By Mark Waite
Wayne Carlson, executive director of the Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool, was asked by county commissioner Joni Eastley to skip his presentation, as Nye County Commissioners last week approved his request to renew the county policy at a cost of $666,098 for the 2011-12 fiscal year beginning Friday.
That is down slightly from $672,500 in premiums this year.
The Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool includes 15 counties, 12 cities, 15 school districts, six towns, seven fire districts, 40 special districts and 15 other governmental entities. The town of Pahrump was just hit with a 5 percent increase in premiums.
Last June, commissioners, without comment, approved paying $370,339 in deductibles on legal claims assigned to the county’s insurance pool. The county had increased its deductible per claim to $50,000.
Carlson’s report showed claims against Nye County spiked to over $1 million in 2008, less than $200,000 in 2009 and no claims were shown for 2010. Annual premiums spiked in 2005 to $740,000, but have since dropped down to annual premiums of $640,000 to $671,000.
It was a lightning-fast county commission meeting in Pahrump with very little discussion. Even commissioner Dan Schinhofen commented upon adjournment on the pace, they transacted business on a thick agenda in just over three hours. Commissioner Lorinda Wichman acted as chairman in place of Gary Hollis who was in Washington D.C. advocating for the Yucca Mountain project.
* FUNERAL COSTS: Speaking of Yucca Mountain, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid may proclaim it dead, but money continues to flow into 20 county consultants who will be paid a combined $2 million through June 30, 2012 to work on closing the repository site.
Nye County was awarded $1.7 million for more Yucca Mountain oversight work in a continuing resolution to fund the federal government approved by Congress Feb. 11.
Almost all the consultants are the same ones who have been typically awarded no-bid contracts every year on the Yucca Mountain project. The scope of work only lists their task as providing oversight, impact assessment, planning and other professional tasks on behalf of the county. Usually new contracts were awarded every year, this time they were amendments to existing contracts.
The consultants and their amended amounts include: Robert Anderson, $300,000; Mary Ellen Giampaoli, $250,000; Terra Spectra Geomatics, $250,000; BEC Environmental $200,000; Michael Voegele, $150,000; Glorieta Geoscience $144,000; Joseph Ziegler, $120,000; Casmier Jaszczak, $120,000; Jamieson Geological $75,000; Norwest Corporation $75,000; John Walton $70,000; Kathy Gilmore $50,000; Great Basin Drilling $50,000; Bob Wilcoxon $40,000; Sambooka $30,000; James Foster $30,000; Geophysical Logging $25,000; University of Pittsburgh $20,000; the Desert Research Institute and University of Texas El Paso received extensions on time only.
* UICN 2, COUNTY 0: Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada won in an argument over the $247,760 fee charged the county to hook up water and sewer service to the new jail. Schinhofen asked for UICN to explain the charges, but said he was informed since then the tariffs are approved by the Public Utilities Commission.
Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada Regional Director Wendy Barnett explained: “In the state of Nevada, growth has to pay for itself and obviously some developments such as Mountain Falls can build their own wells and tanks but that’s not true for the norm. So therefore, there are capacity fees. Capacity fees are based on the amount of consumption used by the new development.”
The cash will help reduce the amount of money UICN will request in the next rate case, Barnett said. She suggested anybody with a complaint could contact the PUC rate resolution department.
A sewer plant capacity fee, assessed at $5.50 per gallon on an estimated 34,500 gallons of sewage per day, comprises $189,750 of the cost.
In January 2010, commissioners resscinded a previous action to drill their own well and build a commercial septic system for the new government center at the Calvada Eye when they found out it would cost $952,473 as opposed to $477,000 if they hooked up to Utilities Inc. UICN complained it was also illegal, as the building was in their service territory.
* CALVADA POND: County Manager Rick Osborne was asked to answer queries about why the Calvada Eye ponds were dropping. They were recently filled with water after being drained for a year. Osborne said there is a leak that has to be fixed after which they will be refilled.
* LOTS OF CHIPS: Commissioners awarded a $392,889 contract to Intermountain Slurry Seal of Watsonville, Calif. for a chip seal overlay and fog seal of roads in northern Nye County. A $180,853 contract was awarded to Wulfenstein Construction Co. of Pahrump for a Tonopah paving project. Both were low bidders, though Intermountain Slurry Seal was granted a waiver from a condition they provide one original and three copies of their bid.
* NO BEC TALK: Eastley asked Elizabeth Nelson of BEC Environmental to skip a presentation on the county solid waste minimization and household hazardous waste management plan. The county doesn’t have a certified landfill or operator to handle hazardous waste, businesses make independent arrangements for disposal by contract. No county education outreach programs exist.
State regulations require counties with a population of 40,000 to 100,000, which now includes Nye County, to develop recycling and household hazardous waste programs.
Eileen Christensen, a consultant for BEC Environmental was asked to skip a presentation on their work on renewable energy projects. The company listed the record of decision signed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy for Solar Millenium and Solar Reserve as part of their project highlights on renewable energy support.
BEC obtained a Brownfields grant from the EPA for Tonopah Airport and an analysis of the Bob Ruud Community Center. Nye County won a grant to function as its own economic development authority. The company said 51 developers are actively being targeted, $1.065 million in grants have been awarded, and $100,592 in revenue received from lease options by solar companies at Tonopah Airport.
* LAW CLERK: Commissioners didn’t wait for newly-appointed Fifth Judicial District Department 1 Judge Kimberly Wanker to appear to approve a non-budgeted $50,000 for her law clerk, Christel J. Raimondo of Las Vegas.
Human Resources Manager Danelle Shamrell said the county will pay half the cost of the position and work at obtaining grants to pay the remainder. The county will also save money on benefits, as Wanker’s law clerk is a contracted position, she said.
A March 3, 2010 letter was included from Department 2 Judge Robert Lane who said there was no discretion in replacing his law clerk, with a caseload scheduled 13 months in advance, much of it complex litigation.
Otherwise, commissioners kept with their policy to advertise and attempt to fill vacancies in-house.
