January 20, 2021

Commissioner Cox

was present via telephone. A moment of silence was held for Gerald “Bear” Smith.

Commissioner Blundo

asked if a full allotment had been received and why a pod was not in Pahrump 24/7. Chief Lewis said only a partial allotment was received and there was not enough product to have a pod 24/7.

Commissioner Carbone

pointed out it was an on-line application and asked how information would get to the people who did not have the ability to go on-line. Chief Lewis said the Pharmacy Board had just approved the use of pharmacies today so people should contact their pharmacies. As the process moved forward he thought there would be an ability to do more widespread announcements, but they were trying not to overwhelm the system. The Pharmacy Board was going to take care of certain groups, but if someone was home Emergency Management had been collecting contact information and made those phone calls. People could also stop by Emergency Management or the fire station to provide the information to be added to the list.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked if someone in line changed their mind if they could surrender that vaccine to someone on a standby list, to which Chief Lewis responded yes. Arnold Knightly said people could call (775) 751-6313 and provide their information. As to the form, he said 962 submissions had already been received from people interested in getting the vaccine from all age groups and all areas of the County. He expected to have over 1,100 by the end of the day. 5. Approval of the Agenda for January 20, 2021 (Non-action item)-Reopened. Tim Sutton said item 11 could be removed from the agenda as the applicant requested to continue it for 30 days. Also, the Planning Director requested that item 57 be removed. January 20, 2021

Commissioner Blundo

said he spoke with the judges and was working on an item as he supported renaming the courthouse the Gerald “Bear” Smith Memorial Courthouse. He would also like to memorialize the people who had been lost to COVID.

Commissioner Cox

also supported re-naming the courthouse.

Commissioner Strickland

said she was pleased with the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce and the team for the Pahrump Valley Days. They did the right thing realizing the County was not in the clear with the pandemic. Sam Merlino addressed the information on the voter registration rolls. She said no one liked the mail-in election, but it was kind of a blessing in disguise because her office would be able to weed out quite a few voters who had moved and not notified them. Her office was sending out 7,000 failure to vote notices along with notices to voters who had missed two federal elections and had two notices returned undeliverable. Mrs. Merlino hoped to clean up the rolls quite a bit in the next couple of months. TIMED ITEMS

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve; seconded by Commissioner Cox.

Commissioner Carbone

said even though he was not at the meeting he would still vote.

Mrs. Mulkerns

said the building was regularly used for a variety of reasons and was a lifeline to the community in the event of an emergency.

Mrs. Kramer

said the estimated cost of the project was $150,000.00. The three projects from Amargosa Valley were an emergency generator for the community complex for an estimated cost of $124,500.00; an HVAC system for community center for an estimated cost of $86,800.00; and a fire department tender for an estimated cost of $190,000.00. January 20, 2021 10. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action 2nd Community Development Block Grant — — Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) Public Meeting: 1) Presentation of potential projects; and 2) Invite the public to participate by providing ideas, comments and suggestions concerning the proposed projects-Cont’d. The fifth pre-application received was from Dave Hall with Amargosa Seniors, Inc., for the commodities building renovation for an estimated cost of $45,000.00. Dave Hall presented on behalf of the Amargosa Seniors, Inc., who operated the Amargosa Senior Center. They started a second facility in 2018 with the help of the Commission to distribute commodities and would like to develop the area they had to put in bathrooms and showers for a cost of right around $45,000.00. Mr. Hall said there were a lot of people in the community who needed a place to do laundry and take a shower and he felt this was an excellent opportunity for the County and the town to work together.

Mrs. Kramer

said the Nye County projects included a request from the Department of Emergency Management to install emergency generators at about nine locations in the County for an estimated cost of $328,680.00. Emergency Management Director Scott Lewis said he had recognized a critical infrastructure breakdown without having generators supporting services in the County. He felt this was an essential piece and long overdue to get the facilities back-up with appropriate power for quicker and meaningful responses.

Mrs. Kramer

said the second County project was from Commissioner Strickland, no- touch locks in the County buildings. Unfortunately, she was unable to work it through the CARES funding. The estimated cost was $608,850.00. Building and Grounds Manager William Allen explained the door lock system was basically a card key entry system. The card key entry used a code as opposed to a key so people did not have to touch the handle and put the key in the lock. He had put together a spreadsheet that identified all the doors that would need to be changed and the total cost to do Tonopah and Pahrump was a little over $600,000.00, which would be about the same cost to upgrade the current key system. Sherilyn Allen from the Town of Amargosa Valley discussed the three applications Amargosa Valley had submitted. John Bosta asked the Commissioners to support the items brought forward from Amargosa Valley on the generator and water tender. He said it was also very important to support the senior citizen group. Ammie Nelson felt that was a good project for Amargosa Valley.

Commissioner Cox

also thought that was a good project for Amargosa Valley. January 20, 2021 10. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action 2nd Community Development Block Grant — — Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) Public Meeting: 1) Presentation of potential projects; and 2) Invite the public to participate by providing ideas, comments and suggestions concerning the proposed projects-Cont’d.

Commissioner Blundo

liked building infrastructure in the rural parts of the County.

Commissioner Jabbour

said it was imperative and essential for people’s lives that they knew they could go somewhere with a back-up generator for various reasons. He would absolutely help support this.

Commissioner Blundo

asked how much money was available.

Mrs. Kramer

said there were two rounds. In each round the County could sponsor two and apply for two. In the first round $208,221 .00 was directly allocated to Nye County. Round two for the whole State was $2,474,984.00.

Commissioner Strickland

opened the public hearing. Melissa Blundo asked why the Commissioners were shown as the landowners instead of Nye County.

Commissioner Strickland

explained the Commissioners had several land holdings in the County.

Commissioner Strickland

closed the public hearing. Planning Director Brett Waggoner said this site currently housed the shooting range for the Sheriff’s Office. The desire was to build a new shooting site open to the public. In evaluating land owned by the County this was the best candidate right now. This application would apply split zoning to the property changing a portion of it to open January 20, 2021 12. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation on ZC-2020-000049-Cont’d. space which would allow for a public shooting range. Mr. Waggoner said in the past when the Sheriff’s Office had an item before the Board for a CUP there were questions regarding the power lines. Planning had been working with VEA on the design taking those into consideration and the last thing Mr. Waggoner heard from VEA was they were in support of the project.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve conforming zone change application ZC-2020-000049; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas.

Commissioner Strickland

opened the public hearing. A speaker on the phone stated she did not want to identify herself. Commissioner Strickland asked Maria Zlotek to look into whether identifying themselves was a requirement for public comment.

