Carson City Board of Supervisors to take up animal shelter funding

Increasing the amount for constructing a new Carson City animal shelter by $600,000 is the major item proposed for Board of Supervisors consideration on Thursday.

After the lunch break, which ends about 1:30 p.m., the plan of expenditure and the new amount are slated for discussion and action during the meeting. The board meets in the Sierra Room at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St., with the daylong session starting at 8:30 a.m. A four-vote super majority is needed to alter the plan of expenditure when the animal shelter comes up after lunch.

“Because of additional costs required to build the animal services facility,” an agenda summary report indicates, “staff is requesting the board amend the plan to increase the proposed budget of the animal services facility to approximately $4.5 million. Of this amount, sales tax proceeds would account for $4.247 million and contributions the remaining $253,000.”

The original price tag had been estimated at $3.9 million, with $3.7 million of it from city government in a capital construction program based on the one-eighth of a penny increase in city sales tax approved last year by the board. Bonds are being issued as the capital improvement projects roll out.

Along with the shelter, among those projects are partial funding of the multi-purpose athletic center expected to be finished in December, the downtown Carson, 3rd and Curry streets makeover now near the 30 percent design stage, subsequent business corridor street upgrades, and eventual improvements in cultural capabilities at the Community Center.

City Manager Nick Marano had hoped animal shelter construction would begin this spring, but that was torpedoed after an architectural design phase and bids determined there would be a shortfall. The low bid in the first round was $4.1 million rather than the $3.9 million budgeted. Marano announced the bids were rejected, value engineering began to reduce costs, but a shortfall remained after the engineering assessment was complete.

Among other high profile matters Thursday, the board is slated to hear reports during the morning session from Marano and Mary Walker, the city’s legislative lobbying consultant, and from the Northern Nevada Development Authority (NNDA). The former is a post-Legislature report, the latter a quarterly report on NNDA work for the city promoting industry retention and recruitment.