Carson supervisors could oppose BLM fire station

The Carson City Board of Supervisors could adopt a resolution Thursday opposing the proposed location of a Bureau of Land Management fire station complex on the city's south side.

The resolution, written by Supervisor Pete Livermore, says the complex would cause problems in a residential area and would reduce access to open space lands.

The resolution would be symbolic. BLM alone will make the final decision whether to build the complex.

"The residents and neighbors of this area do not support the location of this type of facility and oppose changing the use of this land for any use other than which residents have traditionally envisioned," Livermore says in an introduction to the resolution.

Residents have said the complex could impact about 300 homes.

BLM wants to build four buildings on seven to eight acres of its land at the base of the Prison Hill open area, east of the intersection of South Edmonds Drive and Koontz Lane. The bureau would use the complex with the U.S. Forest Service to fight seasonal wildfires in Northern Nevada.

The 4,200-square-foot to 6,600-square-foot buildings would be used for offices, training, housing for 20 seasonal firefighters and storage of two to three fire engines.

Linda Kelly, the BLM Sierra Front Field Office manager in Carson City, will make a final decision whether to build the complex after public comment is closed June 29 on the office's environmental assessment of the complex's proposed location.

Kelly concludes as part of the assessment that the complex will have "no significant impact" on the area.

The BLM's assessment also disagrees with several main complaints about the complex. The complex is the best location in the Carson City area and will have "no direct or indirect impacts" on noise levels or access to open space, according to the assessment.

Livermore said the report doesn't take residents' concerns seriously and should have been done by an independent third party.

Kelly said if the supervisors approve a resolution against the complex, she would see it as part of the public review process.

"We consider all the comments we receive during the comment period," she said. "Then I'll make a decision."