Dr. Adam

Hadland said he had been a veterinarian for over 20 years. The owners had never abused or mistreated their horses and they were better taken care of than 90% of the horses in Pahrump. Lynn Magnuson said she and her husband Keith had written letters and made pubHc comments in previous planning commission meetings. She stated her adamant opposition to the zoning change application. Juan Jimenez said he had helped the applicants for the past three years. The last time a meeting was held there were allegations of animal abuse, but Mr. Jimenez stated these animals were treated better than any animal. He felt this was something that could help the town. Gary Miller asked for an explanation of what this change really meant as he lived in the area. Jesus Chavez said he moved into the area because of the racetrack and was here today to support them. The facilities were in good shape, he trained his horses there, and there were no signs of abuse. He said they always looked forward to the family events and felt it brought the community together. January 20, 2021 13. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation on ZC-2020-000050-Cont’d. Ammie Nelson felt this needed to be put off until discussions were had about the regulations that needed to be in place to protect people and animals. Marcia Shiffman stated Pahrump did not need a horse betting track. She felt it would attract criminal elements and that it was a barbaric sport as the horses got hurt. Tim Bohannon, president of Nevada Standardbred Association, said they had heard concerns expressed by a previous speaker before. He believed this applicant worked under the American Quarterhorse Association, which had rules and regulations they had to abide by. Joe Sparkes stated his opposition to this item because of the dust control issue as well as the trash left in the area when an event was over. Ronnie Johnson said he started racing a little last year. He went out to the racetrack and had never seen animals treated so well. As to dust control, he advised the applicants watered the track down before the horses were allowed on it. Mr. Johnson said he supported this. Robert Buran said he had two racehorses with the applicant and there was nobody else who treated the horses better than they did. As to the dust, he noted there were racers going 30-35 mph all around the ranch and no one said anything about that, just the horses. In response to Commissioner Strickland’s request for an opinion, Ms. Zlotek advised that per NRS 241 .020, which stated any restrictions made by the Commissioners on public comment must be reasonable so long as it does not restrict the person’s comment based on viewpoint, she found the requirement to state the full name was reasonable and would be defensible if challenged. Juan Bustiocs said he owned a photography business and the owners of the ranch had given him permission to go in and take pictures of the horses. He found the statements made today appalling as they were based on anger, not facts. He had been to tracks everywhere and the horses here were extremely well taken care of. Mr. Bustioos said he fully supported this item. Jose Hernandez asked the Board to reopen the track. Robert Wannberg stated his objection to the item. He had observed Sheriff responses to the property on numerous times. They ran loudspeakers all day during the events and it could be heard for miles. He had seen speeding vehicles down Warren all the way to Charleston with horse trailers attached before and after the events. There were January 20, 2021 13. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation on ZC-2020-000050-Cont’d. also issues with dust and dirt. Mr. Wannberg pointed out horse tripping was illegal in Nevada and he was sure there was going to be gambling and excessive drinking. Perla Alvarez said the horses were taken good care of and she asked the Board to support the item to allow them to keep using this property. Rene Morales stated his support of the item. The family had been operating the facility successfully for the last 20 years and he felt it was very good for the people in the community. Francis Molia stated his support of the item and asked the Board to reopen the track. Angie Hernandez stated her support of the track and said animal abuse did not happen there.

Commissioner Strickland

closed the public hearing. Brett Waggoner explained this stemmed from a Code Compliance complaint because of the directives issued by the Governor regarding gatherings. The applicant was given options to become legal and that was where this application came from as well as item 14 to address the code compliance issue. The recommendation was for open space zoning because it was the least intensive zoning that would allow for an animal racetrack. As to betting, etc., Mr. Waggoner said that would be covered in item 14 through the conditional use permit. They would be required to go through site development and the same process everyone else would have to go through regardless of the fact they had been operating for quite some time without it.

Commissioner Blundo

asked Mr. Waggoner if this was run as a business or if it was just bringing horses over to train because they had the corrals to do that.

Mr. Waggoner

said it was being operated as two businesses a training business and race events so someone could see their horse in action. It turned into more of a business on the racing side in September when an event was being advertised, tickets were being sold for $50.00, and there were three bands scheduled to play. Additionally, the applicant was not currently licensed with the Town of Pahrump for any business and they would need that to operate.

Commissioner Cox

asked if the conditions had been worked out with the applicant and if they agreed to them, to which Mr. Waggoner responded yes. Attorney Carl Joerger, representing the applicant, pointed out Planning recommended approval of all three requests and even if the Board approved this today the site development process would still need to be done, which was the longest and most January 20, 2021 13. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation on ZC-2020-000050-Cont’d. complicated part of the whole process. He asked the Board to approve the zone change knowing that.

Commissioner Cox

asked if they would pave or put some kind of oil on the parking lot for dust control.

Mr. Joerger

said it seemed in item 3 on the staff report to the Planning Commission that would be taken care of in the site development because Planning was concerned about the paving. The applicant did not want to pave it because horses’ hooves slipped on pavement. They did have a water truck on site.

Commissioner Cox

said she wanted a guarantee there would be no horse tripping if this was approved.

Commissioner Blundo

said that could be addressed under item 14. He then asked Mr. Joerger to address the concerns with trash and debris on the property.

Mr. Joerger

explained there was wood out there that they chipped and used for bedding. It looked like they had too much so he suggested they get rid of some it.

Commissioner Blundo

wanted to preserve the property rights and values of the neighbors as well and thought maybe an agreement could be made with the applicant to water the road to help with the dust.

Commissioner Jabbour

said he had had received many phone calls pro and con regarding this item. He received a call from one of the family members to give a presentation to him over the phone and he asked many questions, one of which was if there was an active Pahrump business license, an active County business license, or an active State business license.

Mr. Joerger

advised they had a State business license and they had a domestic limited liability company charter. As far as he knew they probably did not have a County license or the proper licenses to operate.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve the conforming zone change application ZC-2020-000050; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas. The Board was in recess until 2:15 p.m. January 20, 2021 15. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on SU-2020-000070: An application for a Special Use Permit to allow a marijuana establishment (cultivation and production), located at 5256 W. Amargosa Farm Rd., Amargosa Valley, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 019-041 -1 8. May Liu — Property Owner, Natural Green Goodness, LLC Applicant.

Commissioner Strickland

opened the public hearing. Tim Sutton asked to continue this item to the February 17, 2021, meeting.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to continue this item to February 17, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. in Pahrump; seconded by Commissioner Blundo; 5 yeas. 14. 10:00 am. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on AP-2020-000026: An Appeal of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission’s denial of the following applications: CU-2020-000106 and WV-2020-000125: Application for a Conditional Use Permit to allow an Animal Racetrack located on 40.68 acres and a Waiver from Nye County Code Title 17, Comprehensive Land Use Planning and Zoning, to: 1) Waive the parking lot surfacing requirements, and 2) Allow an Animal Racetrack to be located less than two (2) miles from residential areas. Located at 5121 W. Betty Ave., Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 027-521-43. Guadalupe and Hermila Munoz— Property Owners/Applicants (Appellants).

Commissioner Strickland

opened the public hearing. Jose Munoz said races had been going on since 1995 when they bought the property. It was a small family business brought into the valley when there was no one out there. He tried to get a license from the town at that time and was told there was no such thing. Years later they started getting their licenses. Mr. Munoz said they invested quite a bit of money including the horses and asked the Board to help them to continue what they were doing. He stated there was no horse tripping and they did not do rodeos. Ammie Nelson said she did not know what animal racing meant and felt it should be defined as horse racing. She welcomed any kind of business. Jesus Chavez stated his support of the applicants. Billie Miller suggested the Commissioners look at the condition of the stables and asked that paving the road not be waived as they were poisoning the air and did not clean-up after themselves. He said this had never been an open to the public venture. Maria Ziotek advised this was an appeal of the denial from the RPC of the CUP. The Board may consider and may want to make a motion to accept the record below for January 20, 2021 14. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on AP-2020-000026: An Appeal of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission’s denial of the following applications: CU-2020-000106 and WV-2020-000125-Cont’d. review and give an opportunity for the appellant to state his case as to why the decision of the RPC should be affirmed, reversed, or modified. Richard Goldstein did not see anything wrong with it, but he had questions about gambling and alcohol, event permits, fees, etc., which he would like answers to.

