IN ATTENDANCE:
Col. Andrew S. Dichter, Nellis A.F.B.
Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, Clark County
Mayor Michael Montandon, City of North Las Vegas
Mike Dwyer, Bureau of Land Management
Commissioner Erin Kenny, Clark County
Councilman Steve Kirk, City of Henderson
The meeting of the SNRPC Federal Lands Disposal Subcommittee was called to order by City of North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, January 27, 2000, in the Boulder City Council Chambers, City Hall, 401 California Ave., Boulder City, Nevada, 89005.
The agenda for the January 27, 2000, meeting was duly posted in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.
A motion was made to approve the January 27, 2000, agenda. This motion was approved unanimously.
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the September 23, 1999, meeting. This motion was approved unanimously.
A motion was made to elect Mayor Montandon to the office of Chairman, and Commissioner Woodbury to the office of Vice Chairman of the Federal Land Disposal Subcommittee. This motion was accepted unanimously.
Each member received a packet (Exhibit A) containing a list of Clark County's nominations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land sale scheduled for November 2000 and May 2001, a map of the land, and the BLM parcels reserved by Clark County for public purposes.
Alan Pinkerton, Clark County, informed the members that as an ongoing effort to implement the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998, Clark County continues to work with the BLM to determine the appropriate federal lands to privatize. The identified lands of approximately 775 acres shown on the map are represented on two separate list. One list shows 245 acres of land that has been reserved by the affected agencies. The other list shows the remaining 530 acres by parcel size and location. For land sales beyond the 2001 dates, staff will reexamine growth patterns, the location of existing infrastructure, proximal locations of community services and individual request for nomination. Exhibit A was approved during a public hearing of the Clark County Board of County Commissioners in early January 2000.
Mike Dwyer, BLM, stated that the sale for 2001 is being scheduled for May. Their goal is to hold the sales six months apart which will be May and November.
Chris Knight, City of Las Vegas, provided the members present with a copy of a map (Exhibit B) of land designated for BLM land disposal for the sale schedule for June 2000. He stated that the City of Las Vegas will submit one 10 acre parcel located on Charleston Blvd., between Cimarron Road and Durango Drive.
Councilman Steve Kirk arrived to represent the membership of the City of Henderson.
Bristol Ellington, City of Henderson, stated that Henderson previously submitted a map that identified a total 15 acres for the BLM 2000 sale and that no additional parcels has been designated for the 2001 sale.
Mayor Montandon stated that the Secretary of the Interior and the City of North Las Vegas has been in negotiations, and has agreed to sale 7500 acres in four phases. The City of North Las Vegas is presently working on phase one of approximately 1250 acres. A team of engineer, attorneys, and planners who are reviewing existing data and data provided by the BLM to plan the parcel that will be made available for sale. He stated that the City of North Las Vegas has focused on getting all the required work completed for the May 2001 sale; however, there are some indications that the BLM may hold a special sale in addition to the November 2000 and May 2001 sale because of the size of the parcel.
Mr. Dwyer, stated that it is possible that a special sale will take place for the North Las Vegas parcel, but that decision has not been settled yet.
Mr. Dwyer gave an update on how the revenue from the land sales would be spent. He stated that $3.5 million is presently in the special account that was created as part of the legislation. The BLM sold $10 million worth of land at the November auction. The successful bidders have 180 days to pay the balance in full after placing 20% down. If the transaction is not completed, the buyer lose their 20% deposit and the land is reappraised and is placed back up for sale at the next auction.
Of the $10 million, $3.3 million was paid to the State of Nevada for their general education fund and $6.7 million to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) because two land exchanges occurred during the same period of time; therefore, 5% was paid to the State and 10% was paid to the Water Authority respectively.The BLM is looking at 93 parcels to auction in June 2000, at an appraised value in excess of $30 million dollars. There is some urgency in terms of how the money will be spent. Referring to page one of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) Federal Partners Project Charter (Exhibit C), he reviewed the ways the amounts deposited in the Special account may be expended by the Secretary of Interior. He stated that the BLM has developed a draft decision making process and criteria on how to spend the funds. The Secretary of Interior has the discretion of how the money will be expended. The BLM's draft decision making process and criteria, is basically to make a recommendation to the Secretary on how the money be spent. Referring to Exhibit C, pages 33 and 34 consisted of flow charts. Mr. Dwyer gave an overview of page 33, the organization for decisions, and page 34, the process for decisions on land acquisition and projects under the SNPLMA.
He stated that the Charter is in draft status and the BLM is accepting comments from the local government agencies and any interested parties thru February 25, 2000.Col. Dichter, Nellis Air Force Base, stated that Nellis has possession of environmentally sensitive land that has the flower, Bearpaw Poppy. He asked if the 450 acres qualify for BLM purchased for acreage in kind.
Mr. Dwyer stated the BLM is acting as an agent for the Federal Government to acquire private land to bring in federal ownership. The Bearpaw Poppy land is already under federal ownership.
Commissioner Kenny raised questions regarding the voting processes. Mr. Dwyer advised the members that the comment period designated by the BLM would be the best place to voice any concerns or suggestions for improvements.
Mayor Montandon stated that he would designate his assistant to coordinate a date and time in April 2000, for the next meeting.
There were no public comments.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:08 p.m.