October 12, 2016

Commissioner Cox

and Angela Bello were present via telephone.

Commissioner Borasky

read the line in the Best Western report stating in a round table meeting the Commissioners, themselves, described some provisions as “asinine and silly.” If any of the Commissioners said that he would like them to own up to it.

Commissioner Wichman

said she could not remember if it was her or Commissioner Schinhofen who said that. October 12, 2016 3. For Possible Action - Discussion and deliberation to accept a Business Impact Statement prepared pursuant to NRS 237.090 to address the business impact of Nye County Bill No. 2016-07 pertaining to Prostitution.-Cont’d.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated it was said in the context that there were things he did not like in the proposal, but he believed the fees needed to be increased.

Commissioner Borasky

made a motion to approve; seconded by Commissioner Schinhofen to accept the impact statement; 5 yeas.

Commissioner Carbone

explained this was on the agenda based on a meeting held on September 22, 2016, where a lot of things were discussed and said that gave an opinion that the Town of Amargosa did not want support from Nye County. There were comments made about a jurisdiction issue as far as where fire trucks could and could not go, who owned the equipment, and the certification programs.

Sheriff Wehrly

was present. Pam Webster pointed out that the minutes in the back-up were not verbatim, although they were titled that way. They were excerpts specifically addressing the emergency support discussions. Mike Cottingim, Administrator for the Town of Amargosa Valley, stated this was in reaction to comments made at that meeting and he thought there needed to be specific agenda items addressing the questions so they could be discussed properly and voted on. He said the town did need the County's cooperation and appreciated everything that had been done, but there were a lot of comments made that evening and he would like to work with staff to address everything. Pat Minshall, an Amargosa resident, said back in March/April their fire department basically blew up. Pam Webster, Vance Payne and people from Station 51 stepped in for 24/7 coverage for about two weeks to protect the community, which Ms. Minshall appreciated. Station 51 started training some of the Amargosa guys which she also appreciated. Ms. Minshall stated she wanted to continue to see the town and County work together and get past the problems. John Bosta said during the meeting he commented that Station 51 had not been approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Also, there was no ordinance to form a fire district, although the District Attorney had since informed him an ordinance was October 12, 2016 4. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation and direction to staff regarding the continuation of emergency management services to the Town of Amargosa including but not limited to amending any and all agreements pertaining to providing emergency management services; and to consider removing all emergency equipment owned by Nye County.-Cont’d. not needed. He thought it was important that both the County and town provide the residents the necessary protection of fire and ambulance services.

Commissioner Carbone

said he brought this to the Board because of all the differences of opinion during that meeting. The County's name was on all the equipment and the County carried the insurance and he wanted to make sure the Board was doing the right thing to support the town.

Mr. Bosta

said the question about turning everything over was the expense of operating the fire department within their budget so they pulled the request for the County to turn the equipment over to the town until that determination could be made.

Commissioner Carbone

added that certifications for the equipment were also needed. Angela Bello clarified that she said it was her opinion that there could be a County fire department without having a fire district, but she did not concede there was a County fire department. Station 51 was the fire division of EMS and was not a County department. Pam Webster thought it was important to delineate between fire, ambulance, and hazardous material response or a major emergency situation in which Nye County had every authority to respond and assume control of that situation. She pointed out there were actions taken at that meeting to set up an advisory committee to bring back recommendations to run their own departments and be exempt from Nye County. She stated it was not her desire to withdraw any services from any community in Nye County and that was not the intent of this item. Trevor Dolby, Amargosa Town Board member, said it appeared to him the Board of County Commissioners was reacting to comments from board members as well as comments from the podium and not so much the board action. He reinforced the Town Manager's statement about having agendized board action. Bob DiPietro, fire safety trainer for the Town of Amargosa, said he was hired on July 5, 2016, and last week the membership of the Amargosa fire department elected him fire chief pending approval of the town board at their next meeting. He was present to answer the questions about his qualifications, certifications, and rank. Mr. DiPietro then asked if the comment made by Vance Payne that the County may not be able to support an ambulance service in the valley was correct. October 12, 2016 4. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation and direction to staff regarding the continuation of emergency management services to the Town of Amargosa including but not limited to amending any and all agreements pertaining to providing emergency management services: and to consider removing all emergency equipment owned by Nye County.-Cont'd.

Mrs. Webster

clarified Mr. Payne said the volunteer ambulance service was non- responsive. In the meeting she attended on September 22, 2016, Ms. Minshall stood up and talked about a situation where a neighbor called and there was no response from the volunteer ambulance service in Amargosa Valley. Mr. Payne stated the County was not able to put in paid EMTs to ensure 24/7 service. He did not say the County could not fund a volunteer ambulance. That was taken out of context and misrepresented. The County had every capability of funding and servicing an ambulance service in the County and that was what was clearly stated. In reference to the issues in Amargosa, Mr. DiPietro said he would be remiss as a fire service professional to not plan ahead to see what the needs of the community were. They completed a needs assessment and realized they could not get people in the community to transport patients, so they decided to plan on their own and see what they could do. He said this would be an exploratory committee and would not form an ambulance. Lance Brown, a volunteer member with the Amargosa fire department, advised in their last fire department business meeting they discussed what Mr. DiPietro just spoke about. Mr. Brown wanted to make sure everyone understood the proposal was just an advisory committee. Everyone in the department was 100% on board with that and Mr. Payne agreed it was a good idea to pursue and see what options were out there.