Ms. Ziotek

clarified the public hearing could continue and the motion to accept the record below could be done once the public hearing was closed. Gary Miller said his biggest complaint was about the dust and trash left from one of their events. He also felt they really needed to pave the road as that was where the dust was coming from, not so much from the racetrack. Additionally, appropriate speed limit signs were needed as well as policing to slow the people down. Mr. Miller supported denying the conditional use permit for those reasons. Tim Bohannon talked about the economics of this venture. He said dust concerns could be addressed, but these people were bringing business and jobs to the area and increasing opportunities for equine education. Juan Jimenez believed this business was beneficial for a lot of people as well as the town. He said they tried to pick up the trash and he had asked for deputies to slow people down. Joe Sparkes talked about the washboard effect on Warner and how there was no way to not raise dust. He said he had no problem with the racetrack, but people coming in trailers would make Warren Street worse. He would like the appeal denied because of that reason as well as the trash. Gloria Munoz said there had never been any abuse or a horse hurt and the dust was because of the washboard effect. Her dad had been maintaining the road and was told recently not to as it was a liability, but that was not part of what was being talked about. The racetrack was being talked about and Ms. Munoz felt they should not even have to maintain that road. Michael Lach pointed out in the past Commissioners had added variances to grandfathering. He thought the Commissioners should review those variances and add language to the motion stating those variances.

Commissioner Strickland

closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Strickland

noted there were a lot of comments about the road, but only a portion of that road was on the property line for the appellant. She asked the appellant January 20, 2021 14. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on AP-2020-000026: An Appeal of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission’s denial of the following applications: CU-2020-000106 and WV-2020-000125-Cont’d. if he would consider chip sealing as part of his appeal process and asked Public Works Director Tim DahI what was going on with the road.

Mr. Dahl

explained Warren and Betty were both dedicated to the County but rejected for maintenance responsibility. He did not recommend the developer maintain any part of any right-of-way where title vested with the County. His solution would be to chip seal the road and if the Board decided to make that a condition of the modification then Public Works could address that with them.

Commissioner Cox

asked who would pay for the chip seal.

Mr. Dahi

said the developer paid for the development. There would be a chipping contractor in Pahrump in the near future that the developer may want to contact to chip seal approximately .6 miles of Warren and Betty, which Mr. DahI felt was a fair and reasonable way to eliminate the dust. Carl Joerger said once this process was done the applicant still had to go through the site development process. Based on his experience that was more extensive and where the road and dust control would be addressed as well as events. He felt once they were legal they could potentially hire the Sheriff’s Office for security similar to the fall festival. The Planning Department had recommended approval of the conditional use permit and Mr. Joerger asked the Board to follow their recommendations, reverse the decision of the Planning Commission, and allow the applicants to go forward with the conditional use permit. As to the conditions, Commissioner Blundo said he would like a change at the end of item 2 that they may apply for a time extension. They needed to have an encroachment permit so that needed to be figured out. He agreed with dedication of the right-of-way but felt items 6 and 7 were irrelevant as the Board already approved it. He felt item 9 could go away as the encroachment permit had been addressed. Commissioner Blundo said he was confused on item 10 as to what event permits were required. Brett Waggoner explained an event permit would apply for groups of 1,000 or more.

Mr. Joerger

said the applicants were fine with that condition.

Commissioner Blundo

noted the language ‘applicant shall not sell alcohol” was under item 11 and item 1 and wondered why it was duplicated. He asked why the language regarding trash receptacles was in it as that went with event planning. He also asked if item 13, the responsibility of the applicant to submit a written report to maintain the CUP, was standard. January 20, 2021 14. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on AP-2020-000026: An Appeal of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission’s denial of the following applications: CU-2020-000106 and WV-2020-000125-Cont’d.

Mr. Waggoner

said item 13 was per Code. He said the important thing to focus on was this was a CUP permit and he felt the special event permits and CUP permits were getting mixed up. He agreed there could be some redundancy, but said they had to present an appeal application to the Board exactly as it was presented for the decision made by the RPC.

Commissioner Blundo

said he did not care for item 17 and writing COVID items into the CUPs. As to item 18, he would like more information about where the horse racing starting gate was and if it was in the right-of-way. He asked the applicant if they were amenable to moving that.

Mr. Joerger

said they were.

Mr. Waggoner

pointed out the applicant agreed to and did not contest any of the conditions on the record at the RPC.

Commissioner Jabbour

thought perhaps the applicants needed to realize that they were in control of the trash, noise, dust, and traffic. He suggested the applicants provide an incentive, like a coupon for a reduced cost on their next visit, for people to take their trash with them. Also, he heard about liquor and gaming issues and asked if there were any plans to apply for the appropriate licenses.

Mr. Joerger

said there were no plans and it had not been discussed. He thought what happened at the Planning Commission was people heard horse racing and assumed there would be gambling and liquor. There was no specific evidence of any of that at this location.

Commissioner Strickland

told Mr. Joerger there was an application for liquor for an event before his involvement.

Commissioner Cox

asked why this was not being grandfathered in since they had been there for so long.

Mr. Waggoner

explained it could not be grandfathered in because the house on the property would not be allowed in open space zoning today. Grandfathering went away when a use became more intensive, grew, or expanded, and the racing portion of this property had definitely expanded.

Commissioner Strickland

added the trigger was the request for a liquor permit for an event and the Governor’s mandate on gatherings. January 20, 2021 14. 10:00 am. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on AP-2020-000026: An Appeal of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission’s denial of the following applications: CU-2020-000106 and WV-2020-000125-Cont’d.

Commissioner Cox

felt there were agencies that could address the complaints about trash, dust and noise, and that people needed to be tolerant. She agreed with

Commissioner Blundo

that item 17 should be removed.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to overturn the denial and modify with special conditions 1-5, 8, 10, 12-14, 16, and 18 as listed in the back-up with the minoraddition to the end of condition 2 stating ‘the applicant would have the ability to come before the RPC or the Board of County Commissioners for an extension of time for their CUP;” seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to 1) approve waiving the parking surface requirements and 2) allow an animal racetrack to be located less than two miles from residential areas located at 5121 W. Betty Avenue, Pahrump, Nevada; seconded by

Ms. Zlotek

said the first motion was made to overturn, but the language should be reverse the decision below and modify it. As to the second motion, it was to either affirm, reverse, or modify. She was unclear as to what that motion was.

Commissioner Blundo

amended his motion to reverse and waive the parking lot surface requirements and allow an animal racetrack to be located less than two miles from residential areas located at 5121 W. Betty Avenue, Pahrump, Nevada; Commissioner Carbone amended his second; 5 yeas. SITTING AS THE NYE COUNTY LICENSING AND LIQUOR BOARD

Sheriff Wehrly

assumed the Chair of the Licensing and Liquor Board. 18. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to approve three Gaming Licenses for Sartini Gaming, LLC. dba Golden Route Operations, LLC. for leased space for slot machines within Rebel #48 located at 820 S. Highway 160, Pahrump, NV, Rebel #72 located at 102 E. Highway 95N, Beatty, NV, and Rebel #78 located at4O S. Highway 160, Pahrump, NV. Blake Sartini —Applicant.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to approve the applicant as everything was paid and the background check was successful; seconded by Commissioner Jabbour; 6 yeas. January 20, 2021 19. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to consider a request by Round Mountain Gold Corporation, dba Round Mountain General Store and Round Mountain Golf Course for waivers from Nye County Code Title 5 Business License Regulations, Chapter 5.04.070(8)(d) Liquor License Applications requiring officers, directors and stockholder(s) to qualify for a license, that would allow for onsite managers only to apply for the Retail and Package Liquor Licenses located at I Electrum Dr. and 100 Electrum Dr., Round Mountain, NV.

Commissioner Blundo

felt making this kind of waiver would open the door for everyone to ask for waivers on different parts of the Code. He said he could not support the waiver here.

Commissioner Jabbour

said the issue he had with the waiver was if the general manager was the applicant who did the background, not the ownership, that would mean if the general manager left the license was suspended which would impede the operation of the business. That was part of the guidelines of requiring the ownership and the general manager being a key employee to apply for such licenses.

