December 19, 2023

Commissioner Cox

was not present. Tim Sutton reminded all elected officials they were required to file an annual CE report and financial disclosure statement by January 1 5, 2024. Also, he would not read each individual item on the consent agenda as it was not required. They would be referred to by number and if anyone wanted to pull one for discussion they were free to do so. Samantha Tackett said the veterans banner program application period would close on December 31, 2023. The plan was to hang banners in Pahrump and Tonopah. She encouraged veterans and families of veterans to get their applications in before the deadline.

Commissioner Carbone

said he received a couple of bags of toys from the Armed Forces Chamber that he would give to DHS.

Commissioner Carbone

knew there were some issues with the jail fund and said staff was working with the Marshal’s Service to get the fund worked out.

Ms. Nelson

wondered who would pay for the syringes to be picked up. She said New York City spent $739,000.00 on a pilot program for ten vending machines which were put in jail lobbies where prisoners were released. They reportedly needed repairs all the time. She asked how many would be placed in Nye County and where; how many opioid overdose deaths had been reported in Pahrump and the County; and who was trained to inject Narcan properly. Ms. Nelson felt this program would attract people from southern Nevada, in particular from Las Vegas, and Nye County did not have enough deputies and EMT workers as it was. She said this would enable people to continue to abuse drugs and not seek rehabilitation. She did not think Pahrump had a large population of opioid users and if NCC wanted to put machines in Pahrump they should pay for it. Diane Southworth pointed out this was one machine in one spot with no syringes. She said go for it because fetanyl was becoming a worse problem than the others. Tamie Pitman said she had a friend who was a paramedic in Oregon. He said with Narcan they just saw frequent flyers who kept coming back over and over again so it was delaying the inevitable. Ms. Pitman’s concern was if it was one vending machine who would overdose right next to it. This did not make sense to her. December 19, 2023 10. 10:00 am. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion and deliberation — — regarding a request from Nye Communities Coalition, to place Naloxone Harm Reduction Vending Machines in the Community Health Nurse office in Pahrump, located at 1981 E. Calvada Blvd, Suite 100, Pahrump NV. (10-minute time limit) Cont’d.

Commissioner Cox

asked who would pay for the machines and the products.

Mr. Quattrocchi

advised NCC had already purchased the machines as well as the products. There were four machines. One would be placed in Beatty and then the one here at community health nurse office.

Commissioner Cox

asked what would happen with those machines if this was not approved.

Mr. Quattrocchi

said they would get placed somewhere else.

Commissioner Cox

thought Ms. Nelson had good facts and she agreed with a lot of it. She thought the machines would add to the problem. She did not feel good about this and was tired of everyone wanting the County to pay for their projects. If people wanted to be in business then they should do it themselves.

Commissioner Boskovich

said this did not sit well with him. Pahrump had two parks that were overrun with a homeless population which could not be used unless there was a particular event and security. There were also needles in the parks.

Commissioner Carbone

asked who would fix the machine if it got damaged.

Mr. Quattrocchi

said NCC would and would also refill and maintain the machines.

Commissioner Carbone

said he was also having a hard time with this. He wanted to help people, but he hoped they would go to some kind of counseling instead of going to a machine and getting a shot or sniffing or snorting material. He wanted to know what the fire chief thought about this.

Commissioner Strickland

said the County would receive over the course of five years $3.8 million to fund programs like this and it needed to start somewhere. NCC already distributed this and she asked how that was handled.

Mr. Quattrocchi

said NCC did distribute it and provided training on how to use it. They also had some Naloxone distribution boxes in a couple of locations, and they had supplied it to law enforcement in the past.

Commissioner Strickland

envisioned this as a safe place for a family member to get a supply. She wondered if it could be put in an area that could not be seen by youth. December 19, 2023 10. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion and deliberation — — regarding a request from Nye Communities Coalition, to place Naloxone Harm Reduction Vending Machines in the Community Health Nurse office in Pahrump, located at 1981 E. Calvada Blvd, Suite 100, Pahrump NV. (10-minute time limit) Cont’d.

Mr. Quattrocchi

said he did not know the layout of the building, but he did not see why not.

Commissioner Jabbour

mentioned part of the back-up read over 100,000 Americans died in 2021 from drug overdoses. He asked how many overdose deaths happened in Nye County.

Mr. Quattrocchi

said according to the most recent data he had 10 people overdosed in Nye County in 2020.

Commissioner Jabbour

wondered if this would encourage people to continue to take drugs.

Mr. Quattrocchi

said he was a recovering drug user and Naloxone being available or not would not have affected whether he did drugs or not. He thought this would save someone’s life.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked why the proposal was not to put it at NCC.

Mr. Quattrocchi

explained they could not find a place to put it where it would be seen and people could access it. Helen Bae referred to Commissioner Strickland’s earlier comment about the opioid settlement fund. She explained the Nevada Needs Assessment Plan determined eligibility to use those funds and she thought the Board should listen to that needs assessment when it considered the plan for spending the opioid funds. To date about $600,000.00 had been receipted and more would be accepted, but as far as using those funds for programs such as these the State would need to know more about the program itself as the State considered its plan going forward to administer it.

Commissioner Strickland

asked Mrs. Bae if she was saying it was a better scenario for the Board to check with the State of Nevada to see if this met their criteria and then look at the item.

Mrs. Bae

believed the County’s liaison for that was the Director of Health and Human services so she thought the deliberations should include the directors that were involved in these programs, including the fire chief. Director of Emergency Management/Fire Chief Scott Lewis applauded the efforts of NCC and thought their intentions were pure, but he had some logistical issues. When December 19, 2023 10. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Presentation, discussion and deliberation — — regarding a request from Nye Communities Coalition, to place Naloxone Harm Reduction Vending Machines in the Community Health Nurse office in Pahrump, located at 1981 E. Calvada Blvd, Suite 100, Pahrump NV. (10-minute time limit) Cont’d. he reviewed it he thought there was a certain set of assumptions that this was a cure all. The problem with that was the extent of the overdose drove the amount of Narcan used. It also considered the number of administrations to overcome the extent of the overdose. When he heard about a vending machine Chief Lewis saw that as a finite almost sterile approach to it. If it was going to be distributed, he thought there needed to be a wider net spread with an explanation on what to expect. He explained many times when they had someone coming out of an opiate-related overdose the first thing they wanted to do was fight, and sometimes they returned to that opioid induced state. Chief Lewis said he wanted to make sure 911 was not eliminated from this equation.

Commissioner Strickland

asked Chief Lewis if he was in support of this. Chief Lewis said he supported a wide distribution of Narcan. To him a vending machine was kind of like putting a postage stamp on something, and he did not think there would be access 24 hours.

Commissioner Boskovich

made a motion to deny this request with the understanding that it was not any sort of reflection on the medication used for a specific purpose; seconded by Commissioner Cox; 5 yeas. FINANCE

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to amend and approve the budgetary adjustment of $16,695.88; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 TIMED ITEMS 11. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Hearing to Show Cause, discussion and — — deliberation to determine if there is sufficient cause to revoke: 11.a. Adult-Use Cannabis License (Cultivation) CBL-23-30; and 11.b. Medical Cannabis License (Cultivation) CBL-23-31; located at 5400 N. Highway 160, Pahrump, NV. Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-311-13. Diversified Development Group Property Owner. Rick Saga I Nye Farm Tech, LTD Licensee.

Commissioner Jabbour

opened the show cause hearing. The Clerk swore in Planning Director Brett Waggoner.

Mr. Waggoner

explained this establishment had not produced any sales revenue for the past six months, which triggered the show cause hearing per Nye County Code Section 5.32.095. A notice was sent out and posted on the property on November 20, 2023. The establishment had ten calendar days from receipt of the notice to respond with a formal letter to the Planning Department. A letter was received well beyond the ten day limit so it was not included in the back-up.

Commissioner Boskovich

asked how long this license had been in existence in one form or another, to which Mr. Waggoner responded since 2016.

Commissioner Boskovich

asked how much they had sold, how much tax they had paid, or anything along those lines.

Mr. Waggoner

stated it was very minimal. There was about a $100.00 sale in the past six months, which brought the County about $2.00 in taxes.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked for a motion to accept the back-up provided with the agenda item.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to accept the back-up; seconded by

Commissioner Carbone

; 5 yeas. The Clerk swore in Rick Saga.

