Costco plans put before the supervisors again

Carson City residents continued to remind city supervisors they are watching the Costco land deal.

City supervisors on Thursday dealt with mainly administrative matters regarding the land deal expected to help the city garner a 148,000-square-foot Costco warehouse.

Supervisors approved a change of zoning for the site from public to general commercial, which will allow development on the roughly 18-acre south Carson site.

About three acres of U.S. Forest Service land necessary for Costco's development was transferred to the city's redevelopment district. The land will still be owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

Supervisors acting as the redevelopment authority also decided that all proceeds from the sale of the property would return from the authority to the city.

Because the property across the street from Fuji Park is in the redevelopment district, the proceeds from the sale would generally head back to the redevelopment authority. Action taken Thursday assures that the final say of the distribution of the estimated $3.2 million lies with city supervisors.

No decision has been made regarding funds disbursement since there has been no sale.

"We don't have a bird in the hand yet," Supervisor Jon Plank said. "Once that occurs, that's the time to make that decision."

Residents reminded supervisors of where they thought the money should go.

"If that money gets away from us, we lose users, we lose the fairgrounds, we've lost so much," resident Vuki Wilson said.

Resident Norm Pedersen said he was speaking for many Fuji Park users when he asked supervisors to consider giving funds from the sale to the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

"I would like to see whatever funds are derived from the sale earmarked to the Parks and Recreation Department to help regain whatever we lost," Pedersen said. "I fear that won't happen. It's imperative that somehow and some way, we do something to earmark the potential funds to go back to the public and be closely used for (Fuji Park.)"

Library Director Sally Edwards told the board she hoped some of the money would head to the library.

"When it is time to decide what to do with the proceeds of the deal, the library would be considered as a beneficiary of some of those funds," Edwards said. "We have considerable unmet needs. I know you've heard me go on about this for years, but most of the needs are still there and the library's use just goes up year by year."

Escrow is expected to close on the land by the end of April. Costco heads to the planning commission Wednesday for a special use permit.