Commissioner Blundo

disclosed he held a Nye County liquor license but participating would not impede his judgment and he intended to do so. Commissioners Strickland, Carbone, and Cox also agreed with Commissioners Blundo and Jabbour. Undersheriff Michael Eisenloffel thought the process needed to be consistent and there should not be any special waivers. Edward Garcia, attorney for Round Mountain Gold Corporation, explained this was a little different because there were appointed officers for the entity who had no direct pecuniary or ownership interest. They simply administered the corporate affairs for the company. They changed officers more frequently than they changed managers which was the reason for the request. He said they would abide by whatever decision was made today.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to deny the request for waivers; seconded by

Commissioner Blundo

; 6 yeas. SITTING AS THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Commissioner Strickland

assumed the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. January 20, 2021 NATURAL RESOURCES

Commissioner Blundo

assumed the Chair of the Board of Highway Commissioners. 17. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding General Road Report by Public Works Director on General Road Maintenance, Gravel Road Maintenance, Asphalt Patching, Weed Mowing, and direction regarding public work projects. Tim DahI provided updates on the chip seal project and the Pahrump Valley Boulevard from Gamebird to Thousandaire capital improvement plan project. The Nevada Federal Lands Act Grant Program asked to be allowed to operate within the County road right- of-way on Bell Vista to do soils report test holes. Public Works was working on the pavement preservation project on Third Street and West Cottonwood in Beatty. Mr. DahI said he was trying to re-spark the U.S. Ecology recycling program for hazardous material. That would be held in Beatty, but there is no final date yet. Lastly, Mr. DahI said he contacted two clean-up organizations to see if there was something he could do to help them pick up trash. He was also trying to come up with an incentive program in Public Works that may spread to other departments to enlist volunteers to help out with those groups.

Commissioner Cox

mentioned the speed limit painted on the road on Honeysuckle did not stand out at night and while the speed limit sign in the area had a blinking light it could not be seen in either direction coming down on Dandelion. She suggested putting it on the other side of the big rock.

Mr. DahI

explained it was put where it was so it would be seen and protected, but he would look into it. January 20, 2021 17. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding General Road Report by Public Works Director on General Road Maintenance, Gravel Road Maintenance, Asphalt Patching, Weed Mowing, and direction regarding public work projects-Cont’d.

Commissioner Cox

asked if Mr. Dahi had heard anything back from the BLM as to the right-of-way situation on Linda.

Mr. Dahi

said no, but he would keep her informed.

Commissioner Blundo

thought at the very least a water truck should be used on Warren and Betty to make sure emergency services had access. He then encouraged the public to use the on-line road report maintenance tool to have issues addressed. John Bosta said McCoy Street in Amargosa was graded from SR373 to the west. The gravel was pushed down the road to the point there was probably 20 feet of puff dirt. He asked Mr. DahI to address that situation. Herman Lewis thanked Mr. DahI for fixing the potholes on Vicki Ann and Pahrump Valley Boulevard. He advised the 45 mph sign on Vickie Ann just north of Kellogg had been pushed over, and all of Vicki Ann heading north was starting to fracture. He asked

Mr. DahI

to keep his eye on that. SITTING AS THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Commissioner Strickland

assumed the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. NATURAL RESOURCES 55. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff regarding due diligence and actions needed for the possible purchase of Desert Utilities, Inc., a privately owned utility company in Pahrump, NV.-Reopened. Darrell Lacy said this was an introduction and question to the Board if there was any interest in moving forward with due diligence to purchase the facility. This was the smallest of the three utilities in town, but it was a well-run utility and in an area that would potentially provide infrastructure for development. It also had a considerable amount of water rights and some value.

Commissioner Blundo

said he heard that this would be a gateway to metering wells, which he did not believe. He thought due diligence was the right course of action to get more information.

Commissioner Strickland

disclosed she was a well drilling contractor and was in the business of brokering water as a realtor, but she did not feel in any way that hearing or voting on this item would be detrimental. She did not know what the value of a utility January 20, 2021 55. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff regarding due diligence and actions needed for the possible purchase of Desert Utilities, Inc., a privately owned utility company in Pahrump, NV.-Reopened-Cont’d. company was and what the value of the County owning it would be. She said she would rather have the information to make an informed decision.

Commissioner Carbone

asked how many of those water rights were needed for the area they were in to support that area.

Mr. Lacy

said based on the filings with the Department of Water Resources there were 3,900 acre feet in their name and of those approximately 1,100 were owed back to the Harris Family for a project that did not move forward, so 2,800 acre feet in general. The status of those water rights would be part of the due diligence.

Commissioner Cox

remembered the last time the Board did this $250,000.00 was spent on the study for the Hafen plant, which was an exorbitant amount of money. It was voted down, but there were a lot of reasons pointed out then as to why the County should not buy a utility company, such as the lack of staff with expertise to run it. She did not see anyone wanting to get into the utility company business and the County really did not need the water rights. She pointed out it was an older plant and would need to be brought up to standards. She did not want to purchase a white elephant.

Commissioner Jabbour

did not think he knew enough about this. If the Board could get a little more information it would be able to decide one way or the other. Michael Lach thought the discussion was getting ahead of itself. If the owners were selling a business asset they would be able to give a lot of things for free right now for staff to look at and provide the Commissioners with an idea of what this was. He felt the Board would be remiss in not looking at this and doing the analysis before deciding to do a study or not. He said the Board should direct staff to look into it. Ammie Nelson did not think this was a good idea for the well owners for the County to get into the water business as they felt this would open the door to metering wells. She asked the Board to reject this idea. Tim Bohannon asked Mr. Lacy about the economics and being able to do more with the excess.

Mr. Lacy

said he was trying to say that in the 14 years he had been with the County one of the biggest hurdles for economic development activities was lack of infrastructure. One of the reasons that had not been able to be addressed was the County was not in the utility business and had very little control or influence over where they were built, how they operated, the cost of operation, etc. Mr. Lacy thought this was a reasonably cheap way to get something operating in town and give the County that control and influence. January 20, 2021 55. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff regarding due diligence and actions needed for the possible purchase of Desert Utilities, Inc., a privately owned utility company in Pahrump, NV.-Reopened-Cont’d.

Mr. Bohannon

said he was aware of the excess and had an interest in it at some point in time. Assessor Sheree Stringer agreed with Michael Lach. If this utility company wanted to be purchased they needed to come to the County with all the information. John Bosta asked that his written statement be included in the minutes [see Attachment 1]. He talked about the July 19, 2011, strategic plan to acquire, improve and operate water and sewer infrastructure. He asked if that plan had ever been presented to the public for review. Herman Lewis reminded everyone what happened with the golf course and how the County ended up hiring an outside firm. He was sure in this particular case the senior water rights will be stripped and the water rights left with the utility along with the old infrastructure would cost a lot of money for repairs. Mr. Lewis wondered why this was not sent to the Water District Governing Board for review. He also did not understand why the County had to get into a utility instead of doing cloudseeding which was more affordable and sustainable. Helene Williams, a member of the Nye County Water Board and part of the Board of Directors of the Private Well Owners Association, said her personal statement was that county government should not be involved in the private sector. She also referred to the golf course purchase and how it had led to debt and hiring of an outside contractor.

Ms. Williams

noted this was a 40-year-old well not designed to standards. She opposed this purchase and said the private well owners did not support it at all.

Mr. Lacy

said he was not arguing one way or the other for the purchase of the utility, but he wanted to make sure the facts were correct. He said the County was already in the utility business. It operated a couple of utilities in the County and 16 water systems that were not utilities serving people. As to the concerns that people within the Private Well Owners Association with this being the first step in the County doing activities that would adversely impact them, Mr. Lacy stated the County had the authority to do that today with or without buying a utility.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to direct staff to move forward with the due diligence, look at the actions needed for the possible purchase, and bring that information back to the Board so the Board could make the best educated decision moving forward; seconded by Commissioner Jabbour.