Mr. Saga

said he and his partner, Paul Thomas, invested $400,000.00 into a larger facility they were told was a hemp farm, but Mr. Saga did not understand that a hemp farm still required a complete SUP for marijuana to move in. In the six months in question they had ordered 700 clones, but Mr. Thomas had a robbery three months ago in Henderson, so they did not get the clones. They had also acquired two major contracts which would help the County down the road. One was from the Pharma Company for a 1,000 liter oil supply of the biomass and the second one was with a big December 19, 2023 11. 10:00 am. For Possible Action Hearing to Show Cause, discussion and — — deliberation to determine if there is sufficient cause to revoke: 11.a. Adult-Use Cannabis License (Cultivation) CBL-23-30; and 11 .b. Medical Cannabis License (Cultivation) CBL-23-31; located at 5400 N. Highway 160, Pahrump, NV. Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-311-1 3. Diversified Development Group Property Owner. Rick Saga I Nye Farm Tech, LTD Licensee-Cont’d. recreational company, Stingzeek. They had purchased a production in Henderson for $250,000.00 as well so they could complete the cycle of producing here. Mr. Saga said he was late on filing the answer, but he thought that was just a technical thing. He asked that he be given a chance and be put on four months probation by which time he would produce the clones and the mothers. Mark Miyaoka was sworn in by the Clerk

Mr. Miyaoka

said he was the owner of the Pahrump Medical Center, which they were trying to reactivate for urgent care, primary care, and mental and behavioral health services. He explained they would like to extend their footprint and he had made an investment with Nye Farm Tech to achieve that aspiration. Unfortunately, they had experienced a lot of issues with the partnerships they dealt with and certain situations that had come up. Mr. Miyaoka asked as an investor and a supporter of Nye Farm Tech for more time to find another location. He thought it would be easier if they could have six months to operate at their current location in good standing.

Commissioner Boskovich

asked if the license had been there since 2014.

Mr. Saga

said in 2014 they started with the license, but they had problems and other people put it into bankruptcy.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked if taxes were paid on this property.

Mr. Saga

said the total amount of the property taxes was paid on December 1, 2023, but the personal property taxes were delinquent.

Commissioner Jabbour

closed the show cause hearing.

Mr. Miyaoka

said they would definitely like to move the license to a larger facility, but there not that many facilities that met the State security requirements. Their request was to give them some time and allow them to function at the existing location, and in that time they would find another facility that met the security requirements.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to allow them four months to prove their concept and report back to the Planning Director on where they were and if unable to the license would be revoked; seconded by Commissioner Strickland. December 19, 2023 11. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Hearing to Show Cause, discussion and — — deliberation to determine if there is sufficient cause to revoke: 11.a. Adult-Use Cannabis License (Cultivation) CBL-23-30 and 11.b. Medical Cannabis License (Cultivation) CBL-23-31; located at 5400 N. Highway 160, Pahrump, NV. Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-311-13. Diversified Development Group Property Owner. Rick Saga I Nye Farm Tech, LTD Licensee-Cont’d.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked that the license numbers be added to the motion.

Commissioner Carbone

amended his motion for CBL-23-30 and CBL-23-31 to allow them four months to prove their concept and report back to the Planning Director on where they were and if unable to the license would be revoked; Commissioner Strickland amended her second. If the intent was to allow the applicant time to show what they could do, Mr. Waggoner suggested rather than bringing this back for another show cause to continue it instead and schedule a status hearing four months out, get reports at that point, and then make a final determination on action. Brian Kunzi thought that would be the easiest way to resolve it if that was what the Board wanted to do.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked Mr. Saga if four months was enough time.

Mr. Saga

said it was.

Commissioner Carbone

withdrew his motion; Commissioner Strickland withdrew her second.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to continue this item until April 16, 2024; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. The Board was in recess until 2:21 p.m. December 19, 2023 12. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on AP-23-5: An Appeal of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission’s denial of the following items relating to Waiver application WV-23- 12: 12.a. Waiver from Nye County Code 17.04.730(D)(4) “Construction and Design Requirements: Surface” to waive the requirement to provide asphaltic concrete or double layer chip sealed surfacing for driveways, drive aisles and parking lot; and 12.b. Waiver from Nye County Code 17.04.730(E) “Conventional Parking Accommodations” to waive the requirement to provide the minimum number of required paved parking spaces; on property located at 851 S. Lola Lane, Pahrump, NV. Assessor’s Parcel Number 035-354-1 4. Dennis & Elizabeth Vehe Trustees Property Owner. Thomas Vehe — — Agent/Appellant.

Commissioner Strickland

stated she would abstain from this item as she had a storage facility and these were quite a few waivers. Brett Waggoner advised this applicant was in front of the RPC on November 15, 2023, and asked for a waiver for three of the design standards in the Code landscaping, paved drive aisles, and paved parking for the storage facility itself. The motion was made to deny the construction standards for paving the drive aisles and to also deny the waiver for paving the parking lot, which also included a handicap parking spot to make it ADA compliant as well as a walkway up to the office building. Thomas Vehe explained he was appealing the denial of the waivers primarily due to the inconsistency of paving in the area. Paving the drive aisles and parking area would cause poor infiltration during rains as well as a heat island effect in the neighborhood. Compacted type 2 was approved for completion of this property in 2006, but the buildings were never finished. In the master plan for Pahrump goal 4, objective B, stated that the consequences of planning and zoning properties in a manner different from surrounding properties should be carefully considered. The surrounding properties were not paved, and Mr. Vehe had signed consent forms from all four developed surrounding properties stating that the waivers did not have any negative impact to the standards of the neighborhood or their properties, which he included in his package. There had also never been any dust complaints on his property and there was no public opposition to his plan.

Mr. Waggoner

said this project started in 2006. After that the County had some air quality issues and instituted a chip seal program pursuant to an MOU with the State NDEP to get control of the dust issues in Pahrump. Another thing staff had discovered recently was that the fire code also required an all-weather surface for any buildings for emergency vehicles. He then pointed out there was conflicting information in the Code from Section 15.28 versus Section 17.04. Sections 15.28.100.B. and 15.28.100.C. stated all existing unpaved parking lots and storage areas greater than or equal to 5,000 December 19, 2023 12. 10:00 am. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion, and deliberation on AP-23-5-Cont’d. square feet shall implement the following control measures by December 31, 2005: pave, or gravel to a minimum depth of two inches shall be applied, or chip seal, or apply a dust palliative to the vehicle travel lanes within the parking lot in conformance with the stabilization requirements in section 1 5.28. Mr. Waggoner said chip seal was the approved alternative, was a fraction of the cost of asphalt, and it could be put over existing gravel. He reminded the Board of the fire code issue which required the all- weather access and that the parking area have an ADA parking spot.

Commissioner Carbone

asked if having the applicant pave in front of the office area to fulfill that requirement would be acceptable.

Mr. Waggoner

said that would be the pleasure of the Board, but it still would not meet the development standards. Brian Kunzi said he was at the RPC when this item was heard and he thought this was a bad misinterpretation of the Code. The unpaved parking storage areas referred to specifically allowed for gravel to a minimum depth of two inches. A waiver meant the applicant had to do one of the five items, which the gravel was one of, and that was what the applicant was asking for. It would not violate the Code if the Commissioners overrode what the Planning Commission did. Another thing that concerned him was the ADA and fire code was never presented at the RPC and he had questions about whether or not a gravel road to the storage facilities was in violation of the ADA. It would be ADA compliant as long as a wheelchair could be pushed on it.

Mr. Waggoner

said the fire code citation was in the staff reports presented to the RPC so it definitely was part of that. The ADA was addressed in the building code and required a solid surface.

Mr. Kunzi

stated the applicant did not have to pave the entire lot to comply with the ADA.

Commissioner Jabbour

opened the public hearing. Ammie Nelson said she had items stored at Decroff Storage Unit and they had four inches of gravel. She could access her unit by driving on the gravel without any dust problems. She also had no difficulty pushing her wheelchair on it. Frank Slaghuis said he had a storage unit at The Price Is Right, which was not that far down the street from this facility, and he had never seen a dust problem there or any issues when it rained. He did not see how what the applicant wanted to do would be a problem. December 19, 2023 12. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion, and deliberation on AP-23-5-Cont’d. Carolene Logue felt the regulations that were established for the benefit of the community needed to be followed. She said parked RVs could leak into the ground and affect the wells in the area. Also, gravel was easily displaced and did not allow for a lot of traction as it was not uniform like asphalt or concrete.

Commissioner Jabbour

closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Cox

asked what the definition of all-weather access was.

Mr. Waggoner

explained it was a solid surface that did not get muddy or give away under the weight of the vehicles.

