Douglas County to announce future for 144-acres owned by Carson auto dealers

An announcement is expected soon concerning development of the land just east of the Carson Valley Plaza and Wal-Mart in North Douglas County, said County Manager Dan Holler.

"The owners have been working with a number of businesses to create a commercial development," he said.

Amid speculation about an auto mall at the North Douglas County location, Carson City auto dealers Michael Hohl and Dink Cryer purchased the parcel, a total of 144 acres, from the Bureau of Land Management in August 2003 for $14.6 million.

Holler would not speculate concerning the types of businesses, but Douglas County officials are courting that development with $5 million in bonds for water and sewer improvements to the area.

Expected to cost just over $2 million, the water bond will provide a new well and pipeline in North Douglas County for the new development and secondarily, to commercial interests west of 395, including Carson Valley Plaza and Wal-Mart.

The system will be tied to Indian Hills services as an emergency back-up.

The money could also be used to enlarge the water line on Heyborne Road from the airport to Johnson Lane if there is money left over, Holler said.

About $3 million for sewer improvements will provide a connection from the North Douglas County wastewater treatment plant at the end of Heyborne Road to the proposed commercial development and ultimately to Wal-Mart and the Carson Valley Plaza.

Connection fees are expected to pay for the proposed development, Holler said.

The bonds were funded Tuesday and the deal is expected to close Aug. 19, said Douglas County Comptroller Claudette Springmeyer.

She said state statutes limit the general obligation debt to 10 percent of the county's assessed valuation, which stands at just over $2 billion for 2005.

Douglas County passed the $1 billion mark in 1994, an 11 percent increase over 1993's total of $969 million.

The county has a total outstanding debt of about $31.5 million and by law, can carry an additional statutory debt of about $172 million, Springmeyer said.

Douglas County commissioners also approved efforts to refinance a 1999 bond used to build a transfer station off Pine Nut Road, a move expected to save the county about $78,000, Holler said.

"We didn't change the terms, we simply refinanced to take advantage of today's lower interest rates," he said.

Sale of the North Douglas County parcel has been a bone of contention for Carson City official, who say that an auto mallacross the county line would take one of Carson City's primary sources of sales tax revenue.

They signed an agreement with the dealership owners in December 2003 to drop the federal lawsuit and allowed the sale to close, providing the dealers did not develop an auto mall on the property for two years.

Hohl and Cryer must first negotiate with Carson City to find a suitable place for an auto mall.