Commissioner Cox

stated she could not support the motion. January 20, 2021 55. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff regarding due diligence and actions needed for the possible purchase of Desert Utilities, Inc., a privately owned utility company in Pahrump, NV.-Reopened-Cont’d.

Commissioner Jabbour

disclosed he was a customer of Pahrump Valley Disposal, but he did not receive a basket. Michelle Nelson explained the District Attorney’s Office had determined Pahrump Town Ordinance section 43.270 had not been followed in making the 19.19% rate increase. This item was to rescind that motion and bring it back at a later time should the Board feel inclined.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to rescind action taken on item 11 at the December 30, 2020 meeting, approving a 19.19% rate increase for Pahrump Valley Disposal; seconded by Commissioner Carbone. Herman Lewis commented he did not receive a gift basket, but if he had he might have disagreed with rescinding that action. Ammie Nelson hoped this passed and something could be done for this business.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to retain Attorney Nick D. Crosby and authorize the District Attorney to execute the contract for counsel legal services; seconded by

Commissioner Carbone

. Bradley Richardson explained this was an employment dispute regarding the termination of a deputy who requested arbitration. The District Attorney felt it was in the best interest of the County to retain counsel who had done numerous arbitrations about terminations. Herman Lewis wondered if there was no one in the District Attorney’s Office who was capable of handling this kind of case instead of spending money on outside counsel.

Commissioner Cox

asked if POOL/PACT should handle this.

Mr. Richardson

said this was not a matter for POOL/PACT as it was not a tort case. As to Mr. Lewis’ question, he advised that Mr. Crosby was already involved in a case with similar facts and parties in front of the EMRB.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve items 20-23; seconded by

Commissioner Cox

; 5 yeas. 21. For Possible Action Approval of Assessor’s Office Change Requests to allow the Nye County Treasurer to process and: 1) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $652.87 to Kathleen G. MacPherson, owner of 880 5. O’Connor Way Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 027-621-25. 2) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $1,077.91 to Randall R. Jackson, owner of 2831 E. Deadwood St. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 041-061-07. 3) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $578.78 to Michealle & Keith Arnold, owners of 2670 E. Idlewild St. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 042-381-23. 4) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $350.81 to Randy L. Reineck, owner of 3050 S. Rainbow Ave. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 041-034-10. 5) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $900.10 to Zuzana S. Kukol, owner of 1211 N. Arnold Ct. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 027- 501-1 6. 6) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $1,197.41 to Jack & Audrey Rider, owners of 300 E. Mesquite Ave. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-604-06. 7) Issue a refund in the amount of $1,197.41 to Mark Chen, former owner of 300 E. Mesquite Ave. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-604-06. January 20, 2021 21. For Possible Action Approval of Assessor’s Office Change Requests to allow the Nye County Treasurer to process and-Cont’d. 8) Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $212.88 to Jeffrey & Antonuttim Chandler, owners of 6100 Kellogg Rd. Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 045-161-13.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve items 20-23; seconded by

Commissioner Cox

; 5 yeas. 22. For Possible Action Approval to set the date and location for the second Board of Commissioners meeting in April for Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Pahrump, NV.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve items 20-23; seconded by

Commissioner Cox

; 5 yeas. 23. For Possible Action —Approval to adopt Nye County Resolution No. 2021-01: A Resolution Directing the Levy of a Special Assessment on Each Water User Situated Within the Confines of the Duckwater Creek Distribution for Fiscal Year 2021 -2022.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve items 20-23; seconded by

Commissioner Cox

; 5 yeas. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 24. For Possible Action Closure of meeting, pursuant to NRS 241 .015(3)(b)(2) for purposes of conferring with legal counsel regarding potential or current litigation. This item was removed from the agenda. 25. Closed meeting, pursuant to NRS 241 .015(3)(b)(2) for purposes of conferring with legal counsel regarding potential or current litigation. This item was removed from the agenda. 26. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation on conference with legal counsel regarding potential or current litigation presented in closed meeting. This item was removed from the agenda. January 20, 2021 27. For Possible Action Closure of meeting, pursuant to NRS 288.220 for purposes of conferring with the County’s management representatives regarding labor negotiations, issues, and other personnel matters. This item was removed from the agenda. 28. Closed meeting, pursuant to NRS 288.220 for purposes of conferring with the County’s management representatives regarding labor negotiations, issues, and other personnel matters. This item was removed from the agenda. 29. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation on labor negotiations, issues and other personnel matters presented in closed meeting. This item was removed from the agenda. 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding Commissioner Liaison I Representative positions.

Commissioner Cox

asked if anyone was interested in being the liaison on the legislative issues.

Commissioner Strickland

said the County hired a lobbyist for that.

Commissioner Blundo

mentioned Commissioner Cox could go to the Legislature herself on issues, but he was not opposed to having all Commissioners for legislative issues.

Commissioner Cox

pointed out that the Nye County animal shelter was on the list, but it was removed and she was the liaison to that.

Commissioner Strickland

asked to have that one added back to the list.

Commissioner Cox

said she wanted to add the Pahrump Cemetery Board to the list with her as the liaison.

Commissioner Carbone

suggested having the meeting dates and times for the different boards on the list so the Commissioners would know if there was an overlap in scheduling.

Commissioner Jabbour

though economic development was on the list at one time and asked if it was intentionally taken off. If it was unintentional he would like to be the liaison to that.

Commissioner Blundo

said he would like to support Commissioner Carbone on the Tourism Advisory Committee if the Board would support that as well. January 20, 2021 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding Commissioner Liaison I Representative positions-Cont’d.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to accept the 2021 Commissioner liaison! representatives with the additions that Commissioner Blundo would be the secondary on the Tourism Advisory Committee; add 33, Legislative Issues, for all Commissioners to participate; add 34, Animal Shelter, with Commissioner Cox as the liaison; add 35, Pahrump Cemetery, with Commissioner Cox as the liaison; and add 36, NCREDA, with

Commissioner Jabbour

as the liaison; seconded by Commissioner Carbone. Ammie Nelson did not agree with all of the Commissioners being liaisons going to Carson City and thought that should be done on their own time.

Commissioner Cox

clarified it would only be one Commissioner at a time, not all five together.

Ms. Nelson

wanted that stipulated.

Commissioner Cox

as the liaison; and add 36, NCREDA, with Commissioner Jabbour as the liaison passed with 5 yeas. 31. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to change the start time of the Board of County Commissioners meetings.

Commissioner Strickland

said she asked for this item because she was tired of going all night. Closed sessions could be done at 8:00 a.m. and travel to Tonopah could be done by 9:00 am, without a hardship.

Commissioner Cox

said this idea had always been turned down because staff needed time in the morning on Tuesday to get everything together. Also, afternoons were easier for her as she had responsibilities in the morning. Tim Sutton pointed out litigation sessions could be held at any time, not necessarily right adjacent to the meeting.

Commissioner Jabbour

said his concern was for staff staying after hours. They had children or parents they were taking care of. What they wanted collectively was what he wanted.

Commissioner Blundo

did not think this addressed why the meetings went so long. A tremendous amount of public comment was allowed and when that started doubling up January 20, 2021 31. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to change the start time of the Board of County Commissioners meetings-Cont’d. on hot button items the meetings would go a little bit long. He thought how public comment was managed should be looked at.

Commissioner Cox

wondered if some of the items could be handled by staff. She also wondered if the agendas could be split up between the two meetings.