Commissioner Cox

asked if four inches of gravel would fall under that.

Mr. Waggoner’s

opinion was that it would, but he did not know exactly as he was not an engineer. He knew there was a gravel which had some kind of a powder in it that when it got wet it became almost like concrete. He said the RPC was going to look into other alternatives because that really worked.

Commissioner Cox

asked what year this facility was built.

Mr. Vehe

said it was started in 2004 but the property was bought with Joe’s Sanitation on it.

Commissioner Cox

said she was told by the building department that anything built before 1998 on a piece of property did not fall under the new rules and regulations. She asked if that applied to commercial buildings too.

Mr. Waggoner

said no. Any new construction fell under the current regulations.

Mr. Kunzi

added grandfathering went out the door whenever there was a change of use and expanding property was a change of use.

Commissioner Boskovich

thought the Commission should pay attention to the ADA compliance part of this. He also thought the Commission needed to be careful because once waiver after waiver was approved it became a question of what was the point of having the codes.

Commissioner Jabbour

did not disagree with ADA compliance for parking on one or two lots.

Mr. Kunzi

stated gravel roads were specifically provided for in the building standards, so it was not a waiver. One of the concepts of the building standards was to look at the December 19, 2023 12. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action — — Public Hearing, discussion, and deliberation on AP-23-5-Cont’d. adjacent area. The facility was in an isolated area and one of the standards that needed to be looked at was the impact on the surrounding area. That was the reason for the flexibilities because not everything was going to be the same.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion on item 12.a. to reverse the RPC’s decision to deny the portion of the waiver of 1 7.04.730(D)(4), and on item 1 2.b. modify the waiver to accommodate paved parking for ADA and the office to have a hard surface applied.

Mr. Kunzi

suggested an amendment to the motion. The issue was they wanted to use the gravel so something needed to put in that authorized the use of the gravel.

Commissioner Carbone

amended his motion on item 12.a. to reverse the RPC’s decision to deny the portion of the waiver of 1 7.04.730(D)(4), and on item 12.b. modify the waiver to accommodate paved parking for ADA and the office to have a hard surface applied which could be gravel; seconded by Commissioner Boskovich.

Mr. Waggoner

said site development would require a driveway at least coming off of the County asphalt road into the property, which was completely different than drive aisles. He asked if that requirement was also being waived.

Commissioner Carbone

asked if that was part of section D.4.

Mr. Waggoner

believed it was.

Commissioner Carbone

said the motion reversed 12.a. completely.

Commissioner Jabbour

was not present.

Commissioner Strickland

assumed the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Samantha Tackett advised Chris Kelly brought this forward and it was done every year for the month of January. December 19, 2023 31. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation regarding Nye County Proclamation No. P2023-10: A Proclamation Recognizing the Month of January 2024 as National Radon Action Month in Nye County-Cont’d.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to approve Proclamation No. P2023-10; seconded by Commissioner Boskovich; 4 yeas. FACILITIES 27. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 27.a. Discuss the bid proposal received for Bid No. 2023-20 Pahrump Janitorial Services; 27.b. Award bid 2023-20 Pahrump to Disinfecting Solution, LLC in the amount of $214,446.00; 27.c. Approve, amend and approve or reject the contract with selected bidder; 27.d. Fund $214,446.00 to 10101 General; or 27.e. Reject bid and provide direction to staff on how to proceed with the project. Contracts and Purchasing Administrator Honey Strozzi said this was placed in the Pahrump Valley Times and on the County Web site on October 24, 2023. It was advertised for three weeks and the bids were opened on November 15, 2023. Most vendors were not able to supply the needed labor for these services so it ended up being only one bid. A bid was put out for these services in December, 2022, and at that time the Board decided to rebid the services with revised conditions and scope. At that time there were several issues with the last contract and staff wanted to address those within another bid. Mrs. Strozzi said special conditions were added in the form of liquidated damages to section 3 of the solicitation. The intent was to monitor the cleaning for any complaints or deficiencies and then apply the liquidated damages if needed as stated within section 17. Termination for cause was also added.

Commissioner Jabbour

was present and assumed the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Facilities Manager William Allen explained these services could not be done in house for less money so that was not included as an option.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to award Bid No. 2023-20 to Pahrump Disinfecting Solutions LLC in the amount of $214,446.00, approve the contract, and fund from 10101 General; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas December 19, 2023 TIMED ITEMS 13. 10:00 am. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion and deliberation — — on ETSU-23-14: An application for an Extension of Time of ZCMP-22-16, a Conforming Zone Change to change one (1) parcel totaling approximately 1.87 acres from Open Space (OS) to Village Residential (VR-8), to allow additional time to construct a single-family residence, located at 581 S. lshani Ridge Court, Pahrump, NV. Assessor’s Parcel Number 035-722-27. Ricardo Luis Montalvo — Property Owner. Edgar Montalvo Applicant/Agent. Brett Waggoner said the Planning Commission had recommended approval to the Board for this zone change. He explained this parcel was in the Ishani Ridge Subdivision and was originally slated as a park. There were some pretty big challenges there with the utilities, and there were some improvements that were never finished and not accepted by either Public Works, the County’s Road department, or the utility company. All of that had caused the applicant some delays in moving forward with his plans so he was requesting an extension of time.

Commissioner Jabbour

opened and closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve ETSU-23-14, an application for an extension of time for ZCMP-22-1 6; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas. 14. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-18: an application for a Conforming Maior Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 14.094 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-131-01 through 56; 038-132-01 through 43; and 038-141-01. Nye County Planning —Applicant, Multiple Property Owners. Brett Waggoner explained for items 14-21 that part of the master plan amendment recently adopted was to clean up some of the discrepancies throughout the valley so the intent of the zoning matched the intent of the master plan designation and vice versa. He said the Board would see several of these come forward. The zoning of the property would not change, and neither would any of the permissive uses per the zoning of the property. The RPC recommended approval on all of these items with a 7-0 vote.

Commissioner Jabbour

opened and closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 15. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-22: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 12.702 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-141-02 through 15; 038-142-01 through 49; 038- 143-01 through 35; and 038-151-01 through 02. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. 16. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-23: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 14.501 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-151-03 through 39; 038-152-01 through 35; 038- 153-01 through 29. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners. — —

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. 17. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-24: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 13.34 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-153-30 through 37; 038-161-01 through 37; 038- 162-01 through 32; 038-163-01 through 23. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. 18. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-25: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 14.034 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-163-24 through 36; 038-171-01 through 18; 038- 172-01 through 33; 038-173-01 through 36. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 19. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-26: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 12.886 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-173-37 through 47; 038-181-01 through 31: 038- 182-01 through 24; 038-191-01 through 34. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. 20. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-27: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of Low Density Residential (LDR) to High Density Residential (HDR) for one hundred (100) parcels, totaling 14.06 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-191-35 through 63; 038-192-01 through 41; 038- 201-04 through 14; 038-202-01 through 19. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. 21. 10:00 a.m. For Possible Action Public Hearing, discussion, and — — deliberation on ZCMP-23-28: an application for a Conforming Major Master Plan Amendment to change the designation of LDR (Low Density Residential) to HDR (High Density Residential) for eleven (11) parcels, totaling 2.148 acres. Assessor Parcel Numbers 038-202-20 through 30. Nye County Planning Applicant, Multiple Property Owners.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to accept the RPC’s recommendation to change from low density to high density on items 14-21; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 22. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS These are items that Staff recommends for approval. The Board reserves the right to move any consent agenda item to the regular segment of the agenda should issues arise that need to be addressed. Discussion of any item from the Consent Agenda Items that needs review before a decision is made. 22.1. For Possible Action Approval of the Elected Official Collection Report regarding fees collected from elected county departments for services rendered by or provided to county citizens.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.2. For Possible Action Approval of the meeting minutes from the joint meeting on October 17, 2023.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.3. For Possible Action Approval of Assessor’s Office Change Request to allow the Nye County Assessor/Treasurer to process and: 22.3.a. Issue a refund in the amount of $101.70 to John B. Jr., & Linda MacPherson, owners of 0 Florence Rd., Tonopah, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 008-301-11. 22.3.b. Issue an amended tax bill in the amount of $95.06 to Grant Mitchell Saxena, owner of 1631 W. Windsong Ln., Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 036-272-03. 22.3.c. Issue a refund in the amount of $179.61 to Darrell L. Young, Jr., owner of 2360 5. Mallard Ave., Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 042-311-1 5.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.4. For Possible Action Approval of Return of Sale; Affidavits of Publication pursuant to NRS 361.595 for the Nye County Trust Property Online Auction result held on October 17 through 19, 2023.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 22.5. For Possible Action — Approval to: 25.5.a. Accept Interlocal Contract Between Public Agencies State of Nevada, Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP); and Nye County for administrative services necessary to operate the Medicaid County Match Program and to share the cost of long-term care within the Scope of Work not to exceed $.08 with a total maximum contract amount not to exceed $2,091,742.44; 25.5.b. Execute the Interlocal Contract; and 25.5.c. Fund to 10284 Dedicated Medical Indigent Fund.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.6. For Possible Action — Approval to: 22.6.a. Accept a Funding Agreement with NyE Communities Coalition to provide for a case manager, Community Health Worker (CHW) and services to the community through the FASTTIMOST program for calendar year 2024 in the amount of $94,854.00; 22.6.b. Execute the Funding Agreement; and 22.6.c. Fund to 10340 Indigent Accident Fund Ammie Nelson questioned the amount of $94,854.00. The average pay for a community health worker in Nevada was is $47,390.00, and they only provided first aid, took blood pressure, and did simple wound care. The EMTs were trained to do this and

