Carson City board to take up Minden water rates

The Board of Supervisors Thursday will take up an amendment to Carson City’s agreement with Douglas County for water service.

The city is a wholesale customer for water delivery from the Town of Minden. Carson City owns the water rights.

The original agreement, approved in 2010, laid out plans to construct the water line to deliver the water and an amendment set rates with the condition that rates would be revisited when enough data was collected to set them based on actual operating costs.

A rate study has now been done and the second amendment before the board this week will set rates for the next six fiscal years, bumping up current rates from $.777 per 1,000 gallons to $.862, and eventually to $1.283 per 1,000 gallons in 2021-2022.

The board also will vote to accept the final report from Moss Adams, the city’s internal auditor, on updates to the city policies and procedures.

Moss Adams is making five recommendations, including moving some elements in the city’s municipal code to policies where it’s less cumbersome to makes changes. One example is fees and charges assessed by Parks and Recreation and Community Development.

Another recommendation is to maximize use of Policy Tech, a software program the city currently uses but not to its full potential, said the auditor.

Meeting as the Redevelopment Authority, the supervisors will consider changes to the Facade Improvement Program recommended by the Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee.

The program provides matching funds up to $25,000 for projects to remodel facades of buildings in redevelopment areas 1 and 2.

It requires applicants to get three bids for the construction and, if approved, the city matches funds based on the lowest bid.

But building owners were having a hard time getting three bids for relatively small projects and some were contractors who were doing the work themselves.

The proposed changes would allow owners to get a waiver for the three bid requirement from RACC and for contractor-owners to submit detailed costs in lieu of the bids.

In other actions, the Board of Supervisors will vote to approve the purchase of a second ambulance chassis remount to Firetrucks Unlimited for $146,772; to accept the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance Grant for $117,000 to continue funding the Regional Gang Initiative; and accept the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance Grant, Tri-Net Narcotics Task Force, in the amount of $58,402.

The Board of Supervisors meet at 8:30 a.m. in the Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.