Commissioner Carbone

agreed there were items the Board was looking at that the County Manager could handle. He also felt some items did not have to be on this agenda. The Commissioners knew there were two very specific items on this agenda that were going to be contentious and the agenda should have been looked at by the Chair to move some of the items off.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to keep the Commission meetings at 10:00 am.; seconded by Commissioner Carbone. Helene Williams said there were several items on this agenda that should have been one item instead of two and thought right now the public was not being served. The room that was packed earlier was now empty, and she heard many people say they could not sit here all day. She suggested dividing the agendas into four Tuesdays or Wednesdays and make them half day meetings from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with small breaks. Ms. Williams also thought there were ways the Commissioners could meet with staff prior to the meeting and get their questions answered. Ammie Nelson also thought more meetings per month would be a benefit, but she did not think fewer comments was a good idea. John Bosta remembered when he first came to the community the Board had one meeting one day with a second meeting the following day and the agendas were much shorter. He felt if today’s agenda had been cut in half it could have been handled in two days comfortably. Herman Lewis thought public comment was important and felt the virtual meetings were brilliant and asked the Board to keep that going.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion for Wednesdays; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas. January 20, 2021 33. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to review COVID-19 restrictions and potential limitations to social gatherings for the Outdoor Festival License approved on September 15, 2020 for the VinoJazz Foundation Pahrump Valley Days to be held February 18-21, 2021 at Petrack Park located at 150 Highway 160, Pahrump, NV. This item was removed from the agenda. 34. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Consider setting a constituent outreach budget for each Commissioner in amounts to be approved by the Board to be used for community and constituent engagement, that includes but is not limited to sending letters to various governments, sending thank you cards, and mailing correspondence to constituents, hosting meetings for community related topics that may require accommodation expenses, and sponsoring or hosting community events for educational purposes as determined necessary by each Commissioner; and 2) Fund from 10101 General Fund. This item was removed from the agenda. CLERK 35. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to appoint two members to the Amargosa Valley Town Board due to two members elected in the 2020 Election moving out of the jurisdiction from the following list of applicants: Carolyn Allen, John Bosta and Mike Cottingim. This item was removed from the agenda.

Commissioner Carbone

assumed the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. 36. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to appoint one member to the Central Nevada Museum Advisory Board due to one expiring term from the following list of applicants: Liese Peterson.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to appoint Lisa Peterson to the Central Nevada Museum Advisory Board for a one-year term; seconded by Commissioner Cox; 5 yeas. 37. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to appoint two members to the Round Mountain Town Board due to two vacancies from the following list of applicants: Nicole Silberschlag.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to appoint Nicole Silberschlag; seconded by

Commissioner Blundo

directed staff to advertise for the other vacancy. January 20, 2021 37. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to appoint two members to the Round Mountain Town Board due to two vacancies from the following list of applicants: Nicole Silberschlag-Cont’d. Sam MerHno advised her office was already in the process of advertising and had received two applications which should be on the next agenda.

Commissioner Strickland

assumed the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. COUNTY MANAGER 41. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding nominating a member of the Board of County Commissioners for appointment by the Governor to NACO’s seat on the Nevada Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV).

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to nominate Commissioner Strickland; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas. 42. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Consider recognizing the Nye County Sergeant’s Association (“NCSA”) as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the sergeants employed by Nye County in the office of the Nye County Sheriff; and if recognized, 2) Direct staff to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the NCSA in consultation with labor counsel and the District Attorney’s Office.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to 1) recognize the Nye County Sergeant’s Association (NCSA) as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the sergeants employed by Nye County in the Office of the Nye County Sheriff and 2) direct staff to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the NCSA in consultation with labor counsel and the District Attorney’s Office; seconded by Commissioner Jabbour. Herman Lewis believed under certain circumstances unions were valuable, but these unions seemed to cost the County a lot more money. He wondered when enough was enough.

Commissioner Blundo

thought the County was an excellent employer, but the unions did seem to have that habit of always getting a little more. He did not think that would be the case here and explained there was a conflict that needed to be abated.

Commissioner Cox

said she did not believe in unions and would vote against this.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to approve the interstate local contract with the State of Nevada Department of Veteran Services and execute the contract; seconded by Commissioner Blundo; 5 yeas. FINANCE 44. Presentation and discussion regarding Moody’s Annual Comment for Nye County. Savannah Rucker explained this was a summary report of the County’s credit overview. The County had improved its credit rating and was shown as an A-2. That tied back into the rates for the two recent bond issues. 45. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve the subgrant for the Tonopah Library District through the 2014 Revolving Loan Fund in the amount of $109,600.00 with a match requirement of $27,400.00 bringing the total project cost to $137,000.00 for the Library Parking Lot project located at the Tonopah Library; 2) Enter into an agreement with the Tonopah Library District for the work outlined in the application; and 3) Fund $109,600.00 from 10340 Grants. The $27,400.00 match will be paid by the Tonopah Library District. The project includes the paving over of lead-contaminated and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)-contaminated soil using asphalt to mitigate the adverse impacts to environmental and human health.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve the subgrant for the Tonopah Library District, to enter into an agreement with the Tonopah Library District for the work January 20, 2021 45. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve the subgrant for the Tonopah Library District through the 2014 Revolving Loan Fund-Cont’d. outlined in the application, and fund $109,600.00 from 10340, Grants; seconded by

Commissioner Jabbour

; 5 yeas. 46. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve a subgrant for the Centennial Fine Arts Center through the 2014 Revolving Loan Fund in the amount of $206,350.00 with a match requirement of $41,270.00 bringing the total project cost to $247,620.00 for the roof demolition project located at the Centennial Fine Arts Center; 2) Enter into an agreement with the White Pine Community Choir for the work outlined in the application; and 3) Fund $206,350.00 from 10340 Grants. The $41,270.00 match will be paid by the White Pine Community Choir. The project includes the abatement and removal of asbestos containing roofing materials during the roof demolition and replacement.

Commissioner Jabbour

made a motion to 1) approve the subgrant for the Centennial Fine Arts Center through the 2014 Revolving Loan Fund in the amount of $206,350.00 with a match requirement of $41 270.00 bringing the total project to $247,620.00 for the roof demolition project located at the Centennial Fine Arts Center, 2) enter into an agreement with the White Pine Community Choir for the work outlined in the application, and 3) fund $206,350.00 from 10340, Grants; seconded by Commissioner Blundo; 5 yeas. 47. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve, amend and approve or reject Change Order #2 for the Animal Shelter Contract with Desert Haven Animal Society (DHAS) in the amount of $250,000.00 and extend the contract for a term of one year; 2) Execute the agreement; and 3) Fund $200,000.00 from 10101 General Fund and $50,000.00 from 25101 Pahrump Town General Fund; or, 4) Direct staff to go out to bid for animal shelter services.

Commissioner Carbone

disclosed he had a family member who was the shelter manager as well as the chair of the Desert Haven Animal Society and would recuse himself for those reasons.

Commissioner Carbone

was not present.

Commissioner Blundo

said he wanted Desert Haven to continue, but he thought once the new shelter was built it may need to go out to bid.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve Change Order 2 for the animal shelter contract with Desert Haven Animal Society in the amount of $250,000.00, extend the contract for a term of one year, execute the agreement, fund $200,000.00 from 10101, General Fund, and $50,000.00 from 25101, Pahrump Town General Fund, and direct January 20, 2021 47. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve, amend and approve or reject Change Order #2 for the Animal Shelter Contract with Desert Haven Animal Society (DHAS)-Cont’d. staff to go out to bid once things were changed over after that year; seconded by

Commissioner Jabbour

. Ammie Nelson said Commissioner Carbone and his wife were the most caring, most devoted, and most relentless protectors of the animals. Herman Lewis echoed Ms. Nelson’s comments and mentioned he donated food which allowed them to spend money on other needs.

