes, there will be two ponds on the Opal Street property and one on the 12th Street property. From a cost perspective, the 12th Street pond will be a difficult one to actually get water into from the river. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 15 of 23  They will probably dig it out to achieve the depths necessary to maintain a fishery through the dry seasons. They envision the Opal Street ponds as the primary fishery with the 12th Street pond being secondary. Council Member Stone said in layman terms a fishery is a place where people can go fishing. This will not be a fish hatchery. It is going to be a phenomenal asset to our community. He asked for a tentative timeline on completion. Mr. McAdoo said the permitting and design phase will be fairly significant, so they are thinking three to four years before the implementation phase starts. In anticipation of a positive outcome from tonight's meeting, they have already drafted an interlocal agreement with the City for $500,000 so they can begin pushing money in concert with the City for design, architecture, planning and engineering. Mayor Keener asked if the fisheries will be strictly catch and release. Otherwise, they will have to keep stocking it all the time. Jeff Peterson, NDOW Fisheries Biologist, said sustainability is going to really depend on the species that are put in there. Warm water fish like largemouth bass and bluegill can be easily caught, but are very reproductive small systems. Trout from the Gallagher Fish Hatchery in Ruby Valley, could be added depending on water conditions yearly or twice-yearly. They are looking at multiple options, but it will depend on the ponds depths and temperatures. Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. Mayor Keener and Council Members Morris and Simons all expressed support for the project. ** A motion was made by Council Member Stone, seconded by Council Member Morris to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the City of Elko for the development, management, and maintenance of a public fishery and park area within the city of Elko. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) E. Review, consideration, and possible approval of a grant of easement to NV Energy for utility extension on College Avenue and Golf Course Road and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION NV Energy requires an easement on College Avenue and Golf Course Road to supply power for the Boys and Girls Club Recreation Center. RN for SAW Mr. Negron said this is for power. Tom Hannum, Summit Engineering, Boys and Girls Club Recreation Center project representative, said there will be a transformer just on the other side of the pool. The easement will come around the corner and tie into an easement they did with a right-of-way vacation. It's for a section that doesn't have a PUE (public utility easement). August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 16 of 23  ** A motion was made by Council Member Puccinelli, seconded by Council Member Simons to approve a grant of easement to NV Energy for utility extension on College Avenue and Golf Course Road. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) F. Review, consideration, and possible approval of the Professional Services Agreement with ZGA Architects & Planners, Chartered for the City of Elko Fire Station Feasibility Study to include preliminary design and site selection and related services, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION As a result of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in early 2022, the City Council approved the use of ZGA Architects & Planners for the design and site study for the Fire Station(s) on June 14, 2022. The City was waiting until the completion of the Airport Focus Planning Study to begin this process. The Focus Planning Study is complete, but the FAA is requesting a second phase of the Focus Planning Study before giving direction on the future of the current fire station. City management is requesting the preliminary design and site selection of the fire station be completed in order to know the financial commitment to the city to build a second fire station and the best location for the station. The current year budget includes $250,000 for the design/site selection of the new fire station and the ZGA proposal is not to exceed $150,000. JB Ms. Baum said we have a proposal in front of the FAA to allow us to leave the current fire station until the end of life. While the second phase of the Focus Planning Study is being completed, we would like to get under way on a feasibility study, which will include preliminary design and a site study, so we will know how much a new station will cost. James Johnston, Fire Chief, said with the growth of the community, the Fire Department is getting further and further away from Station One. Response times are lagging. This would be one way we can have a shelf-ready plan that we could tie into some type of funding opportunity. Mayor Keener said he had asked Chief Johnston earlier if a second set of staff would be needed to man a new station. Chief Johnston told him no, current staff could easily be split between the two. We’ve been talking about this for quite a while and meanwhile the city continues to grow. There are two rezones on tonight’s agenda, which will result in more infill growth. Both would be in quite close proximity to one of the favorite locations of City-owned property for the proposed station. He is in support of going forward with this. It's a lot of money, but we need to know what we're looking at for future planning. Council Member Mandy Simons said it is a great idea. Council Member Stone said the location we’ve been looking at will absolutely be an answer to the longer response times. He hopes the FAA will let us stay in-house for a minute. He is in full support of this item. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 17 of 23  Mayor Keener called for public comments without a response. ** A motion was made by Council Member Morris, seconded by Council Member Puccinelli to approve the Professional Services Agreement with ZGA Architects & Planners, Chartered ZGA for the City of Elko Fire Station Feasibility Study to include preliminary design and site selection and related services. