IN ATTENDANCE:
Col. Andrew S. Dichter, Nellis A.F.B.
Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, Clark County
Mayor James Gibson, City of Henderson
Mayor Oscar Goodman, City of Las Vegas
Mayor Michael Montandon, City of North Las Vegas
Mike Dwyer, Bureau of Land Management
The meeting of the SNRPC Federal Lands Disposal Subcommittee was called to order by Mayor Michael Montandon at 1:45 p.m., Thursday, September 23, 1999, at the North Las Vegas Maintenance Operations Department Building, located at 2829 Fort Sumter Drive, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030.
The agenda for the September 23, 1999, meeting was duly posted in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.
A motion was made to approve the September 23, 1999, agenda. This motion was approved unanimously.
Each of the members present received a packet (Exhibit A) which provided an overview of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998. The packet consists of a question and answer pamphlet, a fact sheet, a map, a copy of the Act, a flow chart of the joint selection process, a summary of the joint selection process, and the Interlocal Agreement. Jory Stewart, Clark County, went through the packet and explained each aspect. She also informed the members of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) website address listed in the question and answer pamphlet. The website address is, http://www.nv.blm.gov.
Ms. Stewart explained that the Interlocal Agreement has been entered into by the City of Las Vegas, City of Henderson, and Clark County. The City of North Las Vegas will remain a member of the Joint Selection process, but will not enter into the Interlocal Agreement because they feel their issues are unique and entering into the agreement is not opportune for their city at this time.
During discussion, the members were informed that the appraisals for the November sale are in the 15-20 million dollar range, the BLM works jointly with the local government to determine the timing, size, and configuration of the parcels to be sold, and the BLM and the local government have veto power regarding the sale of lands to be disposed. The sales will consist of oral auctions beginning at no less than the fair market value. The first public auction will be held on November 4, 1999.
After the money is received from the sales, it will be put into the BLM's account and the distribution of funds are listed in exhibit A.
The Secretary of the Interior has the discretion of money expenditures by law. Once the money is in the account, where the land was sold, in terms of jurisdiction, does not determine that the funds will be spent in the same jurisdiction. The funds will not likely be used to purchase what is already federal land. The BLM is limited to 25% of the funds per year for capital improvement in the four congressionally designated areas around Las Vegas.
Ms. Stewart, using the Joint Selection Process flowchart from exhibit A, explained the eight step process. The initiation and review process takes approximately 60-90 days, and the approval process takes approximately 45-60 days.
After discussion, Mike Dwyer with the BLM, stated he would revisit and work internal with the BLM regarding the 500 acre limitation per section of land for disposal.
Phil Rosenquist, Clark County, stated that the SNRPC's Interlocal Agreement establishes a general role of the Federal Lands Disposal Subcommittee as an independent group to address Federal Land issues. However, the subcommittee is required to report their activities to the SNRPC Board.
Bristol Ellington, City of Henderson, provided the members present with a copy of a map which listed the City of Henderson's (Exhibit B) nominated lands for sale. He stated that Henderson has approximately 838 acres of federal land within their corporate boundaries, and of that, there are a total of 20 acres available for disposal. Their land nominations have been presented to their Planning Commission and they have recommended approval. The nominations are scheduled to be presented to their City Council on October 5, 1999.
Chris Knight, City of Las Vegas, also provided the members with a copy of a map (Exhibit C) of nominated lands for sale in the City of Las Vegas. He stated that there is approximately 5000 acres of land in the City of Las Vegas that are BLM properties eligible for disposal. The Planning Department has selected two section of land which totals approximately 60 acres. Their nominations are scheduled to be presented to their City Council on October 20, 1999.
Mayor Montandon tasked Jacque Risner to schedule the next meeting to be held in December. The actual date and time will be determined at a later time.
There were no public comments.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m.