nugget project

This is a story that has been flying under the radar for a few months now, told to me in confidential discussions with city officials. But it looks like a newspaper in Twin Falls, Idaho has put the story out in the open, since that community is also vying to land the facility.

"Chobani, a New York-based manufacturer of Greek yogurt, has visited Twin Falls as well as Carson City, Nev., in recent months in its efforts to find a spot for a facility near the West Coast," according to the story.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 tonight to move forward with the $49 million Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

You can see the live blog coverage here.

The motion to proceed to the next step of this controversial development included a commitment by the city of $11.3 million in redevelopment funds, $12 million to come from recently increased landfill fees, and a one-time expenditure of $500,000 from the city's utility fund.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors is meeting now. The live video is here, and the agenda is here. During the evening session at 5:30 p.m., the board will take up the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

I was just finishing up a column about how far the Nugget Project has come, from a vague, unrealistic plan that left the city on the hook for the whole bill, to an exciting, well-designed public-private partnership that deserves our qualified support.

But I was forwarded an email this morning that almost makes me want to change my mind.

It's been almost two years since I first heard about the Nugget Project.

Back then, the plan was very vague, a public-private partnership that could add up to $90 million. The city's part of this project would be a 1/8th cent sales tax increase and money from the redevelopment fund equaling approximately $25 million.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors will vote Thursday evening on whether to move forward with the revamped City Center/Nugget Project.

An evening session of their regular bi-monthly meeting is planned to discuss the $50 million project, of which $23.7 million would come from the city.

The agenda (attached below) makes reference to "a public commitment to the project of a 1/8th-cent sales tax

Now that the new Carson City Center/Nugget Project plans have answered many of the concerns of critics, one of the last big issues is the 1/8th cent increase in the sales tax to help fund the project.

But that may also be going away, replaced by fees collected from those dumping trash at the Carson City Landfill.

I don't pay a lot of attention to the Reno Gazette-Journal for Carson City news. It's been years since they shut down their bureau here, and I haven't seen them do much original reporting about our city since then.

But I ran across this correction to their story on this week's Nugget Project meeting, and had to laugh. It's one thing to blow the original story, but the correction blows it, too.

Monday night's presentation of the new plan for the Carson City Center development to the Nugget Advisory Committee has put this much-criticized project back on track, even winning over some long-time opponents.

The new plan is different enough it needs a new name: Nugget Project 2.0.

After hearing the details of the new plans for the Carson City Center/Nugget Project, the Nugget Advisory committee voted tonight to forward the plan to the Board of Supervisors.

The committee extensively questioned Nugget President Steve Neighbors and city staff on the $49 million project. Many of the previous points of contention were addressed in the new plan, from the ownership of the land to reducing the city's financial obligations.

The vote was 7-1, with one abstention.

Catch the live video and discussion here.

Taking a look at the new plans for the Carson City Center/Nugget Project, there are several new things that stick out.

First, the announcement that partnership with P3 Development has been terminated because they could not come to an agreement. It was revealed earlier this summer that the the project partners switched architects because they weren't happy with what they were getting from P3. But now it seems P3 is out of the picture entirely. Not only was P3 slated to build the project, but it was supposed to handle the financing.

The Carson Nugget Development Advisory Committee will meet Aug. 8 for possible action to recommend a "simplified and restructured program plan" to the Carson City Board of Supervisors for the Carson City Center Project, AKA Nugget Project.

The new plan calls for the formation of a not-for-profit entity that would take over ownership of the project.

Following is the agenda item for the meeting:

Carson City leaders addressed a packed banquet room at the Gold Dust West today to discuss the State of the City in a program put together by the Carson City Chamber of Commerce.

Mayor Bob Crowell, Supervisor Shelly Aldean, Sheriff Kenny Furlong and School Board Chair Joanna Wilson each spoke to the crowd, and in general agreed that while these are challenging times, each made the case that things are going well and improving.

Carson City Supervisor Shelly Aldean talks about the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV3qETrL7DY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U

Several people at yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting mentioned the generosity of Mae Adams for donating land to Carson City for the proposed Knowledge and Discovery Center and public plaza, the centerpiece of the City Center/Nugget Project.

I've heard some critics complain about this donation, which does little to bolster their case. Despite the unorthodox lease deal, it really is a donation we should be thankful to have the option of using for a new library.

But this donation does come with one very large and expensive string attached.