Ms. Nelson

felt the money should be used to hire another EMT worker.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.7. For Possible Action — Approval to: 22.7.a. Accept the Department of Justice State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) grant award in the amount of $1,258.00 to provide funding for Nye County Sheriff’s Office personnel costs related to U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) inmates. There is no match required; 22.7.b. Allow a one-time exception for the Comptroller or designee to electronically accept the grant award; and 22.7.c. Fund $1,258.00 to 10340 Grants. Ammie Nelson said she had never been a fan of ICE. When this was first presented everyone was told it would make the County $900,000.00 the first year. Ms. Nelson did not think that money was being made. She said this was a program that bussed illegals in from Las Vegas to house in the County’s jail until they got their court date. If their December 19, 2023 22.7. For Possible Action — Approval to: 22.7.a. Accept the Department of Justice State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) grant award in the amount of $1,258.00 to provide funding for Nye County Sheriff’s Office personnel costs related to U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) inmates. There is no match required; 22.7.b. Allow a one-time exception for the Comptroller or designee to electronically accept the grant award; and 22.7.c. Fund $1,258.00 to 10340 Grants-Cont’d. case was dismissed or they were released and told when to report back they were released into the community. She thought one of the reasons the homeless community was growing was because of the illegals being released into the community. Ms. Nelson said she was not fond of spending one more tax dollar on any ICE program. Carolene Logue said she was not sure what $1 ,258.00 would do for the Sheriff’s Department to mitigate any issues around the detention of immigrants or illegals.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 221-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.8. For Possible Action — Approval to: 22.8.a. Accept the Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Trial Court Improvement Grant award in the amount of $49,264.89 to provide funding for the security camera upgrade at the Pahrump Justice Court. There is a required match of $26,527.25; 22.8.b. Allow a one-time exception for Justice Court Administrator, Alisa Shou Its to execute the grant award; and 22.8.c. Fund $49,264.89 to 10340 Grants and $26527.25 to 10244 JP Court Collection Fees. Carolene Logue thanked the courts for finding a way to secure the courthouses.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 22.9. For Possible Action — Approval to: 22.9.a. Accept the State of Nevada Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) award in the amount of $56782.18 to provide funding for the salary costs of the Director of Emergency Management Scott Lewis. There is no match required; 22.9.b. Allow a one-time exception for Contracts and Grants Manager, Stephani Elliott to electronically accept the grant award; and 22.9.c. Fund $56782.18 to 10340 Grants. Carolene Logue said grant money was coming in from a lot of different areas like the U.S. Department of Agricultural for rural areas. She was sure the grant department was keeping an eye on that to help upgrade the services in Nye County.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.10. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire South 30.00 feet fronting West Brushwood Street of the property located at 3782 West Brushwood Street, Amargosa Valley, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 019-551 -17 from Nye County and designate West Brushwood Street as a Minor County Road, reiecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.11. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire North 30.00 feet fronting West Lapis Road located at 1341 West Lapis Road Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 028-125-03 from Nye County and designate West Lapis Road as a Minor County Road, rejecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.12. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire East 30.00 feet fronting North Pyramid Street and the South 30.00 feet fronting East Chess Way of the property located at 1710 East Chess Way, Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-661-05 from Nye County and designate North Pyramid Street and East Chess Way as Minor County Roads, rejecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 22.13. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire South 30.00 feet fronting East Jent Road of the property located at 1650 East Jent Road Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 029-668- 06 from Nye County and designate East Jent Road as a Minor County Road, rejecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.14. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire North 30.00 feet fronting East Moses Road of the property located at 1591 East Moses Road Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 029- 675-02 from Nye County and designate East Moses Road as a Minor County Road, rejecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.15. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire East 20.00 feet fronting North Ben Street of the property located at 6361 North Quebrada Ave Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 030-291-22 from Nye County and designate North Ben Street as a Minor County Road, reiecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.16. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire East 20.00 feet fronting North Ben Street of the property located at 6341 North Quebrada Ave Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 030-301-09 from Nye County and designate North Ben Street as a Minor County Road, reiecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.17. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire East 20.00 feet fronting North Ben Street of the property located at 6151 North Remos Lane Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 030- 31 2-09 from Nye County and designate North Ben Street as a Minor County Road, relecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 22.18. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire East 20.00 feet fronting North Ben Street of the property located at 6121 North Remos Lane Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 030- 312-12 from Nye County and designate North Ben Street as a Minor County Road, rejecting maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. 22.19. For Possible Action Approval of an offer of dedication for road right of way being the entire East 30.00 feet fronting North Heather Way and the South 30.00 feet fronting East Christine Way located at 2720 East Christine Way, Pahrump, NV, Assessor’s Parcel Number 035-263-08 and designate North Heather Way and East Christine Way as Minor County Roads, reiectinq maintenance for the purpose of future road improvements fronting the property.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve items 22.1-22.19; seconded by

Commissioner Boskovich

; 5 yeas. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000MO; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Proiects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property.

Commissioner Strickland

disclosed she was areal estate broker, but she had no pecuniary interest in this item. She said an appraisal was done on the property. The Board approved a letter of intent based on the appraisal price and also identified a funding source. The next step was the purchase agreement in the back-up. Ammie Nelson stated her opposition to this item. She felt this item was using tax dollars to purchase property at an inflated price. BLM had land for the asking just a little bit east of this location on Mesquite which would not cost the County anything if the Recreation and Public Purpose Act was used. Robert Young stated his support of this item and talked about the revenue a shooting range could bring in. December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d. Carolene Logue stated her opposition to this item. There was already a shooting range on Bell Vista and she thought there were better uses for the money. Donald Bair said Pahrump needed a shooting range that could be properly controlled and made safe. Robert Adams said this was a perfect location for a shooting range since it was a quarry. Robert Wilson agreed a safe place to shoot was needed. Tim Bohannon stated his support of a safe shooting range for Pahrump. Frank Slaghuis said he supported this item as it would be in a controlled atmosphere. Mike Zaman, the chair of PLAC, said PLAC supported this item as it was closer to town and could be controlled.

Commissioner Cox

said she was told the shooting range that was in a quarry not too long ago was shut down because the bullets were ricocheting off the rocks.

Commissioner Strickland

said that was in Wulfenstein’s pit. After Irene Wulfenstein passed away Ray Wulfenstein determined he did not want the range there any longer. That range was operated for 10 years without incident. This particular pit was over 30 feet deep so there would be no ricochet problems. She said this property was also unique because it was dug out already should the Board choose to use it for a landfill in the future, but its highest and best use right now was for the shooting range.

Commissioner Cox

thought everyone agreed the shooting range was not a bad thing, but she had gotten some bunk over spending $1 million to do it versus BLM land.

Commissioner Strickland

said she had worked with Parks and Recreation when they were trying to get that developed and there was just no dealing with BLM. It was now December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Proiects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d. 12 years later basically and still nothing had changed. She mentioned how much shooting was going on all over the place. It was not safe and something was going to happen. This was an opportunity to make it very safe.

Commissioner Cox

pointed out there would be fees so money would be generated back to the County.

Commissioner Boskovich

said the issue he had when it was brought up previously was the appraisal. He had gotten more information on the different ways to do an appraisal, and this one was done doing a sales comparison approach to value. It compared seven properties and in those comparables it provided the value being at the $1 .080 million, which alleviated his concerns. He knew Brian Kunzi had an issue last time as well, but he thought that was also resolved. Commissioner Boskovich said the County definitely needed a shooting range.

