Phil Speight, Chair, City of Henderson
Virginia Valentine, City of Las Vegas
Dale Askew, Clark County
John Sullard, Boulder City
Kurt Fritsch, Alternate, City of North Las Vegas
The Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition Technical Committee meeting was called to order by Phil Speight, Chair, at 3:10 p.m., on Thursday, July 13, 2000, in the Mead Conference Room #1, at the Las Vegas Valley Water District, 1001 South Valley View, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89153.
The Agenda for the July 13, 2000, meeting was duly posted in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.
A motion was made to approve the July 13, 2000, agenda. This motion was approved unanimously.
Mr. Speight informed the members of discussion held at the Senate Committee meeting, at which he testified on July 10, 2000. Mr. Speight stated that it became evident in the meeting that there is a need for a change to the way business is conducted regarding air quality. Each Technical Committee member received a copy of the Interlocal Agreement authorizing the organization of an independent regional air quality agency (Exhibit A). The major changes in Exhibit A were on page 6, relating to the funding and budgeting authority. Bonnie Rinaldi, City of Henderson, briefed the members on the SNRPC staff meeting held to discuss the interlocal agreement and their recommendations. In addition to discussion of the governing board, which was left at one elected official from each entity, staff tried to find a name that was similar to existing regional agencies. The name that staff agreed upon most was the "Southern Nevada Air Quality Management Authority". It was recommended that the Clark County Health District be a party in the agreement and also have a representative on the governing board. Three committees were outlined for the new agency, they are; an executive advisory committee, a technical advisory committee, and a transition management committee. Discussion was held regarding the difficulties of merging groups that may have different organizational rules and policies such as union contracts. Therefore, it was suggested that the transition management committee be placed into effect immediately upon the adoption of the agreement and remain in place until one-year after the start date of the
executive director. In-depth discussion was held on funding and budgeting. Several start up cost expenditures were identified that would require additional funding. Regarding "Powers", a statement was added to have the responsibility for executing all existing air quality regulations transferred from the Board of Health to the new agency. In conclusion, the City of Mesquite being a party to the agreement was also discussed.
After discussion, Mr. Speight suggested that a meeting be held with the Nevada Legislatures, who are interested, to receive their comments before efforts are made to finalize the agreement.
Each member received a copy of the Clark County Health District existing organizational chart (Exhibit B) and a copy of a suggested agency structure that was developed by the Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department (Exhibit C). Russell Roberts, Clark County, presented information on an organizational structure and proposed staffing levels for the new air quality agency. In addition to discussion regarding the transition of an acting executive director, Phil Rosenquist, Clark County, stated that additional issues identified regarding the interlocal agreement were the differences in employee benefit programs, base salaries, and classifications and compensation schedules of local jurisdictions. Dan Musgrove, City of Las Vegas, stated that he went through the Southern Nevada Water Authority's original agreement of 1991 and identified issues that they addressed in putting together that agency. Staff would like direction to continue the process to put together an interlocal agreement that will have the same substance and form that other agencies that have been established previous to the new agency. Betsy Fretwell, City of Las Vegas, suggested that a high level plan of issues be identified in one document showing the magnitude of creating the new agency and be presented at the next Coalition meeting.
There were no public comments.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:08 p.m.