After a marathon meeting today, the Carson City Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to allow staff to begin negotiations on agreements to develop the City Center/Nugget Project.

But the project may face hurdles getting final approval, as two of those voting yes expressed concerns about the project.

It happened almost too fast. Mayor Bob Crowell made a quick motion, and asked if anyone on the board had any appetite for raising property taxes. No one did.

The finance director spoke up to suggest a small adjustment for one area. Supervisor Karen Abowd made a different motion to keep taxes the same except for this small adjustment. That motion passed unanimously.

This may be the biggest agenda for a Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting in a very long time. The three big items will be a proposed 14 percent property tax rate increase, the $4.5 million first phase of the Multi-Purpose Athletic Complex (MAC), then followed up by the Carson City Center/Nugget Project after lunch. (The full agenda is here)

If you don't have the free time to spend the entire day in the Sierra Room at the Community Center (and limited seating may be an issue), you can keep track of the fun with our live video feed right here. We'll also be liveblogging the meeting via Twitter, as there is sure to be a lot to comment on, so we invite people to join in.

As a warm-up for the Nugget Project discussion, here is a story from the Appeal about that issue, that lists a lot of commentary from locals about the project.

Update: The meeting is in recess until 2, when they take up the Nugget Project.

Gee, and you thought the big issue at Thursday's meeting of the Carson City Board of Supervisors was going to the redevelopment project that has been the object of heated discussions for the past year.

But the revelation that a 14 percent hike in the property tax rate was also on the agenda seems to be causing people to put the Nugget Project on the back burner.

I received a call from the Builders Association of Western Nevada this afternoon about a big property tax increase the Carson City Board of Supervisors is going to vote on tomorrow.

The funny thing is, I read through the agenda last week and didn't see it. But it was easy to miss. It is number 15 on the agenda, and the language used gives very little clue as to what it is (the document is attached below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTDn2A7hcY

For more than a year, the lack of firm details about the Nugget Project has been a major source of frustration to those trying to get their heads around this undertaking.

Without real numbers or plans, those arguing for or against struggled with hitting the moving target that is this project.

But that target just got a whole lot more stationary, as Carson City Manager Larry Werner released a 100+ page feasibility report (attached below) for the Board of Supervisors to use this week when a decision is made on whether to move forward with the project.

Carson City leaders will learn next week whether the proposed Carson City Center, also known as the Nugget Project, is financially viable and may vote on whether to move forward with development agreements.

Thursday's meeting of the Board of Supervisors is a culmination of many months of studies, public meetings, workshops and a citizen's advisory committee. Supervisors will hear the results and recommendations of the project at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 17 in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center, 851 East William Street.

Here is the second part of our interview with Carson City Manger Larry Werner about the Carson City Center/Nugget Project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoQy5DYXEso

One piece of new information in this portion is that Werner said they would delay final approval of the project until they know what happens with the state's budget, and if that will impact the city's finances.

City Manager Larry Werner discusses the Carson City Center/Nugget Project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc8pljVhmVU

Carson City Manager Larry Werner sat down for an interview on OurTown yesterday, and we hope to have that video up soon. But in the meantime, I do want to share a couple of newsworthy items from that interview.

The biggest item was that Werner said there has been a change — or at least a clarification — in the question of who would own the land under the public portion of the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

Land slated for the Carson City Center/Nugget Project has been transfered from the ownership of Carson Nugget Inc. to the Mae B. Adams Trust, in preparation for a decision on the project by the Carson City Board of Supervisors.

At the end of today's Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting, city manager Larry Werner said that he has city staff working out answers to questions raised about the Nugget Project before forwarding it to the board.

Werner noted that questions about the location of the parking garage and hotel/conference center portions of the project were raised at the last citizens advisory committee meeting, and he wanted resolve those questions before sending it to the board.

When I was at the Nugget Advisory Committee meeting last week, a PR person working for P3 Development and the Carson Nugget handed me a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the project.

One thing a complex project like this could really use is an FAQ list. Of course, this list came from those developing the project, so a little spin was to be expected. But I was surprised at how much spin there was.

One of the things that came out at Monday night's Nugget Project advisory was a setback for the business incubator part of the project.

It was announced by project consultant Mark Lewis that C4Cube, the business incubator in Reno that was considering operating the planned Carson City incubator, was no longer a part of their discussions. We don't know exactly what happened, but not having an experienced operator could threaten this part of the project.