According to Tuesday’s Technical Review Meeting, the Mesquite City Council will revisit the potential Resolution 867 that would replace Resolutions 649 and 669, which supported designating Gold Butte as a National Conservation Area.
Through discussions, it was clear that there is still some fine-tuning that will need to take place, but the council will be addressing the new verbiage at the April 28 meeting. On the cover sheet for the item, it states that “The proposed resolution resolves that 649 and 669 be repealed and that Gold Butte be designated a National Conservation Area subject to: (1) no wilderness designation; (2) the roads remaining open; and (3) access to water not being restricted.” However, there are other areas in which the council will need to decide if they wish to have it included in the resolution including, but not limited to, a possible advisory council, location of a visitor’s center (if one is built for Gold Butte), core values, designated roads and the “expression of a position relative to the Virgin Valley Water District.” As per Aaron Baker, the City Liaison, an email received from VVWD Manager Kevin Brown stated that the VVWD was against the designation of Gold Butte as an NCA as the language exists in the current bill. The language that Brown and the VVWD would like in the Federal Bill will be provided in the Regular Agenda on the City’s website, www.mesquitenv.gov, on Thursday morning. Council will also discuss specific road issues.
Other items on the agenda include a presentation from the Colorado River Commission (CRC) regarding power from the Hoover Dam and consideration of Resolution 866, supporting their draft establishing allocations from a resource pool for the Boulder Canyon Project (Hoover Dam).
Currently, the City of Mesquite uses two megawatts of power per month at $95 per megawatt hour (MWH). Reaching an agreement with the CRC could drop their fees to $65 per MWH. The CRC could approve the agreement, if reached, for up to 50 years, saving the city a substantial amount of money over time.
In other business for the next meeting, council received sufficient materials and information to move forward with an agreement and establishment related to Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS). The Institute will have access to 1400 acres near the Exit 112 area for testing.
Council will also hold a Public Hearing for the adoption of Bill No. 491 as Ordinance 491 which would amend Chapter 8 Elections application fees. Currently, the applicants for Council and Mayor pay a nominal $25, which is the minimum allowed by the State of Nevada. While there is no requirement to raise the fee, council will be discussing the possibility of doing so, bringing Mesquite up to the levels of other municipalities in the state that charge upwards of $100 per application.
The April 28 Council Meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 10 E. Mesquite Boulevard.