Commissioner Carbone

wondered if County employees would be the managers of this or if a contractor would be hired. As to the landfill expansion, he was told the current landfill would be good for another 40 years before they had to expand because of recycling. He did not understand how there could be a shooting site inside of a landfill piece of property. Commissioner Carbone asked Brian Kunzi if there were any issues with this.

Mr. Kunzi

said he did not have any legal issues, but he had concerns about spending $1 million dollars when the County had a heck of a lot of other needs. As to the appraisal, he did not know how comparables were really done on this, but when he went through the appraisal he found what was used for the appraised price was actually less per acre than any other of the comparables that were used.

Commissioner Carbone

asked Helen Bae where the $1 .080 million would come from. Helen Bae said there was $1 071 869.00 remaining in the Capital Fund 10401, which was $8,000.00 shy of the amount needed for the purchase of the property. If this went through, it would completely wipe out the capital projects and it was only the middle of December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d. the year, which was very concerning to her. Projects were always going on that had a contingency of 3% and there would probably be capital needs for the rest of this year, but essentially spending on capital would have to be discontinued for the rest of the year. As to replenishment, she said unless additional sources of revenue were identified she did not have a plan for how to replenish those funds. There was only $911,000.00 left in contingency in the general fund, which was less than $1 million for any emergencies that came up, which was a concern. She advised if the reserves were depleted and dipped below the County’s own policy of fund balance the County would go on fiscal watch. This would contribute to that potentially as the County had so little in reserves right now. Mrs. Bae cautioned the Board about any more spending. If the County bought the land, that was all that could be done for now because there was no additional budget to build new buildings.

Commissioner Carbone

clarified his question was did the County have any money to put together a shooting range, to which Mrs. Bae responded not at this time.

Commissioner Strickland

stated the County did. When Commissioner Blundo was on the Board the Commissioners voted to put $550,000.00 aside to build a range. Unfortunately, when the new fiscal year came along that did not move forward so that $550,000.00 was owed back to this Commission for a shooting range.

Commissioner Carbone

asked Commissioner Strickland where she was going get to that from.

Commissioner Strickland

said from the next budget because one way or the other a shooting range was going to be built and this property would allow something else along with a shooting range. Management of the range would be done by range officers who would have to be present for someone to be at the range shooting. They would be trained staff, not County employees, and they would have their own liability insurance.

Commissioner Jabbour

noted there had been many requests for departmental needs and those needs had been halted unless it was a prioritized emergency. He wondered if the shooting range was created and landfill expansion was needed in 1 5 or 20 years December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d. how the shooting range would be evicted to create a landfill. He also wondered where the exact location of the shooting range would be as this pit was 30 plus feet deep.

Commissioner Strickland

explained she wanted to go for a design build that made sense, but she thought the trap and skeet should be on top and then the range directly below it.

Commissioner Jabbour

stated there was no way he put would himself in the bottom of a pit knowing there were others on top. He suggested this go on the wish list as other departments had done. As far as prioritized emergencies, he said the Commissioners had absolutely halted the departments with a lot of their requests telling them the County did not have the money.

Commissioner Boskovich

said the Comptroller’s report was somewhat bleak regarding this.

Commissioner Strickland

said that was what the Board heard from the Comptroller, but the fact was that same system took $550,000.00 away from this community that was supposed to be used for a shooting range. She thought that money could be reapplied to this to pay this back when the new budget was done. That was the best she could do as far as payback immediately and then some other way to build the shooting range would have to be figured out. She also pointed out whether the property was even viable could not be determined until another $500,000.00 was dumped into it from Public Works to be able to ask the State what the County could use it for, and that could not be done unless the County owned it.

Commissioner Carbone

said it would have to go through the same permit process that stopped a year ago. Public Works Director Tom Boiling explained the County could submit as many vertical lateral expansion permit applications as it saw fit, even if it was done one acre at a time, but each one of those would cost a substantial amount of money. He said there was a minimum setback from a County road that would have to be met that a waiver could be December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d. gotten for through that permit process. The amount of excavation done in this pit was definitely viable, but how much of it was needed to be determined. He felt any time the County could purchase land directly bordering that landfill all the way around it probably should take that chance because eventually there would be development in that area. If there was as much of a buffer as possible around the landfill the County would be better off in the future.

Commissioner Carbone

asked all of the directors how much capital improvement stuff they wanted to give up so the County could purchase this property.

Mr. Boiling

said all of his funding mechanisms had their own funds so nothing would be pulled out of those, but LATCF funding could be used for this as it was a huge safety item.

Commissioner Strickland

restated the need to have a safe shooting site. Capital projects was already identified by staff at the last meeting and while it was a depletion as far as capital projects were concerned, most of the capital projects were allocated for the rest of the fiscal year. She asked what the capital projects on the list were.

Mrs. Bae

said there were six items and only the ERP amount of $1 million was still available. Everything else had been spent or encumbered.

Commissioner Cox

wondered if an offer could be made and if the owner would be a good community member.

Commissioner Strickland

asked why they would want to sell for less than the appraised value. She did not know if a purchase agreement could be put together. She wondered if Mr. BoIling should buy half the lot and capital the other half. She said a shooting range was allowed in a dump and it could also be in a gravel pit.

Mr. Boiling

said if the shooting range was put in it would have to be cleaned up to become a landfill, if they continued to excavate out of this, he suggested doing a lower offer and making up the difference with the cost of the gravel. December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d.

Commissioner Strickland

advised there two different deals here. One was a family of 14 who would get approximately $70,000.00 each at the time of the sale. One of the family members wanted to ask the County if they would be allowed to continue to operate and pay the County gratuities, which everyone seemed amenable to as it meant more dug out for more dump site. She felt not giving the appraised value would not be doable. She then expressed her frustrations as she thought this was pretty much done based on the letter of intent and the appraisal.

Commissioner Jabbour

did not like hearing it was possible the County would go back on fiscal watch.

Mrs. Bae

said there was a huge list of conditions to be on fiscal watch such as dipping into the County’s fund balance or showing a financial growing concern crisis, which would be the County not having enough funds to cover emergencies. That was why there was a policy to set aside $16.67 million, which was two months of funds left over for emergencies and to cover the basic operating expenditures, but it did not include capital. Setting aside $3 million from the LATCF funding could be done, but that would mean not awarding any of the money to the existing list of requests for infrastructure.

Mrs. Bae

said there was a pattern of money being allocated for something and then being reallocated and spent for other items that came up which was not good and needed to be discontinued. Her suggestion was if the Commissioners purchased this land that nothing be built until there was a budget for the entire cost of the shooting range just like any other thing. That would apply to the civic center too because the NRS prohibited the County from building new buildings until it could budget for the O&M for the new building in its existing budget to make sure those new buildings could be kept sustainable.

Commissioner Jabbour

still thought this should be put on the wish list instead of spending money now as the County could not currently help its departments in an emergency. December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d.

Commissioner Strickland

asked if the Commission would dedicate the first staunch of LATCF funds for the land, not the $550,000.00 that was supposed to go in here also to build a shooting range.

Commissioner Boskovich

said he would support that if the departments would agree and be satisfied with what the Commission would give them.

Mr. Kunzi

advised that was off the agenda item as the item specifically stated to fund from 10401 Capital Projects.

Commissioner Strickland

said Mrs. Bae told her the District Attorney said the funding source could be changed to the landfill.

Mr. Kunzi

stated he did not say the funding source could be changed. The original plan that came forward talked about using landfill funds. Landfill funds could be used to start, shut down, and operate a landfill. The concern he had with that discussion was about spending $1 million today for a landfill that might be needed in 40 years. He did not know if that was appropriate.

Commissioner Carbone

said 16 years was quoted, but the plan out there was that there was another 40 acres already included plus a little triangle piece which would take that facility out to 40 years. He would send Commissioner Strickland the proposal.

Commissioner Strickland

stated that was not a viable proposal.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked Commissioner Carbone to send it to Tim Sutton for distribution to the Commissioners.

Commissioner Strickland

suggested entering into a purchase agreement and close escrow next fiscal year.