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) G. Review, consideration, and possible appointment of one (1) candidate to serve on the Arts and Culture Advisory Board, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION Three (3) Letters of Interest have been received by the City Clerk's office to fill one (1) vacant seat on the Arts and Culture Advisory Board. To date, we have received Letters of Interest from the following candidates, Ms. Casey Bennet, Mr. Christopher Vedis, and Mr. Jeremy Alexander Ellis. The letters have been placed in your packet for review. JB Casey Bennett, candidate, introduced himself to the board. He is a high school graduate of the Class of 2024 and is 18 years old. He has a variety of experiences with the performing arts. He would love to be a part of the team. He was the only candidate in attendance. Mayor Keener said the first thing about serving on a board is showing up. ** A motion was made by Mayor Keener, seconded by Council Member Stone to nominate Mr. Casey Bennett to fill the vacant position on the Arts and Culture Advisory Board. Before the vote, Council Member Simons disclosed she knows Mr. Bennett. He is a family friend. She also said it has been hard to get people to show up for this committee. She knows Mr. Bennett enough to know he is responsible. He will be a good addition. Council Member Puccinelli said he admires Mr. Bennett for coming forward and wanting to put the time into this. The motion passed unanimously. (5-0) At this time, Council Member Simons left the meeting, 5:59 PM. X. RESOLUTION AND ORDINANCE A. First reading of Ordinance No. 891 adopting a change in zoning district boundaries from AG (General Agriculture) to R (Single Family and Multiple Family Residential) Zoning District involving approximately 2.998 acres of property, specifically APN 001- 620-073, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 18 of 23  The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Rezone 2-24 at their regular meeting August 6, 2024. The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance which approves the zoning district boundary amendment from AG- General Agriculture to R - Single Family and Multiple Family Residential for APN 001-620-073. RN for CL Mr. Negron went over the Staff Report, dated June 17, 2024. Staff is recommending approval subject to the stated findings. Mayor Keener noted the alignment of Ruby Vista. It will chew up a lot of land. Mr. Negron agreed but said it will tie in nicely as it goes through there. It will be a good access road. Mayor Keener said he knew there were some issues with the neighboring tribal properties. Has that been mitigated? Mr. Negron said the applicant, Chris Beardmore is not in attendance, but knows he is taking steps to try and take care of encroachments from those properties. Mayor Keener said he thinks it’s terrific to put this land to its highest and best use. Developing it will bump up the property taxes right away. He is in full support. He then called for public comments. James Hendrik, 1925 Circle Way, said he lives the fourth house over on the tribal land. He is concerned because they have had issues in the past between the City and the tribe. For example, at one point the City put up a six-foot-tall fence with a trench up by the water towers to keep that movement from going back and forth, because there's jurisdictional issues between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Elko Police Department. Right now, there are not issues with this area because it is gentrified, but he foresees potential issues when a younger generation with children move in. There used to be a 10 to 15-foot alleyway, that was given by the original owner. He put up a barbed wire fence for it. Everyone stayed along that alleyway. The encroachments are up to that alleyway, so he proposes keeping that there as a buffer. Mayor Keener said the last time he has spoken with Mr. Beardmore, he believed that that he was going to have a buffer area there. He asked Mr. Negron if he knew. Mr. Negron said at this point, he is not quite sure. He thinks Mr. Beardmore is taking the right steps to take care of these concerns while still trying to create a subdivision. His property goes right up to some of these encroachments. Mayor Keener recalled Mr. Beardmore initially had a difficult time contacting the right individual within the tribe. He encouraged Mr. Hendrik to get together with him to facilitate communications with tribe. Mr. Negron would be able to provide Mr. Beardmore’s contact information. Mr. Hendrik said he would love to work with him. There is the Te-moak tribe, which is supposed to be the governing branch, but there are actually two councils running right now. There is Te-moak Housing, which takes care of the housing development areas, and then there is Elko Band, which is August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 19 of 23  focused just in Elko, because they have four bands. At one point Mr. Beardmore was wanting to give that land that was already basically given to them by the old owner, back to them. It would have to go to Congress to get approval to extend our land boundaries out. Keeping that a buffer would help a lot. ** A motion was made by Council Member Puccinelli, seconded by Council Member Morris to conduct first reading of Ordinance No. 891 and direct City Staff to set the matter for second reading, public hearing and possible adoption. The motion passed unanimously. (4-0) B. First reading of Ordinance No. 892 adopting a change in zoning district boundaries from PQP (Public, Quasi-Public) to C (General Commercial) Zoning District involving approximately 11.38 acres of property, specifically APN 001- 620-058, and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Rezone 3-24 at their regular meeting August 6, 2024. The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance which approves the zoning district boundary amendment from PQP (Public, Quasi-Public) to C (General Commercial) for APN 001-620-058. RN for CL Mr. Negron said in 2021, the Elko Institute for Academic Achievement (EIAA) rezoned this property to PQP. At that time, the process for rezoning was done by resolution. The resolution included a revisionary clause stating if EIAA didn't develop in four years, the property