Parking issue may be resolved for carnival

Parking will be permitted along Highway 50 at Mills Park during the Nevada Day weekend.

The parking news comes at a good time for Nevada Rural Seniors Volunteer Program, which will be hosting a carnival at Mills Park the same weekend.

Spokesman Scott Magruder said Nevada Department of Transportation officials sent Carson City a letter allowing parallel parking along the stretch of road along the highway. Program Executive Director Janice Ayres said there will be parking on the road at least Oct. 27 through Oct. 31.

The volunteer program holds events regularly in the park and has often dealt with its parking frustrations. The Nevada Day carnival is not the same carnival that came to Carson during the Fourth of July.

"This is not the same operator," Ayres said. "We know there was a lot of frustration in July. We're really sorry, but it was beyond our control. We've made every assurance that the best rides will be here."

Midway West Amusements from Sun City, Ariz., will bring a variety of adult and kiddie rides and midway games to the Nevada Day carnival. The carnival will run from 4 p.m. until midnight, Wednesday through Friday. Saturday, Oct. 30, the carnival will be from noon until midnight and Sunday, Oct. 31, from noon until 8 p.m.

The carnival offers a ticket for unlimited rides which is $10 on Wednesday and $12 on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. No unlimited ride tickets will be sold Saturday, Oct. 30.

"We're trying to make up for the earlier frustrations with special prices," she said.

Parking has been a chronic problem for special events at the park. State officials said the Fourth of July was the last time the department would approve a special use permit of the area until Carson City addressed a permanent parking plan for the park.

"We've gone round and round with this, and NDOT has noticed the progress," Ayres said.

She said that she approached state Transportation Director Tom Stephens who said that the city has moved forward on the parking plan, and "NDOT would bag the signs and let us park."

The city's parks and recreation commission approved on Oct. 12 the construction of 57 temporary parking spaces as a solution to the park's parking problem. The temporary spaces will cost almost $53,000 and changing the spaces to permanent ones will add $113,200 to the cost.

Carson City supervisors will decide whether or not to support the parking plan Thursday. The supervisors can commit to the project, but there is no money in the city's budget to pay for the plan. If approved, the parking plan will have to fight for funding with other city capital improvement projects during next springs budget process.

If you go:

What: Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting

When: 8:30 a.m., Thursday

Where: Carson City Community Center Sierra Room, 851 E. William St., Carson City