Mrs. Webster

repeated there was no lack of funding for a volunteer ambulance service whatsoever, but there was a lack of volunteers and the alternative was paid EMTs. What Mr. Payne was expressing was the County was fully prepared and did fund a volunteer ambulance service wherever one could operate, but there was not sufficient funding to fund 24/7 EMTs throughout the County. Pahrump Fire Chief Scott Lewis thought there was a great ability to work together and these issues could be eliminated with open lines of communication. Tamara Thompson, an Amargosa Valley resident, said emergency services needed to be thought of as a team and she thought the ego of a few people had gotten in the way of that which put her community and family at risk.

Commissioner Schinhofen

thanked the volunteers and said the issue had been keeping volunteers. The County had supported and would continue to support equipment, but it was also a political subdivision of the State and had to follow their rules and regulations meaning people must be trained and meet certain standards. October 12, 2016 4. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation and direction to staff regarding the continuation of emergency management services to the Town of Amargosa including but not limited to amending any and all agreements pertaining to providing emergency management services; and to consider removing all emergency equipment owned by Nye County.-Cont'd.

Commissioner Schinhofen

made a motion to continue this until the town board had met and shown the Board of County Commissioners their plans and certifications to carry it out.

Commissioner Wichman

stated this was a situation where people had to work together. The problem was not just with Amargosa, but was throughout the entire County because of the loss of volunteers. She also agreed with moving equipment not being used in Amargosa because of the lack of qualified volunteers or fire individuals to someplace else where it could be used more efficiently. She would like to see what the town's plans were for the equipment there, who was qualified to operate it, who was getting their qualifications, and if there were EMTs available that couid be trained to be volunteers.

Commissioner Cox

said she could never vote to take equipment from people living in the middle of nowhere. What the County needed to do was make sure to get certified people and clarification from the State on what the minimum requirements were for certification. She wondered why they should not be allowed to purchase the equipment so the County was not liable for it.

Commissioner Carbone

thought Engine 41 needed to be returned to the Amargosa fire department. He also thought there were sufficient folks within the County that could give the person doing the training the backing to certify people for the trucks.

Commissioner Carbone

wanted to direct staff to bring that engine back to Amargosa, allow them to have the equipment transferred into their possession, and have the County EMS trainer give the support to Bob DiPietro to give the certification to the drivers that they needed to drive the vehicles. He thought that might resolve a lot of the issues with the fire department. As far as the issues with the ambulance service,

Commissioner Carbone

thought all of the mutual aid agreements with Mercury, Beatty, Pahrump, Amargosa, and Station 51 needed to be evaluated and put in place.

Commissioner Wichman

said her concern was it was very easy to transfer title into the town's name, but with ownership went responsibility. The Board had not seen the budgeted figures of what it would cost them to maintain those vehicles and provide the insurance the County provided now. The town needed an opportunity to look at those budgeted figures as those future costs would change the budget they already approved.

Mr. Cottingim

advised there was a line item in their budget for maintenance of those vehicles. As far as the insurance, he said they would need to discuss that with Mrs. Webster. October 12, 2016 4. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation and direction to staff regarding the continuation of emergency management services to the Town of Amargosa including but not limited to amending any and all agreements pertaining to providing emergency management services; and to consider removing all emergency equipment owned by Nye County.-Cont’d.

Ms. Bello

stated if it was the Board's intention to transfer title then she would need them te break it up into several motions.

Mr. DiPietro

clarified a few things about the training. The town and fire service appreciated the training received from Nye County to get people certified. It was his impression when he was hired that he would take over the training program for the fire department and be able to certify them further. Regarding the F endorsement on the drivers, Mr. DiPietro certainly welcomed the folks from Nye County to come down and assist, but he felt it was part of his job description that he would train the firefighters. Under the motor vehicle laws, as the authority having jurisdiction in a community as a training officer he could sign off on that. Mr. Payne agreed, but said the County wanted to see a training plan which Mr. DiPietro sent through Mr. Payne.

Commissioner Carbone

commented that right now Mr. DiPietro’s certifications to train are still being held by the State.

