Commissioners Send Boundary Change Back To Town Boards

The Clark County Board of Commissioners delayed a decision last week on a proposed ordinance to revise unincorporated town boundaries in Northeast Clark County. The decision to hold the item was made in a meeting held Tuesday, May 5.

The proposed county ordinance, drafted by Commissioner Tom Collins, would have added more than 144 square miles to the town of Moapa; land that had previously been part of the towns of Bunkerville and Moapa Valley. These lands included areas north of the town of Moapa Valley; lands that have long been of interest to be adopted into the lower valley community boundaries.

Collins had presented his proposal to each of the three boards in March and April. It was rejected by the Moapa Valley and Bunkerville boards and was approved by the Moapa board.

After extensive discussion, the commissioners voted unanimously to hold the decision for thirty days. This would allow a committee, including representatives of each community, to be formed to work together on a final map.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani agreed to act as an independent chairperson to this committee. “I think that we are very close to actually resolving this,” Giunchigliani said. “I am happy to spend the time and sit down with the representatives and bring resolution in the next thirty days.”

During the public hearing for the ordinance, Bonnie Rinaldi, representative of the major development, Riverview, laid out the reasons for the proposed ordinance. Rinaldi stated that the Riverview project was currently in two towns. Most of the project is in Moapa but a small portion of it falls within the far northwest corner of Moapa Valley.

Rinaldi also stated that Riverview spans four different tax districts. The project includes a store, gas station, restaurant, bar and motel located at Glendale. These properties are currently not a part of Moapa but are in unincorporated Clark County.

“There are some tax revenues that are lost because we are not in a town tax area,” Rinaldi said. “Our property is not paying the same tax rate as the folks across the street.”

The Riverview developers were eager to be full contributors in the community and would like to see the problem resolved before the July 1 property tax deadline, Rinaldi said. “We’d like to ask you to cause a sense of urgency so that this issue can be resolved by then,” Rinaldi stated.

Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board (MVTAB) member Guy Doty spent time reviewing the history of the issue to the Commissioners. Doty stated that the discussions had been ongoing for about two years but had finally reached a resolution. “Moapa’s concern (on the Riverview boundaries) was resolved a year ago,” Doty said. “What was left was to resolve the boundary between us (Moapa Valley) and Bunkerville.”

Moapa Valley had asked for its northern boundary to be extended to the Lincoln County line. This would give the lower valley access to and frontage along the I-15 corridor. Currently all of the I-15 corridor north of Moapa Valley is in the Bunkerville town.

The MVTAB had approved a request to annex this area into the Moapa Valley town. But that approval was dependent on the approval of the Bunkerville town board. The MVTAB then sent a delegation to Bunkerville to try and reach an agreement.

Bunkerville eventually approved a boundary which ran one mile east of the Carp Elgin exit. But Bunkerville requested, in return, that its southern boundary be expanded into the Gold Butte area. “To get to Gold Butte you have to go through the Bunkerville township,”

Bunkerville town board member Marianne Leavitt explained to the Commissioners. “We would like to have a say on that area.”

“Commissioner Collins has expressed frustration with us for not getting off our hands and making a decision,” Doty concluded. “But we did finally on February 24 in that last meeting with Bunkerville.”

But the ordinance presented by Collins did not follow these agreements, Doty said. “What is being proposed is not really equitable, not jurisdictional and not even agreed upon by all of the town boards,” he said. “I request that you at least hold this over until it can be hashed out; or else vote it down.”

After the public hearing was closed, Collins gave a presentation on the proposed ordinance. “Guy (Doty) is absolutely right, this has all been to get them off of their hands and make a decision,” Collins said. “This has been in the process for years.”

Collins stated that the whole issue began with the need to adjust two sections of land to put the Riverview development into one town. “Then it came down to the attitude that ‘they can’t just have it until they give us something in return’,” Collins said. “And all of a sudden we go from adjusting two sections of land to over 104 sections with four full townships! And we are hearing all of this stuff about equity.”

Collins displayed five different maps that showed the development of the proposed changes as it had gone through the various town board proposals. “I hope that you can see that there is no consensus reached here,” he said. “The only way to bring the three town boards together is to make a change and not to leave it at status quo.”

Collins emphasized that he had pledged to meet with the three towns after the ordinance was enacted, and after the July 1 deadline, to revisit it and to make the necessary adjustments. “My recommendation is to ask my colleagues to vote for this to make a change and bring everybody to the table,” Collins said.

But Commissioner Steve Sisolak saw a problem in this strategy. “My concern is that I don’t see what will bring Moapa to the table once we pass these boundaries,” Sisolak said. “They will get everything and then they will be the ones that are an impediment to the process.” In reference to the looming July 1 deadline, Sisolak also suggested an alternative. He proposed that the Riverview developer could give a voluntary contribution to the community equivalent to the amount of the tax. “They are certainly welcome to donate and I am sure the community would eagerly accept the contribution,” Sisolak said.

Sisolak stated that additional time should be spent in discussion to bring the three communities together on a single proposal. “I think that you need to get a commissioner that is not Tom (Collins) or myself to get involved in this and come to something that everyone agrees to,” Sisolak said. “I really don’t want to pass this and then come back in July and pass it another time.”

Giunchigliani at this point expressed a willingness to chair a committee to resolve the issue in the communities. “I’d like the message to be a sense of urgency,” she said. “I think that we need a time certain to get it done within thirty days. Either we have it resolved by then and have a decision made or we come back in thirty days and the Commission handles it.”

Commission Chairman, Rory Reid asked for a motion. Collins made the motion to approve the ordinance as proposed. “This is new information to you all and you think they (the communities) can work it out,” Collins said. “But there are a lot of things that have only recently come up and those things won’t get done quickly in thirty days.”

But Giunchigliani asked that the motion be changed to allow thirty days to work with the communities. “I don’t feel comfortable with approving the map as is,” she said. “But I really do think that we are close to something everyone can agree with. If not I’m happy to admit that I was wrong.”

Collins changed his motion to hold the item for thirty days to allow a local committee to come to an agreement. “That way you-all can find out who is wanting to play and who don’t,” he said. This motion was approved with a unanimous vote.