Johnson Lane resident Jim Jackson stands in the hallway outside commission chambers in the Douglas County Courthouse as residents wait a turn to speak on Thursday afternoon.
Photo special to The R-C by Ellie Waller
Seven hours before the actual 3-2 approval of an agreement with Knox Excavation on Thursday for a share of the proceeds from the Painted Rock Mine to maintain Johnson Lane, a Johnson Lane resident poured a container of sand into a bucket at the podium in protest.
Sanden Lane resident Jay Herbert argued that the ordinance banning truck traffic should be extended to Vicki Lane or Wildhorse.
“My family and health and the health of thousands of protected class living in Johnson Lane is worth millions more than the millions the wealthy whiners have,” Herbert said as he displayed a respirator.
Commissioners Sharla Hales, Mark Gardner and Wes Rice voted in favor of the agreement, while Walt Nowosad and Danny Tarkanian opposed the motion.
“Basically, I’m more concerned with the health and welfare of the populace then the success of a business,” said Nowosad, who represents the district.
Hales argued the agreement gave the county some controls that it lacked without it. Hales and Gardner were part of the negotiating team involved in producing the agreement.
“I wish with all my heart we could take this away,” Hales said. “But the question is really do we have some restrictions or do we have none. I hate the reality of it.”
County Manager Jenifer Davidson reiterated that the county has no jurisdiction over the land proposed for the mine and that the Douglas County Master Plan doesn’t have any authority.
The land belongs to a Washoe family and is held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Part of the access route crosses land held by the Bureau of Land Management.
Commission Chairman Rice said the decision likely cost him a longtime friend.
“I had a friend of 20 years tell me if I vote for this I’m dead to them,” he said. “Please understand, we don’t have any control over what they do on BIA land, period. Your two commissioners tried to mitigate the impact on the residents as much as possible.”
Around 30 residents spoke in opposition to the agreement, packing the historic Douglas County Courthouse. There were even some residents set up on the courthouse lawn listening to the hearing.
Opponents to the agreement gathered 761 signatures over two days on a petition, according to resident Kelly Nevius. There is a change.org petition online.
“As currently proposed, the impact of this mining operation on the health and wellbeing — not to mention traffic on Johnson Lane and, subsequently due to local traffic likely being self-redirected, on Stephanie Way — is unacceptable to our family and our neighbors in Johnson Lane,” wrote resident Christopher Coldoff.
The Painted Rock Mine has been the subject of four years of protests from neighbors against Knox Excavation’s proposal to mine the site on Washoe Tribal Allotment land. Under the agreement, Knox would pay the county a half-percent of its gross sales during the first five years and then 0.3 percent after that, according to Davidson.
Toni Court resident Terry Cuyler said she was hoping the county would move forward with its original plan.
“But then they backed off on the ordinance when Knox Excavating threatened suit and they entered into negotiations with them,” she said. “I see no provision in the new agreement for policing the trucks, air and water quality.”
There is nothing in the agreement that prevents private individuals or groups from challenging the finding in court, commissioners were told on Thursday. Attorney Garrett Gordon representing Knox Excavation said the company currently has a right to operate the mine.
