Council plays a game of ‘hurry this along’

Towards the end of this week’s City Council meeting, Councilmember Steve Walton kind of said the quiet part out loud. “I asked Mayor Hardy if he had a heart and a soul,” he said. “And if so we would get out of here promptly”

It was only mentioned once at the very end of the meeting of the City Council meeting Tuesday, but the fact that the Vegas Golden Knights were playing the most consequential game since the team was born was probably the inspiration for the meeting theme which could be best summed up as “Can we please hurry this along.”

The first agenda item was about city support for homeowners assistance programs. If a layman were to look at the meeting agenda, they might have come away with the impression that the city was giving the Nevada Rural Housing Authority just shy of $900,000. but it wasn’t actually money.

Basically, this is a tax deal. The IRS gives states the ability to issue a certain amount of what are called private activity bonds. These are tax-exempt bonds that can be used to raise money for private (i.e., non-governmental) projects. The state of Nevada splits that authority up and doles it out to municipalities based on population.

For a number of years, Boulder City has given it’s share of bonding authority to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority to support a program called Home At Last which helps would-be home buyers with lower-interest mortgagtes and down-payment assistance.

While the program is state-wide and not Boulder City specific, the NRHA does have numbers on how much benefit has flowed to residents of the city. Since 2006, more than $5 million in mortgages and north of $160,000 in down-payment assistance went to city residents.

After a presentation from the city’s insurer (see story on Page 1), the agenda called for a presentation and discussion about proposed changes to city code regarding landscaping. Development Director Michael Mays started his presentation in the same “move it along” spirit.

“I would like to start with a very brief explanation of what the landscape ordinance is about,” he said.

The new ordinance passed unanimously with zero discussion and no public comment during the allowed time.

Landscaping regulations had last been looked at in 1983 and the code prior to this change was based on a point system that many have described as confusing. The new regulations apply only to new development and will see Boulder City adopting a list from the Southern Nevada Water Authority of desert-tolerant plants. SNWA had asked all municipalities in their jurisdiction to re-examine landscape ordinances due to the 20-year drought that the region is still in the grips of. The agency asked for rules to require plants that are more desert-tolerant and use less water.

Other actions included the council approving a grant of about $1,600 to Sunrise Rotary to help pay for marketing costs associated with their annual Wurst Fest, the proceeds of which go to support the Grad Night party put on each year for graduating seniors at Boulder City High School.

They also approved a contract with Tom Moscal to act as the city prosecutor.

By the time the meeting was winding down, the only people still in the room were the council and some staff members. When the time came for individual members to report on their activities since the last meeting, Councilmember Cokie Booth started with, “Steve told me I wasn’t allowed to make comments because he wants to get home to the game.”

When Councilmember Sherri Jorgensen opted to make some short remarks about Memorial Day celebrations and the recent best Dam Barbecue, she prefaced it with, “I will disappoint Councilmember Walton at this time.”

By the time the meeting ended, the Knights were up 4-1 in the second period. The next council meeting is scheduled for June 27.