Mrs. Bae

stated that would be a little more fiscally responsible as it would give time to collect taxes and build up the revenue. December 19, 2023 23. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 23.a. Approve the purchase of one (1) property described as 1871 E. Mesquite Ave., Pahrump, NV Assessor’s Parcel Number: 035-011-06, consisting of 36.08 acres including improvements thereon; for the potential purpose of an alternative location for a shooting range and future Pahrump landfill expansion needs; 23.b. Approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1,080,000.00; 23.c. Fund from Fund 10401 Capital Projects County; and 23.d. Direct staff to prepare and record the documentation necessary to transfer the property-Cont’d.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to approve the purchase of the property as described, 1871 E. Mesquite, approve the compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1 .080 million, and fund from 10401 Capital Projects by FY25.

Mr. Kunzi

advised the contract in the back-up was not a contract. It was really an option to purchase and he would have to sit down with the sellers to work out the terms of the agreement and then bring that back to the Board.

Commissioner Strickland

restated her motion to approve the purchase of property described as 1871 E. Mesquite, approve compensation for the property to the property owner based on the appraisal in the amount of $1 .080 million, fund from 10401 Capital Projects County, direct staff to prepare documents as necessary and then bring it back, and close escrow by FY25; seconded by Commissioner Boskovich; 4 yeas.

Commissioner Jabbour

voted nay. CLERK 24. For Possible Action — Discussion and deliberation to: 24.a. Appoint two members to the Beatty Town Advisory Board due to expiring terms from the following list of applicants: Erika Gerling and Randy Reed; or 24.b. Readvertise for the appointment.

Commissioner Jabbour

made a motion to appoint two members to the Beatty Town Advisory Board due to expiring terms from the following list: Erika Gerling and Randy Reed to terms ending January, 2026; seconded by Commissioner Carbone; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 25. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff on whether or not to relocate the County Clerk’s Office equipment and non-court clerk staff from the Ian Deutch Government Complex in Pahrump to a location determined by the Board of County Commissioners. Mark Kampf reminded the Board that a ballot sorter was approved in September, 2023. About two weeks ago he was notified that it would not be delivered in time for the presidential preference primary. That same week he was advised that a court administrator had been identified, which got him thinking. He did not want to install a ballot sorter in the election room at the Clerk’s Office and then later incur the cost of having to move it should that space need to be vacated for the Clerk functions. The court administrator was responsible for supervising staff and managing the systems. The court administrator would need a vault for court documents and should be located with the District Court and the District Attorney. By moving the Clerk out of that office it would make the justice complex for court and court related functions. Mr. Kampf’s recommendation was to move the Clerk’s functions to the 400 N. Highway 160 building as it was the lowest cost alternative to the District Court needing to build out offices for their court administrator and staff. It would also house his staff and the election equipment effectively. Mr. Kampf said he could easily share the office with the existing staff. The storage of tourism supplies and Human Resources records would need to be dealt with, but Mr. Kampf did think storage should trump staffing needs. He explained he was just trying to get ahead of this issue and believed this was the lowest cost alternative for the County. Courtney Kenney from Pahrump Buildings and Grounds, speaking on behalf of Jimmy Martinez, stated her and Mr. Martinez’s concerns was not moving supplies and storage things. Their concern was the conference room in the back of the building which was consistently used by her, Mr. Martinez, and Tourism Director Arlette Ledbetter for various things. If this move was to happen there was no alternative space for them to hold meetings. Another concern of Mr. Martinez was the additional cost if construction had to be done to the building as well as the extra janitorial services because there would be more staff in the building. He wondered who would fund that.

Commissioner Strickland

said in a conversation last week Mr. Kampf indicated to her there would be a couple of people moving with him if he was given the opportunity to move and asked him if that was correct.

Mr. Kampf

said it would be two Clerk staff who were part of the Clerk functions and himself. He said he would love to be able to take the election equipment there, set it up, and keep it set up in that area and not have to move it ever again. He thought there were some synergies with the Visitors and Information Bureau and the Clerk functions as well. He did not see that the conference room would be an issue because space could be set aside in that room for a conference area as the room was massive. Brian Kunzi thought this was a good proposal. While the court taking over the Clerk’s staff had really died out, he did not believe that meant it was over. He said the main December 19, 2023 25. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff on whether or not to relocate the County Clerk’s Office equipment and non-court clerk staff from the Ian Deutch Government Complex in Pahrump to a location determined by the Board of County Commissioners-Cont’d. problem that he always struggled with in his push back to the courts was that she just was assuming she was taking over all of the Clerk’s Office. Mr. Kunzi told her that she did not get to decide how much money the County had to spend to find a new location for the non-court staff functions that still had to be performed. This idea would give Mr. Kampf the space he needed and Mr. Kunzi thought it would make things easier in moving forward with the court because he was pretty confident that was ultimately where they wanted to go.

Commissioner Carbone

said the County would have to spend money at either building to make this work.

Mr. Kunzi

suggested using court improvements funds. If she wanted to take over the Clerk as a form of improving court services, that money was given to the County for the improvement of the court and if some of that was needed to refurbish the new building he would push that.

Commissioner Jabbour

asked Mr. Kampf how much he anticipated this costing.

Mr. Kampf

stated his understanding was the cost of the three-phase was around $27,000.00 and for the current three-phases the County was paying around $12,000.00.

Commissioner Carbone

believed the bill was a little over $1 7,000.00.

Mr. Kampf

said it would be an additional $10,000.00 to set up a three-phase over there versus setting it up in the office so an incremental $10,000.00. Facilities Manager William Allen had identified a container and already had a mini-split that could be used for the storage of the election equipment that he asked for. That would eliminate transporting it back and forth from Tonopah. Mr. Kampf thought it would be an additional $10,000.00 for a container and an air conditioning unit.

Commissioner Jabbour

expressed his frustration with considering a move for three people in a healthy building while he had been trying for two years to find options for the Finance Department, Human Resources, and the Natural Resources Department which were not in a healthy building. The building Mr. Kampf was considering was an option for those departments.

Commissioner Carbone

advised the decision had already been made to move those people out of that building into Health and Human Services as soon as Health and Human Services and the health nurse moved over there.

Commissioner Strickland

thought a budget should come back. December 19, 2023 25. For Possible Action Discussion, deliberation and direction to staff on whether or not to relocate the County Clerk’s Office equipment and non-court clerk staff from the Ian Deutch Government Complex in Pahrump to a location determined by the Board of County Commissioners-Cont’d.

Commissioner Carbone

noted $1 7,000.00 was already allocated on a purchase order and there were court funds not being used.

Commissioner Strickland

did not think court funds could be used to move the Clerk.

Mr. Kampf

said there were two open positions in the district court, one for the court administrator which would be filled and one for a law clerk. The law clerk had a place to go, but the court administrator did not. He could live with where they were right now and they could co-exist, but sooner or later he would have to be able to say that two deputy clerks went to one part of the front desk to take marriage licenses. If there were people needing the court administrator’s office or the Clerk of Courts they would have to go to the front entrance. Mr. Kampf said he was trying to get ahead of this because it was coming.

Commissioner Boskovich

made a motion to relocate the County Clerk’s office equipment and non-court staff from Ian Deutch to the Town of Pahrump Building 400 North.

Commissioner Carbone

stated a funding source was needed as well as a plan for the cost to do that. He wanted to direct staff to put together a plan to find out what the cost would be to modify the area Mr. Kampf was currently in and the cost of moving him to the 400 Building.

Commissioner Boskovich

withdrew his motion and agreed with the direction to staff.

Mr. Kampf

asked for a timeline that staff would come back with that.

