No Honeymoon For New Council Members

New Fernley City Council members Kelly Malloy, Ward 1, and Don Parsons, Ward 2, will be sworn in shortly after 4 p.m. at the top of Wednesday's council agenda this week. The event marks what many in this high desert community believe will the dawn of a more progressive era for the city's government that has been wracked by a variety of obstacles for at least the past two years.
There won't be any honeymoon period for the political neophytes who won the council seats in the city election last November. Malloy, Parsons, and the rest of the council will face an agenda filled with hot button issues that could serve up the first controversies of 2009.
Tucked away on the council's consent agenda is item 4.I., the first change order for Water Conveyance Project 1A-Mesa Drive. The $90,416 cost increase for the project is broken down into eight separate requests that cover a variety of things that range from the type of backfill used to the addition of added drainage features, according to a 30-page agenda report prepared for the council.
The session will also unveil a hardship assistance program developed by city staff to address concerns of residents who may have difficulty paying for mandatory trash service recently passed into law by the council. Staff is recommending the council back away from granting any exemptions to the compulsory trash service, opting instead to recommend development of an assistance program that would be administered through Lyon County Human Services.
The proposed hardship assistance plan would cover 50 percent of the billings from Trashpros for those who qualify under eligibility guidelines currently in place for utility payment assistance, also administered by Lyon County. The qualifying income window is set at 150 percent of the poverty level depending on the number of people in a family. For example, the maximum monthly income for a one-person household would be $1,276. A family of four making $1,767 or less would be eligible for the assistance program.
Funding for the assistance arrangement will be contributed equally by the City of Fernley and Trashpros, each kicking in $5,000 annually to create the pool of funds. Residents qualifying for the program initially will be asked to re-qualify each year for the financial hardship assistance.
Additionally, senior citizens who can receive a 25 percent discount from Trashpros, could also qualify for the hardship program based on monthly income. Thus, a senior citizen could receive 50 percent payment of their already discounted monthly bill from Trashpros under the proposed program.
Council to mull Interim City Manager pick
Ushering in two new city council members was the main impetus behind the recent resignation of long-time City Manager Gary Bacock. Community Development Director Fred Turnier was named Acting City Manager at the December 17 council meeting, and the council must now agree upon an Interim City Manager who will function in that post until a new City Manager can be hired.
The City Council has a number of options, the least expensive of which would be to continue with Turnier as Interim City Manager, according to an agenda report prepared by Finance Director Bonnie Duke. Another option would be to appoint one of two unsolicited candidates who submitted resumes and action plans to the city.
The applicants include Greg Evangelatos, a consultant and planner who has worked with a number of developers and builders in Fernley, and former Community Development Director Robert "Terry" Gilbert who left the city last year in a controversial termination orchestrated by Bacock.
In his application package submitted to the city, Evangelatos outlines a 12-point plan to address what he sees as the biggest issues facing the community in the near future. Likewise, Gilbert submitted a two-phase, eight point plan with his resume and other paperwork. In his letter of interest, Gilbert indicates that he also wants to be considered as a permanent replacement for Bacock.
Additionally, the council will be determining a direction for the city manager recruitment process, which could take several months depending on the scope of the search process.
Alternative Water Master Plan could prove costly
The City Council will also consider adopting an Alternative Water Master Plan developed by TRC Engineers in an effort to find ways of providing water that could be used for irrigation, car washing, manufacturing and construction processes that would not put a drain on the city's supply of potable water.
"Water use patterns in Fernley indicate that non-potable usage represents approximately 77% of the maximum day demand during peak demand season," according to an Executive Summary prepared as part of a hefty agenda report on the subject. "Irrigation usage by residential development makes up the largest portion of summer peak demands."
One potential sticking point in the plan involves the incorporation of land use projections developed by Orth-Rodgers & Associates, which indicate that the city could have 2,300 new residential connections by the end of 2013. The firm's land use projections have been called into question recently by the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee, who view the data as being flawed since the projections were based on growth rates in 2004 and 2005 when the area was experiencing record growth. According to the latest reports from the State Demographer, Fernley grew at a rate of about one percent in 2008--a far cry from the blazing 18 percent just a few years ago.
Flawed estimates or not, TRC is projecting the city will need 56 million more gallons of water per month to meet the demand during peak season. Based on that speculative figure, TRC is recommending that the city move forward with development of its "purple pipe" system for delivery of non-potable water to households and commercial users throughout the city.
Phase One of the aggressive plan advocates the city undertake eight Alternative Water Capital Improvement Projects with a projected price tag of $5,785,000. That cost projection does not include property acquisitions, easements, and rights-of-way.
The full council agenda can be viewed here: http://www.cityoffernley.org/documents/Agendas%20&%20Minutes/City%20Council/2009/09-01-07%20FCC%20Agenda.PDF