would revert to Commercial. The process for rezoning has changed since then, now being done by ordinance, necessitating this item. Mayor Keener recalled the rezone. EIAA anticipated they were going to build their new school here, but the bids came in way too expensive. Then that old Barrick building became available, so they abandoned those plans. He called for public comments without a response. He is in favor of this rezone. Council Member Puccinelli was curious what might go in the two retail buildings shown on the site plan. He likes the idea and prefers the property be developed over just letting it sit there. Mr. Negron said a grocery store is tentatively going to go there. Rachel Randall, Planning Technician, said the applicant, Robin Reynolds, Armstrong Development, Inc., was in attendance via GoTo. The council did not have any questions for her. ** A motion was made by Council Member Stone, seconded by Council Member Morris to approve conduct first reading of Ordinance No. 892 and direct City Staff to set the matter for second reading, public hearing and possible adoption. The motion passed unanimously. (4-0) August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 20 of 23  XI. REPORTS A. Mayor and City Council Mayor Keener reminded the other council members to complete their reviews for Ms. Baum’s job evaluation. B. City Manager Ms. Baum said the Flight Alliance of Northeastern Nevada (FANN) will have its first meeting at the Elko Convention Visitors Center in the Turquoise Room on August 22nd from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. It would love to receive input from both the public and private sectors interested in commercial air service in our community. Mayor Keener thanked Ms. Baum for all her work on getting FANN set up with its nonprofit status. G. City Attorney No report. M. Financial Services Director No report. D. Utilities Director No report. N. Parks and Recreation Director Mr. Wiley said at the golf course, hole 3 is being converted from a par-4 to a par-5. That area will be ground-under-disturbance for the remainder of the year and possibly into spring. I. Police Chief Chief Trouten said the National Night Out event was successful. He thanked everyone that participated. The police department was able to showcase some of its vehicles, including the Terradyne. He did not get an official head count, but there was a pretty good number of people. The weather cooperated. He appreciates the new awning over the grills. They were able to borrow one of the fire department’s exhaust fans to help with the smoke. Mayor Keener thanked the Chief. It is always fun to participate in this event. Council Member Stone said from the sound stage, he was counting the number of people in line and lost count at 1700, so there were a lot of people. It was a wonderful event. August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 21 of 23  L. Development Manager No report. H. Fire Chief No report. E. Public Works Mr. Algerio said the slurry project is about 80% done. It will wrap up on Friday. Striping and pavement markings on Idaho Street and 12th Street will begin next Monday. It will be night work. City staff will start striping other areas starting tomorrow. Mayor Keener said he has received a few positive comments from the public. F. Airport Manager No report. C. Assistant City Manager J. City Clerk K. City Planner O. Civil Engineer P. Building Official XII. COMMENTS BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC Pursuant to N.R.S. 241, this time is devoted to comments by the public, if any, and discussion of those comments. No action may be taken upon a matter raised under this item on the agenda until the matter itself has been specifically included on a successive agenda and identified as an item for possible action. ACTION WILL NOT BE TAKEN Council Member Morris said he and his wife went out and had lunch at the airport (Kingdom Café). The food was good, and the service was great. They are going to do well. Ms. Randall read a public comment letter, into the record for agenda item IX.C., that was dropped off. It is dated August 13, 2024, but does not state who it is from. The commenter is not against the event center project but is against it being built at this location (see meeting minutes packet). August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 22 of 23  Lee Hoffman, 1085 Barrington Avenue, congratulated the city, the police and fire departments, the BLM, NDOW and everybody else that participated in National Night Out. It was a terrific event. His two grandkids had a great time. There are a number of questions on the ballot for the upcoming election. He encourages people to read them because they're extremely important. He encourages people to vote "no" on Question 3, which is for open primaries and ranked choice voting, and "yes" on Question 7, which would require voter ID in the state of Nevada. Mayor Keener said the Nevada League of Cities is having their annual conference in October. It is going to be in South Lake Tahoe at the new Tahoe Blue Event Center. It will be the 10th through the 12th, which does not conflict with City Council. He and Ms. Baum will be going. He is hoping at least one other member of the council will join them. He extended the invitation to any other staff members who are interested in participating. Ms. Baum added that she sent out information to the council and some of the directors earlier this afternoon. VII. PERSONNEL (cont.) B. Closed session to discuss labor negotiations between the City of Elko and the Elko Fire Fighters Association, Local 2423 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, and matters related thereto. INFORMATION ONLY - NO ACTION REQUIRED At 6:30 PM the meeting was closed for labor negotiations under item VII.B. Separate minutes of the session have been prepared. No action was taken. XII. COMMENTS BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC (cont.) At 7:35 PM the meeting continued as an open session. Mayor Keener called for final public comment. There were no public comments made at this time. There being no further business, Mayor Reece Keener adjourned the meeting at 7:35 PM. Mayor Reece Keener Cathy Laughlin, Acting City Clerk August 13, 2024 City Council | Minutes Page 23 of 23