City votes to join regional council

If one is offered an equal seat at the table on a regional group that advises on policy for an area where that person’s population is equal to .005% of the total region at a cost of $5,000 per year, does that sound like a pretty good deal?

That was the basic question taken up by the city council last week in relation to something called the Southern Nevada Council of Governments.

Back in 1999, the Nevada Legislature created the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission (SNRPC), “to foster intergovernmental cooperation within Southern Nevada,” Deputy City Manager Michael Mays told the council.

The primary responsibility of the SNRPC was development and implementation of a regional plan focusing on transportation development and economic development issues. Following the creation of the Nevada Southern Nevada Strong Plan in 2015, most of those responsibilities were transferred to the Regional Transportation Commission, which left SNRPC with not a lot to do.

“The regional jurisdictions are proposing the elimination of SNRPC and the creation of a Southern Nevada Council of Governments or SNCOG to replace it,” Mays explained. “The SNCOG would cooperatively address regional issues, identify common needs, and then present recommendations to the jurisdictions to consider adopting. Just like SNRPC, the SNOG would recognize and respect local autonomy and decision making of the jurisdictions within Southern Nevada.”

In other words, this new group would identify regional issues, study them and then present recommendations that local jurisdictions could adopt or not.

Councilwoman Cokie Booth did not appear to be buying it.

“Can you explain exactly what they would be doing?” she asked Mays. “Because in the past, there’s been nothing for us to do and it seems to me that Henderson has different issues than we have. Same with Las Vegas or Pahrump. And it seems like if you’re going to be doing something, your time should be well spent and I don’t feel this is being well spent.”

Mays admitted that, “The SNRPC has had, over the last several years, challenges trying to identify how they can find a niche and a role that doesn’t duplicate other agencies within Southern Nevada. And that’s why they came to this conclusion that as a body they can take a regional issue and study it and with that analysis come together as a board and present recommendations to the jurisdictions that really focuses and narrows their role and responsibility.”

Mays identified a study of what kinds of plants do well — or don’t — in a desert environment, the conclusions of which Boulder City uses to advise developers on landscaping as a win for SNRPC and the kind of work he anticipated SNCOG would undertake.

After councilwomen Sherri Jorgensen and Denise Ashurst called for giving the group a year, Booth said she wanted any approval to be contingent on the issue coming back before the council in a year.

“Is there a way we can bring it back in a year and discuss what they’re doing to see if it’s worth the $5,000? Because I know there’s a lot of businesses around town and charities around town that would love $5,000,” she asked.

City Attorney Brittany Walker explained that a time limit in the vote was not needed because the council could bring the issue forward again at any time and leave the group if that was the vote.

Mayor Joe Hardy put the brakes on the time limit.

“When we are on these boards as a participant of the board, Boulder City gets an equal vote. And the old adage of ‘if you’re not at the table then you’re on the menu’ has some reality,” he said.

“I’m a firm believer in being at the table and protecting Boulder City as we need to, from time to time, and not only protecting but adding to the conversation that is involved with the growth that we have in the greater Clark County, Las Vegas area. Personally, I’m very uncomfortable with voting on anything that puts a limit that we already can get out of anyway. The message, the political message, that we don’t trust them or we don’t like them or we don’t want to participate with them when we’ve already been given an equal vote with quite frankly a very de minimis amount of money to have an equal seat at a very important table. I would be very reluctant to vote for,” Hardy continued.

“I think the message we need to show is that we’re on board. We’re going to do it and we want to participate in the group. Other than that, I won’t vote for it,” he concluded.

After Ashurst and Councilman Steve Walton chimed in agreeing with the mayor, the vote was taken and the measure to join the SNCOG was passed unanimously.