Commissioner Strickland

said there should be an agenda item the first meeting in February, 2024. PLANNING/BUILDING/CODE COMPLlANCE 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to adopt, amend and adopt, or reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploration. Brett Waggoner said during a presentation a couple of meetings ago regarding Ash Meadows there was some direction given by one of the Commissioners to draft a resolution for a moratorium similar to what was done with the solar proposals. He had since learned the intention was not to necessarily shut down any kind of exploration drilling or anything for lithium County-wide, which was the way this resolution was December 19, 2023 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to adopt, amend and adopt, or reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploratjon-Cont’d. written. Mr. Waggoner was hoping to get some direction from the Commissioners on what exactly they were looking for.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to continue this item and make it site specific to the Ash Meadows Refuge Area. Joni Eastley stated this could have hurt more individuals and corporations than the Commissioners realized. As far as adopting any resolution relating to a moratorium on any type of drilling, she reminded the Commissioners if U.S. Fish and Wildlife or BLM or NDWR wanted to fight this type of activity in that area then let them do that as they were the appropriate agencies. Mason Voehl said he was relieved that the Commission was discussing this activity at Ash Meadows. His organization, the Amargosa Conservancy, had been monitoring the situation extremely closely for the last eight months and it was deeply concerning. They had kind of held out hope that this mining company might think twice while pursuing such a the reckless project given the level of public backlash they received, but unfortunately the news broke yesterday that they had refiled. Mr. Voehl said the Conservancy’s partners had been discussing paths forward and believed the best action to consider at this time would be to call on the Department of the Interior and Congress to pursue an administrative mineral withdrawal, which would be a temporary withdrawal of mining on lands bordering Ash Meadows. That would allow time for the community to talk about what durable protection looked like in this area. Mr. Voehl advised both the Amargosa Valley and Beatty Town Advisory Boards submitted letters supporting that as an initial action. Caleb Cage, representing the Nevada Battery Coalition, stated their opposition to such a County-wide moratorium. The Nevada Battery Coalition was an association of companies in Nevada working at all stages of the battery supply chain from lithium exploration and mining, to chemical manufacturing, to battery assembly and manufacturing, to recycling. Mr. Cage stated Nevada was the only state in the nation that had companies at each stage of the lithium supply chain. Nevada was also home to the only active lithium mine in the country with several more coming on-line in the future. The member companies continued to build, innovate, and expand their footprint in Nevada, which was beneficial not only to the State but to the nation and its national security and economic development. Matt Dusenbury said the clarification provided him a great deal of relief. He asked the Commissioners to be careful with initiating withdrawal action from their own experience in Railroad Valley. Withdrawal action was rarely, if at all, a temporary measure. While

Mr. Dusenbury

opposed a moratorium, he understood the need to protect the particular sensitive resource of Ash Meadows. He believed regulations in Title 43 of the Code of December 19, 2023 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to adopt, amend and adopt, or reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploration-Cont’d. Federal Regulations as well as NAC 445A and NAC 519A were adequate to protect those resources. Cindy Kaminski said she had three letters against any moratoriums on any mining from Brianna Hanson, the chief executive officer for Pathfinder Tonopah; William Howell, the president of BlackRock Gold Corporation; and Edward Tomany. She asked that they be put into the record [see Attachment 1]. Erika Gerling said Beatty had asked for a moratorium on solar from the Nevada State Director before the County did. Their experience was that it had little to no effect. Applications continued to be submitted and given priority ratings. Two applications Beatty strongly opposed were given a medium priority status. Mr. Gerling advised the Beatty Town Board sent a second letter of support on November 28, 2023, for the effort to protect the refuge. Rob Ghiglieri, administrator for the Nevada Division of Minerals, said the State had multiple concerns with this proposal. This was a drastic reaction to a single project in southern Nye County while there were multiple lithium projects in various stages throughout the County. Mr. Ghiglieri said the State would like to inform the Nye County Board of Commissioners that there was already an existing process in place to address the public health, safety, and welfare in Nye County. The mining and exploration industry was heavily regulated in Nevada and there were existing statutes in place as well as the Nevada Administrative Code that specifically addressed mining and exploration permits. The federal government also heavily regulated all mining and exploration activities on federal lands. Mr. Ghiglieri stated implementing this or any moratorium on lithium mining exploration would have detrimental impacts to investors of all aspects of the lithium chain for years to come. The State encouraged the Nye County Commissioners to reject this moratorium or any modification to this moratorium and instead continue to reach out to both the State and federal permitting agencies to educate themselves on the mining and exploration process. Debbie Struhsacker, speaking on behalf of Tonopah Lithium Corp., now understood the Commissioners were mainly concerned with the potential impacts that drilling near the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge could have. She emphasized that Nevada, especially Nye County, had a really special opportunity here to play a significant role in the development of a domestic lithium mineral exploration and mining component, which was the first step of the lithium loop. Susan Fisher, speaking on behalf of the Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition, stated this sent shockwaves throughout the exploration industry and those who had invested in exploration in Nevada. The coalition was adamantly opposed to this resolution as it sent a message that the largest county in Nevada was closed for business to the December 19, 2023 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to adopt, amend and adopt, or reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploration-Cont’d. exploration and mining industry. Ms. Fisher said as written and potentially rewritten the proposed resolution would have an immediate chilling effect and negative economic impact not only on Nye County but on the entire State. She urged the Commissioners to reject the resolution. Ann Carpenter mirrored a lot of the concerns shared by the speakers before her. She said Nevada was the world leader in protecting the environment and their people’s safety record was second to none around the world. She had created an integrated process that was being copied around the world for both environmental and people protection. She said she looked forward to working with the Commissioners to help them understand what the Nevada mining industry had developed over the decades. Graham Ballechey, vice president of Tonopah Lithium Corp., said they really appreciated working both in Nevada and Nye County. They had found the proposed moratorium quite confusing and were relieved to hear that it was Ash Meadows specific. They thought there was a huge opportunity to produce lithium in Nye County and Nevada and were pleased to hear that there was so much support for it. Nikki Bailey-Lundahl, vice president of external affairs for the Nevada Mining Association, said they appreciated the clarification. She explained the Nevada Mining Association consisted of more than 400 companies engaged in mineral exploration, extraction, and processing across Nevada. In addition to lithium, those companies produced numerous metals and minerals required for everything people did and used on a daily basis. Helene Williams, chair of the Water District Governing Board (WDGB), informed the Commissioners that their liaison, Commissioner Strickland, was present with Ms. Williams at a meeting where lithium mining was discussed in Railroad Valley. The WDGB supported such mining and the only mining that had not been supported by the WDGB was the recent application in the Amargosa Valley area. At that meeting Ms. Williams notified those wanting to drill that the WDGB would like them to take out everything that was there at once to utilize for mini-projects rather than going in on multiple occasions. Ammie Nelson stated Maine was the only state in the country that did not allow lithium mining. The articles she had read related to mining for lithium said it contaminated the ground and once it was mined it was sent to China, an enemy country, for processing. She did not think lithium would benefit anybody but the investors and the people who wanted to make money. Tim Bohannon stated his support of holding off on mining in Ash Meadows because of the environmental issues that were there and a clear plan was necessary, but he December 19, 2023 30. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to adopt, amend and adopt, or reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploration-Cont’d. wanted mining to occur in other areas as status quo. He wanted to see a press release stating the support for mining in the County.

Commissioner Strickland

directed staff to amend and adopt to only reference Ash Meadows.

Mr. Waggoner

asked if there was a defined boundary outside of the Ash Meadows Refuge Area that would encompass the drilling sites. He suggested language stating within the refuge and 10 miles outside of it. He also mentioned an order issued by the State Engineer that drilling could not be done within 30 miles of Devil’s Hole and wondered if that would protect Ash Meadows as well.

Commissioner Boskovich

thought that was too much. Samantha Tackett advised Natural Resources Director Megan Labadie would have an item on the January 3, 2024, agenda for a letter that the Board directed in opposition to the Ash Meadows mining issue. She wondered if this resolution and that letter could be combined for a future agenda item which would allow Planning the opportunity to amend the agenda and bring it back.

Commissioner Jabbour

thought before anything was done a discussion needed to be had with the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the refuge, and the Natural Resources Director to see what the County’s authority was and what it could do.

Commissioner Boskovich

asked since the gentleman indicated that they were reapplying if the County was up against the clock to get something done quickly.

Commissioner Jabbour

explained the first application was through NEPA and NEPA had given them a notice of denial, so the County need to work with NEPA as well.

Commissioner Strickland

made a motion to reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40; seconded by Commissioner Boskovich; 5 yeas. December 19, 2023 SHERIFF 26. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to issue a Display Fireworks Event Permit to the Amargosa Valley Improvement Association for an aerial display for their End of Year Event on Saturday, December 30, 2023. This event is being held atAmargosa Park, 1639 E. Amargosa Farm Rd., Amargosa Valley, NV. Jennifer Lindsey Applicant.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to issue a fireworks display permit for Amargosa Valley for December 30, 2023; seconded by Commissioner Strickland; 5 yeas. HUMAN RESOURCES 29. For Possible Action Discussion and deliberation to set the minimum compensation of the Justices of the Peace elected into office effective January 2025 at $80,641.86 annually.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to set the minimum compensation for the Justices of the Peace effective January, 2025, as $80,641 .86 annually; seconded by

Commissioner Strickland

; 5 yeas.

Commissioner Carbone

thanked staff and everyone else that supported this meeting on a continuous basis. Some of the meetings went long and he thanked everyone for the time put in.