Commissioner Cox

pointed out the last time this went out to bid Desert Haven came in the lowest.

Commissioner Carbone

was present. Savannah Rucker said the letter in the back-up was generated by her and Treasurer John Prudhont. It addressed all corrective action items and audit findings included in the FY20 audit. This letter was required pursuant to NRS 354.6245 and would be discussed at the CLGF meeting next week.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to accept and send the corrective action letter for the annual audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020; seconded by

Commissioner Cox

; 5 yeas. 49. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding the budget status for November 2020 for Nye County and all sub-entities for Fiscal Year 2021. Savannah Rucker said she was still watching the market trying to anticipate what would happen, but the projections looked good for the rest of the fiscal year. All department expenditure lines were also being watched closely. A vacancy savings rate was budgeted in all departments in the general fund associated with the COVID crisis in anticipation of turnover that occurred naturally in the County. There were departments that had not had turnover and that budget issue would have to be dealt with toward the January 20, 2021 49. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding the budget status for November 2020 for Nye County and all sub-entities for Fiscal Year 2021 -Cont’d. end of the fiscal year. She explained the reasons the Sheriff’s Office and miscellaneous overhead were over-budget. The jail fund would have to be reviewed closer to the end of the year which was supported by the ICE contract. Mrs. Rucker did not know what the current President would do with ICE and the contract may go away. If that contract was removed how to manage that revenue loss would need to be assessed. She also discussed the County-owned building fund and how a property tax rate may need to be associated with that fund to pay for the maintenance on buildings that were leased out. Tim Bohannon asked about the significant deficit revenue balances in funds 10340 and 10511.

Mrs. Rucker

explained the formula mirrored the financial system. The budgeted revenues in the grants fund were $3,025,000.00 and the actual was $5,100,000.00, so that was how the report was generated. She had discussed potentially re-working it and if the Commissioners wanted it flipflopped that could be done. Regarding the contract with ICE, Ammie Nelson thought a lot of money was put into refurbishing the Tonopah jail for that contract. When Governor Sisolak was elected all of that ceased and there would be no more transportation of ICE into Nye County. She wondered why that program had not been stopped already. 50. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion, deliberation and possible amendment of the 2021 Nye County COVID Relief Program and Policy utilizing remaining Federal CARES funding effective January 1, 2021 for the purpose of continuing financial assistance to the public, small businesses, non-profits, and government agencies located within Nye County affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic health emergency.

Commissioner Blundo

disclosed he held a Nye County privilege liquor license and owned Carmelo’s Bistro, but he did not believe his participation would materially affect his ability to vote on the item. He asked MarIa Zlotek if his disclosure was sufficient.

Ms. Zlotek

stated his disclosure had to be enough information to inform the public of the potential effect of actions. If Commissioner Blundo felt he had sufficiently informed he public of his conflict regarding this item then the disclosure would be sufficient. Samantha Kramer said in the back-up was a draft of the Nye County COVID Relief Program and the applications for the programs under the Nye County CARES Act for small businesses and the public. She was requesting direction as to which programs the Board wanted to continue with under the new program and what the requirements would be for each program. She hoped to have the final policy at the February 2, 2021, meeting. She was working on replacing the federal verbiage and asked the January 20, 2021 50. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion, deliberation and possible amendment of the 2021 Nye County COVID Relief Program and Policy-Cont’d. Commissioners if they would like to follow NRS or Nye County policy to identify the program requirements.

Commissioner Blundo

stated he would like to see the most lenient, less stringent set of rules and regulations utilized.

Mrs. Kramer

said she had a verbal addition, which was prior applications still in process would be funded under this grant and may be subject to the requirements under the Nye County CARES Act Policy or the Nye County COVID Relief Program depending on the date of received goods or services. She said they were already in the process of going through purchasing all items utilizing federal requirements and Mrs. Kramer would like to continue doing so until that project was complete.

Commissioner Blundo

confirmed with Mrs. Kramer that this was entirely a County program now. He said it was not tied in any shape, fashion, or form to the CARES Program anymore.

Mrs. Kramer

said that was correct, but there were previous applications that were still pending and she was asking the Commissioners to honor those pending applications.

Commissioner Blundo

said he just did not want to prelude them from applying for this program as well.

Mrs. Kramer

also wanted to add verbiage to the policy that overtime in additional staff payroll to administer the programs would be charged to each program. That would ensure the programs had appropriate staff coverage to process applications without delay. Turning to the small business programs, Mrs. Kramer asked if the Commissioners would like to make any changes to the employee count.

Commissioner Blundo

thought if there was a business that had a higher employee count they should be able to apply and come to the Board to explain their situation. Anyone else who had been denied or had problems should also come to the Board.

Mrs. Kramer

said she would be sure to highlight in the application any applications denied or in excess of the employee count could come to the Commissioners and request approval. Another thing she wanted to add to the policy to verify employee count was businesses would need to submit the IRS 941 form, which would identify the employee count of the business without requesting personal employee information and that was how they would be able to determine the small business 30 employee limit.

Commissioner Carbone

asked about form 990 for non-profits. January 20, 2021 50. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion, deliberation and possible amendment of the 2021 Nye County COVID Relief Program and Policy-Cont’d.

Commissioner Blundo

felt business licenses should be enough along with an affidavit that they had been affected by COVID and were using the money because of that.

Commissioner Strickland

said the applicant had to have something that identified how many employees they had.

Commissioner Jabbour

believed that any business needed to file proper documentation, whatever that documentation was, and they had to prove that they were a legitimate business. He asked if the County would possibly get audited on this money.

Mrs. Kramer

said most definitely. There was an audit every year.

Commissioner Jabbour

said when that audit occurred the County had to prove that this money went to a legitimate business or entity. That covered the County and the applicant. He disagreed with not having proper documentation and proof of who they were.

Commissioner Carbone

commented there were a lot of businesses that did not have a business license so asking for a 990 or some other document gave the County the ability to give them money. He did not want to make it any harder, but he did not want any consequences either.

Commissioner Strickland

said this money was being administered through the County and the County was responsible and accountable for those funds. If there was no back up paperwork to show the business was in business they would not get business funds. She did not agree with an applicant just signing an affidavit as she felt that would call for corruption and then the County would be responsible paying the money back to the State.

Commissioner Blundo

disagreed and said this was County money at this point.

Commissioner Jabbour

reminded everyone they needed to be good stewards of the money they oversaw. Savannah Rucker said what was being put forward was best practices and recommended by the external auditor. Commissioner Blundo was correct that if dollars were misused the County would not have to pay the State back, but it would generate an audit finding and would cause an issue with the trust of the constituency. She also thought not having those records or having just a signature were options the County would not want to take.

Commissioner Blundo

did not feel his previous comments were reflected in what was presented today. January 20, 2021 50. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion, deliberation and possible amendment of the 2021 Nye County COVID Relief Program and Policy-Cont’d.

Commissioner Carbone

explained there had not been enough time for those changes to be made.

Commissioner Strickland

asked the District Attorney if she could close this item and ask staff to bring it back with the changes.

Ms. Zlotek

recommended since she opened the item, had discussion, and asked for public comment, it should either be continued or it could die for lack of a motion.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to take into consideration all comments made today and have the policy brought back at the February 17, 2021, meeting reflective of those comments; seconded by Commissioner Carbone. Tim Sutton said sometimes the comments were unclear. He asked how the Commissioners felt if the template was sent to each of them so they could mark it up.

Commissioner Strickland

suggested a workshop.