Mr. DiPietro

said the certification to train firefighters to be firefighter | was, but this did not come under the State Fire Marshal's law. It came under the motor vehicle law. He was a certified trainer in Arizona and the fire marshal was notified and had to act on reciprocity. if Mr. DiPietro submitted a course to the State of Nevada for firefighter | or any other state certification, the fire marshal would ask Mr. DiPietro for his state certification, which he had not done in Nevada yet. Mrs, Webster recommended that as long as the equipment was owned by Nye County then Nye County should determine the appropriate certifications for the operation of that equipment. Once it was owned by Amargosa they could make their own determinations. She also thought Mr. Payne should make the determination of who was certified as it was County equipment. Rich Flanagan, division chief with Station 51, clarified what Mr. DiPietro talked about as far as the F endorsement. DMV had now left it up to department chiefs or training officers that developed their own program. In Mr. DiPietro’s current position he could do that and Station 51 was willing to assist him. Mr. Flanagan noted that earlier in the summer they had a class scheduled that involved members of Station 51 and Amargosa and the volunteers from Amargosa did not show up. If they had, Mr. Flanagan thought this issue would not have come up. As far as other training, Mr. Flanagan advised his certifications in New York were reciprocity in Nevada, but he had to go through retraining through the State to get his certifications. October 12, 2016 4. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation and direction to staff regarding the continuation of emergency management services to the Town of Amargosa including but not limited to amending any and all agreements pertaining to providing emergency management services; and to consider removing all emergency equipment owned by Nye County.-Cont’d.

Mr. Cottingim

said the town was very appreciative of the County’s efforts and he would look at a program with Mr. Payne to get the proper F endorsements.

Commissioner Wichman

hoped the motion coming forward was to not transfer that equipment until such time as there were trained personnel. She was not willing to support anything that would transfer everything all at once as the County was responsible for that stuff. She would also not support sending a truck out with an individual without an F endorsement and other certifications as it was an insurance and liability issue.

Commissioner Schinhofen

made a motion to give the Town of Amargosa 60 days to come up with their plan on how they were going to run the department, a request for what equipment they wanted to run under their own jurisdiction and not the County's, but if they did run it under the County’s they would comply with the County's rules, and in that 60 days he would like Amargosa to bring back MOUs that needed to be signed or updated; seconded by Commissioner Wichman; 5 yeas.

Mr. Husted

gave a Power Point presentation regarding their project entitled “A Path to the Future,” which provided the history of VEA and their original transmission system loop as well as the benefits which would be realized if the sale was approved.

Commissioner Schinhofen

pointed out VEA just had an increase and now they were proposing to roll it back.

Mr. Husted

said it was a 9.9% increase that they were rolling back. This would give them the ability to do that but still meet short term and long term obligations.

Commissioner Carbone

asked if the power requirements for the current stakeholders wouid ever be lacking.

Mr. Husted

said no and they would have a more robust system as it expanded.

Commissioner Borasky

asked if the appreciation of salaries were covered in the 20 years agreement. October 12, 2016 5. Presentation by Valley Electric Association, Inc. regarding the sale of the 230kV Transmission Line.-Cont’d.

Mr. Husted

said absolutely and it was actually a 25 year operations and management agreement.

Commissioner Borasky

noted on solar projects that quite often the Governor took the taxes the County would get away and give them a free ride on it. He asked for Mr. Husted’s comments on that.

Mr. Husted

stated ancillary tax benefits had to be included in the calculations so if there was a large development put outside of town and the tax incentives were such that the State diminished those or distributed them in a different manner, those employee still lived in the community and paid payroll, State or other taxes, property taxes, etc.

Commissioner Schinhofen

mentioned it was announced that the Solar Reserve Crescent Dunes project was planning to do nine more towers so an expansion out of Bishop may help that too.

Mr. Husted

encouraged the County to vote in the affirmative for the sale as he believed the County would be impacted very favorably by it. An affirmative vote of 66% of their membership was needed in order to proceed forward.

Commissioner Cox

asked how long the 9.9% rollback would be in effect and what would cause it to be cancelled and raised.

Mr. Husted

said their forecast right now was another eight years minimum, which would give them a 14 year time span of the rates at 10.9 cents.

Commissioner Cox

asked if the customers would still be billed directly through Valley Electric.

Commissioner Cox

asked if the long-term rate sustainability would be good for at least 20 years.

Mr. Husted

said they were forecasting 2024 right now, so there would be an additional eight years of rate stability. In response to Commissioner Cox’s questions, Mr. Husted explained the cash premium was the distribution of $579.00 to all members at the time of closing, but that did not include what the members were owed from being members previously. He explained if they retired all patronage capital that would mean the members had no equity in the company and the only people who owned the co-op were the bankers. Mr. Husted said they encouraged people to call the office to determine what their retirement check would October 12, 2016 5. Presentation by Valley Electric Association, Inc. regarding the sale of the 230kV Transmission Line.-Cont'd. be with this proposed sale. On average a residential member would get between $250.00 and $500.00 back, so with the $579.00 cash premium they would get on average between $750.00 and $1,000.00 at the close of this transaction. Regarding the $10 million community recreation center, Commissioner Cox wondered where would it be, who would control it, and if the public would be charged to use it.

Mr. Husted

said all of those things were yet to be determined.

Commissioner Cox

then asked Mr. Husted if it was true that he would receive a $12 million retirement amount out of the sale then leave in a year and a half.

Mr. Husted

stated that was not true. He received the same incentives that all members did. He would receive $579.00 and a retirement of patronage capital, and there were no special bonuses or incentives for any of the employees or any of the directors.

Commissioner Schinhofen

was not present.

Commissioner Carbone

adjourned the meeting. \ APPROVED this’ day ATTEST: Of Deecanbe 2016. cin od Cn hon = Nye! Couaty Clerk / Deputy