Commissioner Jabbour

thanked everyone for a great year with him as chair. He then reminded everyone to protect family, friends and children, conserve water, and spay/neuter pets. December 19, 2023

Commissioner Jabbour

adjourned the meeting. APPROVED this ATTEST: Of , 2024. ty - Forwarded message - From: Brianna Hanson <bhansonpathfindertonpcom> Date: Mon, Dec 18, 2023 at 7:32 PM Subject: Public Comment for 9/19 Nye County Commission Meeting To: <bjabbour(nyecountynv.qov>, <fgcarbonenyecountynv.qov>, <donnaccox(usa.com>, <reboskovichnyecountynv.qov>, <dlstricklandnyecountynv.gov> Cc: Dana Bennett <dananevadamHiinçi.orq>, Nikki Bailey-Lundahi <nikki(nevadamining.orq>, Robert Ghiglieri <rqhiqlieri(minerals.nv.qov>, Shari A. Davis <sadaviscqoed.nv.gov> Dear Commissioners: Nevada is world renowned as one of the best, well-regulated mining jurisdictions. The Fraser Institute ranked Nevada as the #1 mining jurisdiction globally in 2020; and in 2022, Nevada was #1 in investment attractiveness and #1 in policy perception. These rankings are critically important for attracting investment into the state. The state has benefited from the investments in mining. In 2019, mining in the state paid $2.6B in salaries, provided 32,976 jobs and accounted for $12.4B, or 3.1% of the total Nevada GDP. In 2019 in Nye County, mining contributed 17.97% of the total wages paid (private and government). All this positive impact occurred on less than 1/4 of 1% of the total acres in Nevada. Local and state policies are very important to miners and their investors. If a moratorium of any type is approved, it will have detrimental impacts for years to come. Investors will be cautious of jurisdictional risk in Nye county where the local government may freeze their development despite their positive community, environmental, and economic performance. If the concern is oversight, the U.S. (and Nevada) mining has some of the highest standards of regulation, inspection, and enforcement in the world. A complex and integrated permitting process includes federal, state, and local agencies: a typical U.S. mine will work with several agencies to obtain necessary operating and environmental permits, often taking more than ten years. Here in Nevada these agencies (NDEP, BLM, USFS, and the State Engineer to name but a few) are responsible for issuing required and regulated permits and tracking environmental performance, monitoring emissions and water quality, and ensuring the protection of local ecosystems as well as miner health and safety. Nevada has demonstrated high quality environmental, health and safety through many projects, including lithium mines. There may be bad actors that need special attention, and they should be penalized according to their actions. However, penalizing law-abiding mineral development companies that are positive economic contributors across the county will likely result in layoffs, business closures and a difficulty of raising capital for future projects going forward. It will send a message that ATTACHMENT I Nye County is no longer open for mining. Please consider a more targeted approach to accomplish concerns raised, which appear to be centered around Ash Meadows and the wildlife refuge. I represent a company advancing the Liberty Mine Complex near Tonopah. We are not supportive of any moratorium with regard to mineral development in Nye County. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Brianna Hanson Chief Executive Officer T 5412979189 E bhansoniathfindertonopah.com )DUTIk\J3T 1) 1 1) A I l i-.r’ 1/ 760 ENCANTO DRIVE, SPARKS, NV 89441 f)4 TEL (775)843-2038 (i() I) (;jRI December 19, 2023 Nye County Board of Commissioners

Commissioner Ron

Boskovich County Commission Chambers 2100 E Walt Williams Dr. Pahrump, NV 89048 Re: Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploration. Dear Nye County Commissioners: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Item 30 of the December 19, 2023, Nye County Commissioners agenda regarding: “Discussion and deliberation to adopt, amend and adopt, or reject Nye County Resolution No. 2023-40: A Resolution Adopting a Temporary Moratorium on Lithium Mining and Exploration.” ,,Blackrock is against Nye County’s resolution No. 2023-40, and any county-wide prohibition / that is counter to a constitutionally and statutorily authorized activity for the following. It: • Allows stakeholders to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on public lands; • Denies citizens of the United States from performing mineral exploration on their claims, resulting in Nye County being burdened with a tremendous amount of legal costs; • Affects unrelated projects and reduces exploration expenditures spent in communities throughout Nye County; and • Gives the impression that Nye County is anti-mining and anti-investment. 1 760 ENCANTO DRIVE, SPARKS, NV 89441 I LAC KR( )C K TEL: (775) 843-2038 —— GO ) ORI As background, it is my understanding that a lithium company applied for and was denied a permit to pursue drilling near the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge under a notice of intent on its unpatented mining claims. The BLM requested the company complete a plan of operations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to permit its proposed drilling program near Ash Meadows. The NEPA process will require the collection of scientific data, public comment and a stakeholder approved plan to mitigate all impacts under the planned exploration program. During the public comment period, the citizens of Nye County will have the opportunity to voice their concerns with the exploration program near Ash Meadows. Those concerns must be addressed, and an acceptable mitigation plan must be presented before approval can be given. Legally, unpatented mining claims are considered real property, and represent a possessory interest in the land and mineral rights associated with them. A lithium exploration and mining moratorium would prevent citizens of the United States from performing mineral exploration on their claims and could be considered a taking under the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Nevada. This is particularly true in respect of unpatented mining claims for which the only use authorized under the Mining Law of 1872 is the exploration for and development of minerals. Blackrock’s Tonopah North lithium project as well as several other lithium projects in Nye County are located entirely on unpatented lode mining claims on lands administered by the BLM. Have the commissioners considered that a county-wide moratorium on lithium exploration and mining on patented or unpatented mining claims may burden Nye County with a tremendous amount of legal costs? Blackrock is engaged in mineral exploration for silver and gold at its Tonopah West project and is exploring for lithium on its unpatented mining claims in Nye County approximately 150 miles to the northwest of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. How does stopping lithium exploration and mining near Tonopah help with issues surrounding the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge? It’s unclear how a county-wide moratorium on exploration and mining supports the concern at Ash Meadows. This broad-brush, unscientific, and overreaching approach is anti-mining and will stop exploration and mining investment in Nye County. Will it stop at lithium? While I understand the concerns regarding the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a county-wide lithium exploration and mining moratorium is not a sensible means of protecting the Refuge. It is an excessive and overreaching response to land use issues within a specific defined area. A county-wide lithium exploration and mining moratorium will have an immediate adverse impact on Blackrock, other companies engaged in mineral and lithium exploration and the citizens of Nye County. The reasonable approach is to allow the NEPA process to conclude and review the plan of operation, the associated work program, and the 2 760 ENCANTO DRIVE, SPARKS, NV 89441 131 :CKRL)LK TEL: (775) 843-2038 mitigation plans. If the plan is inadequate, Nye County citizens and the Nye County Commissioners can clearly voice their concerns and opposition to the project to stop it. Let’s follow the NEPA process, science, and the facts to make a realistic, educated and lasting solution. A blanket county-wide prohibition against a constitutionally and statutorily authorized activity is not the solution. Sincerely, rn C. (Bill) Howald President Blackrock Gold Corp. (a Nevada Corporation) 3 t I JTl1L) C-IiR December 19,2023 ‘/‘N 4 iFI/J/fJ&,/ xl Honorable Chairman and members of the Nye County Board of County Commissioners; The Nye County Board of County Commissioners are here today to consider a resolution restricting mining exploration on Public Lands within the State of Nevada. Mining and exploration for delineation of minerals in order to conduct mining are governed by rules, regulations and other stipulation under United States Mining law. Specific regulation under jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (The U.S. Forest Service); The U.S. Department of the Interior ( Bureau of Land Management) guide the manner in which mining exploration may continue providing “established rules of location” are complied with. The government of The United States has “expressly” declared under statute restriction on mining on; Wilderness and Wilderness study areas, National Recreation areas, National Wildlife areas, National Parks and U.S. Military Reservations and areas of other national defense purposes, among other restriction so imposed by statute-regulation (law enacted by legislative assembly of a nation or state.) While all citizens and county representatives have expressed rights to voice opinions as to the conduct, function of law or proposed law, pertaining to protection or lack of protection to the public, this proposed mining/exploration resolution is out of the scope of the Board of County Commissioners. In the event this board has or can produce documentation of harm to the public, they should then offer their opposition to exploration and /or mining permits relegated to other authorities which have those powers to administrate this issue. I am a resident of Nye County, Nevada, citizen of Tonopah and have been for 78 years. I am not in favor of the Nye County resolution and further request your legal representative to offer his/her opinion of the resolution. Respectfully; Edward M. Tomany