Mrs. Rucker

thought a workshop would be the best way to go because Mrs. Kramer and she had discussed all of the requests and they could not all be put in one document because they were conflicting. A workshop would allow a line by line review. Tim Bohannon agreed with continuing this item. Ammie Nelson agreed that documentation was necessary. John Bosta said rural areas in the County did not have business licenses and suggested the Board determine which areas issued them. Herman Lewis agreed with erring on the side of caution. He said Tim Sutton had mentioned to him the CARES money was supposed to be divided about 50/50 between the County and the people and asked if that was still accurate.

Mr. Sutton

explained that statement referred to the initial allocation of $8 million which was split evenly between the County and public entities. As far as he knew that was not a restriction on these funds and believed the intent was to have it all go to the public.

Commissioner Blundo

disclosed he held a Nye County privilege liquor license and owned Carmelo’s Bistro. He had applied and was approved, but he had not received any money from the County CARES Act Policy. He also participated as a citizen.

Commissioner Blundo

did not believe his participation in the program would impact his ability to participate in this item.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to continue this item to February 1 7, 2021; seconded by Commissioner Blundo; 5 yeas. 52. For Possible Action Presentation and direction to staff regarding the current and future financial condition of Nye County as related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Savannah Rucker said she had nothing to add to what she presented earlier. HUMAN RESOURCES 53. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to approve the position, Special Assistant to a County Commissioner, for each commissioner and determine potential funding sources for the five positions in Fiscal Year 2021. This item was removed from the agenda. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 54. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve, amend and approve, or reject the Memorandum of Lease (MOL) agreement between Nye County and Commnet of Nevada, LLC. for the Communications Lease located at 1640 E. Amargosa Farm Rd, Amargosa Valley, NV. The purpose of the MOL is to provide a brief recap of the lease agreement as approved by the Board of County Commissioners on December 1, 2020, which will be used by Commnet for third party needs, such as FCC requirements and financing requirements, etc., as determined by Commnet; and 2) Execute the agreement. There is no cost associated with this agreement.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to approve and execute; seconded by

Commissioner Carbone

. John Bosta talked about when Pam Webster agreed to split the rent with the Town of Amargosa Valley. These were new contracts with new items leasing something the County did not own. He thought if the Board maintained they owned the tower they January 20, 2021 54. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to: 1) Approve, amend and approve, or reject the Memorandum of Lease (MOL) agreement between Nye County and Commnet of Nevada, LLC-Cont’d. should prove the ownership. He asked to have his statement included in the minutes [see Attachment 1]. Lorina Dellinger said she had background information which would be on the February 2, 2021, meeting agenda.

Commissioner Blundo

made a motion to set a date, time and location for the show cause hearing as February 17, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. in Pahrump; seconded by

Commissioner Blundo

said if the issues in the back-up were abated the show cause hearing could be avoided. Valerie Small said she would take care of the issues before that date.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the offer of dedication for the road right-of-way being a 40-foot utility and right-of-way dedication for S. Eberhard Road, east side of Assessor’s parcel numbers 047-031-19 and 047-031 -05 located in Pahrump, Nevada, from Manse Crossing, LLC, and reject the maintenance responsibility; seconded by Commissioner Blundo; 5 yeas.

Commissioner Blundo

told him it was to approve and execute. Ammie Nelson requested that there be something done about banning Sharia Law in Nye County. She then talked about the horses in the County. She had a neighbor move in with three horses which she understood was livestock and she asked about the regulations for providing shelter.

Commissioner Blundo

said he would like to bring forward a resolution that Nye County did not support putting meters on wells for this legislative session as well as the Second Amendment letter former Commissioner John Koenig sent to the Legislature.

Commissioner Jabbour

thanked staff for staying over and for their dedication and apologized for the time. He also thanked all of the folks that had contributed and participated with public comment because a lot of it was good feedback.

Commissioner Cox

wanted to do a resolution to outlaw animal leg traps. She said she asked the District Attorney to look into the sitting of a grand jury and had not heard anything. Lastly, drug court would like an automobile for transportation for attendees and she would like to help with that. January 20, 2021

Commissioner Strickland

adjourned the meeting. APPROVED this - day ATTEST: Of 2021 c7 Ch N1e Cotnty Clerk I Deputy January 20, 2021 Item 55 I request that my comments are reflected in the minutes and I submit a copy of my prepared written remarks to be included in the minutes of this meeting. Desert Utilities Inc., one of three privately owned utilities in Pahrump is potentially available for purchase. County and Water District staff took a visit and preliminary review of the assets and business and provided a preliminary report. The Staff report makes no mention of the July 19, 2011 strategic plan to acquire, improve and operate water and sewer infrastructure. July 19, 2011 Nye County retained Kaempher Crowell to assist the count in developing and implementing a strategic plan to acquire, improve and operate water and sewer infrastructure. This memo provides information relating to tasks 1-6 as set forth in our approved engagement. Nye County Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Preliminary Goals and Objectives: 1. Protecting the public’s interest in the efficient use of water resources. 2. Protecting the public’s interest in ensuring the safe and efficient disposal of waste water. 3. Providing county citizens with more direct and meaningful input on state agency decisions relating to water usage and wastewater disposal. 4. Establishing a mechanism to provide infrastructure to unserved or underserved areas. 5. Promoting economic and job growth through the strategic use of water resources and wastewater planning. 6. Establishing a mechanism for the appropriate public entity to acquire, improve and operate water and sewer systems in a manner that is most cost efficient and most effective. We therefore recommend that you start by formulating a preliminary strategic plan. The plan should include the following components: 1. A list of preliminary goals and objectives. You have already identified the following: • Protecting the public’s interest in the efficient use of water resources. Protecting the public’s interest in ensuring the safe and efficient disposal of waste water. • Providing county citizens with more direct and meaningful input on decisions relating to water usage and wastewater disposal. • Establishing a mechanism to provide Infrastructure to unserviced or underserviced areas. Establishing a mechanism for the appropriate public entity to acquire, improve and operate water and sewer systems in a manner that is most cost efficient and most effective. 2. Identification of areas that are unserved or underserved. 3. Identification of infrastructure that is necessary or desirable for achieving the objectives. 4. Identification of a list of priorities/proposed projects. Has the strategic plan to acquire, improve and operate water and sewer infrastructure never been present to the Public for review? Respectfully, ,. , ATTACHMENT 1 John F. Bo January 20, 2021 Item 54 I request that my comments are reflected in the minutes and I submit a copy of my prepared written remarks to be included in the minutes of this meeting. How can the County lease something that they do not own? On December 7, 1983 the Board of Trustees of the Nye County School District sold S1/2SE1/4SW1/45E1/4 containing 5 acres (APN 019-151-11) to Board of Commissioners of Nye County, acting as Trustees of the Unincorporated Town of Amargosa Valley, File No. 098007 recorded in Book 413 Page 008. The land and the building located in APN 019-151-11 are owned by the Town of Amargosa Valley and not the County of Nye. July 7, 2009 Item 15a, Board of Commissioners of Nye County, acting as Trustees of the Unincorporated Town of Amargosa Valley, approved a lease agreement between Nye County and Commnet of Nevada, LLC for placement of cellular equipment on the Nye County Communications tower in Amargosa, a communication tower in Round Mountain and a communication tower in Longstreet, in exchange for services and equipment. There is no financial impact. Nye County reaped the financial benefits of the contract. After the Amargosa Valley Town Board was created in 2011, Pam Webster the County Manager agreed to split the $600 per month per tower with the Amargosa Valley Town Board because the towers are on land owned by the Town of Amargosa. One year after the cancelling of the contract, Commnet of Nevada deeded the tower to Nye County, which should have been deeded to the Amargosa Valley Town Board. Nye County has assumed the ownership of the towers without any documentation other than the deed for the towers from Commnet of Nevada cancellation. Respectfully, John F. ATTACHMENT 2