Carson City supervisors to address downtown assessment

The Board of Supervisors on Thursday will vote to approve the annual assessment for the Downtown Neighborhood Improvement District.

The NID consists of property owners who are assessed via property taxes to pay a share of the maintenance of the downtown streetscape.

The board will hear several items as part of the process: to consider hardship determinations to defer individual assessments, a hearing for any complaints or objections to the assessment, a resolution accepting the city engineer’s assessment roll, and the first reading of an ordinance to make the assessment for fiscal year 2020.

The board also will vote to approve a 10-year, $5 million agreement with the Nevada Department of Transportation to utilize the Statewide Public Safety Radio communications system. The system’s members — Washoe County, NDOT, and NV Energy — are building a new, P25 Phase 2, 2-way radio system that staff says would significantly improve capabilities, increase coverage and reduce operational costs. Alternatively, upgrading the city’s existing system, the staff report said, would cost $6 million and wouldn’t increase coverage outside of the county or directly address interoperability with existing Statewide Public Safety Radio System users.

Relatedly, the board will consider a $615,946.45 joinder contract between Harris Corp. and NDOT to purchase new equipment, including dispatch consoles, back-up base radios, interop gateway equipment, switching equipment and associated services.

According to the staff report, use of the statewide radio system will save the city more than $1 million over the 10-year period.

The supervisors will convene as the Board of Health to consider new health bylaws and to accept the Carson City Health and Human Services 2018 annual report.

Dan Stucky, city engineer, will give a presentation on the 60 percent design milestone of the South Carson Complete Streets project, which was presented to the Regional Transportation Commission in March and to the public in an open house held in April. The design is expected to be completed by September.

The Board of Supervisors meet at 8:30 a.m. in the Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.