Board of County Commissioners– Board of County Commission Meetings - Regular Meeting

Thank God. Thank goodness. Somebody.

Somebody. The fact that.

That's amazing. I'm happy for that. Somebody. I need all the help I can get.

Oh, I was waiting on you.

Okay, we're ready. Please feel free to stand with me for Pastor Keith Walker from Pahrump Community Church.

Thank you. Let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for our great country, for our state, for Nye County. Thank you for every person and every branch of our military that served to preserve our freedoms and protect the principles of democracy. With the ongoing Iran conflict and the broader tensions across the Mideast and beyond, I pray for stability and for your protection for all of our military personnel. Your holy scriptures instruct us that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. So again, this morning, we pray for our national leaders. We pray for President Trump and Vice President Vance, that this administration and all of Congress would sincerely seek what is best for the citizens of our country. and that they would make decisions based on the principles of truth and righteousness described and defined in your word, the Holy Bible. Closer to home, we thank you for our first responders, our law enforcement personnel, our firefighters, emergency and medical personnel, our search and rescue teams. Please bless and protect them. We pray for those who are in positions of authority in Nye County, including our county commissioners, Jabour, Koenig, Bain, Boscovich, and Strickland. Thank you for this board stated purpose to optimize human financial and natural resources to develop long-term sustainable opportunities that benefit its citizens and maintain public trust in county government. We pray for your guidance and all the deliberations to be undertaken at today's meeting, whether it be routine matters involving infrastructure, emergency services, or decisions regarding the funding and appointment of peace officers or more controversial issues related to next year's budget, automated license plate reader systems or data centers. I also pray that even during the public comments period, each of us would conduct ourselves with propriety and dignity, acknowledging the value of every human being as all are created in the image of our Creator. Help us to reflect your divine nature and strive to do all things decently and in order. Help us to have gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy. Thank you that we can freely read, study, and share your holy word. Thank you for the offer of salvation for all who trust in Jesus Christ. Let us remember that you've instructed Christian people to live as people who are free, not using this freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Please bless this meeting. and all present today. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Pastor.

Commissioner Jabbour, would you like to lead us? I'm going to open this joint meeting of the Nye County Board of County Commissioners at all.

Commissioner Jabbour, would you like to lead us? Thank you, Chair. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

Thank you, sir.

Thank you Okay manager number two, please Item to presentation of a plaque to one employee honored for their years of service. I

Good morning, everybody.

Thank you. I don't even need the paper for this one. This is a big one, as they said, a 30-year, 30 years dedicated service to Knight County and to all of you. And we have Corinne Smith with Health and Human Services. Congratulations, Corinne. We need other departments filled.

Another 30 years.

Thank you again, Corinne.

Good morning, DA. Are we good to go two minutes, public comment? OK. Manager number three, please.

Item three, general public comment, up to two minute time limit per person. Public comment will be for all matters off the agenda. Public comment must be limited to matters that are within the jurisdiction and control of the Board of County Commissioners. Action will not be taken on the matters considered during this period. until specifically included on an agenda as an action item.

Thank you for that. Impromptu, come on down for your two minutes. It's mine.

Well, first of all, I want to tell you that I'm disappointed again that you said it at two minutes. And I know that you're probably just trying to curtail some of the overtime. I do understand that. However, a lot of people sit here and put in a three minute speech and then you're cutting them to two minutes. So if other times when we don't have such high priority or visible items, if we can go back to three minutes, I'd really, really appreciate it. But I wanna let you know, I'm really disappointed in you guys. I'm really, because I sat there and read that data center thing. Oh, it's on the, anyway. I can't talk about that. All right, let's move on to the other thing. And I'm not sure if I'm in violation of talking about metal waste, because I'm on the RPC, but it's not coming from the RPC. I think that their cups should be pulled. Their entire project has changed from what their presentation was to us. They asked for one incinerator. I know they're not incinerators, but now they're getting the seven. They asked to be able to bring in, I think it was 51,000 tons, and now they have like, shit, a million. And then they can now park trucks right on the property and keep them there for 30 days filled with that hazardous waste. If acid is eaten through the bottom of the truck, guess where it's going to go? Right into our water table. So you guys... I know that you're fighting this, but I hope that some of what I just told you might have inspired you to think of something else or another way to go, another avenue. That would help a lot so that we can get rid of meta waste. Thank you.

Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Come on down and prompt, Lorraine.

Good morning, commissioners. Good thing I can talk really, really fast. First of all, I want to say once again, it is my privilege and my honor to come before you today rather than having to call in. G-I-L-B-E-R-T. I support continued consideration of the off-grid living overlay. This proposal should not be viewed as asking the county to abandon health and safety protections. It is asking for approved alternative systems that can meet objective standards through permits, inspections, maintenance, requirements, and enforcement. I do appreciate the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission's commitment to bring this forward in October. And I ask you, our commissioners, to keep an open mind until the complete proposal and supporting safeguards are presented. We appreciate this process. Please remember that behind this proposal are real owners who continue paying taxes on land they cannot use. So many own property in Pahrump. that cannot presently be used for a home because conventional water and sewer lines are unavailable and unaffordable. I would just ask commissioners that you keep the October commitment and give the proposal a fair and open hearing. And once again, I'm happy to see you all.

Thanks, Lorraine. Sam, do we have anybody now, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Ron Morton, MLR, CIN, SON. I just wanted to talk about the zombie lots a little bit. You know, you guys take money when you sell zombie lots to people and people get absolutely no use out of it. It's kind of like stealing. It's kind of like a crime, in my personal opinion, because they get no use for the money that they spend on the lot. You really need to stop selling zombie lots and stop taxing people until you fix the issue in terms of People use it a lot, and yeah, that's what I got. Thank you.

Come on down in front, please.

Good morning. My name is Carol Jones, J-O-N-E-S. I would like to give an add-a-man to Dan Weeks, who spoke to Mountain Falls on Saturday about the current status of Basin 162. My concern is that the data was from 2018 and 2023. I'm wondering if, I hope this isn't out of order, but will there be a update of the status of our water aquifer before 2027. Yes, no? We don't know? Okay, thank you. But he did an excellent job and I would like to see something like that presented to the entire community. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Jones. I would like to see an updated study myself. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Come on down, Linda.

Linda Clark, CLA Alkari.

What was that?

CLARK. Didn't come out right, I'm sorry. But you caught it. Okay. Yes, I was at the board meeting for Mr. Weeks. It was very interesting, and we learned a lot of stuff. Yes, it could be more current, but... With everything else in this town, who knows? Anyway, what I want to say real quick, like, is I want to not thank you for your revel in your power to sit here and cut our time down to two minutes. I hope that makes you feel good. It doesn't make us feel good. And I know you have that power to do that, at least they say you do. I don't know. The other boards are still giving us three minutes, so what's the difference? But think about it. We have a right to speak, and you don't want to hear us. Thank you. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair, the caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Yes, good morning. Amy Nelson, N-E-L-S-O-N. I was surprised to hear that our time is down to two minutes. I would like to have you cut your time down to two minutes. And you know, try to get out what you want to say. I don't think you would be able to do that. Two minutes is not very long at all, and it shows your disdain. For wanting to hear from the public. I hope this meeting goes well. There's some interesting changes that are on the agenda. I got emails right away this morning with two changes already to one item, so it'd be interesting. to see what goes on, and I have some things laid out for each one, and we'll get to those later. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Go ahead in front, please.

Good morning, servants. Bruce Johnson, J-O-H-N-S-O-N. And just so you know, there is no law that requires us to give our name. And if there is, I'd like for you to point it out. And I'd like to see a raise of hands on who did not receive the notice that I sent y'all yesterday. Okay, good. I'm glad you all got it. I'm going to read it to the people out here, to our wonderful residents of Pahrump. I, Bruce Johnson, one of the people seen in the 51 constitutions. By the way, this is a notice for a point of clarity on open meeting laws. Please take notice as my wish that you provide clarity regarding your constitutional authority to do acts as long as it is not expressly prohibited in the 51 constitutions. and violate the people's right to redress grievances and repress speech. Number one question, identify the adopted rule or authority permitting the posted three-minute public comment restriction to be changed to two minutes during the meeting, and the objective criteria used to make that determination, because I do believe if you go to the Attorney General's website, it explicitly says on there that you cannot do that without giving informed consent to the people. So you might want to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Number two, identify the adopted rule or authority to deny the public speaker the right to reserve their time to another like you did to me two meetings ago. Show me your authority on that, okay? Two things I just identified right there that you violated the people's rights on. I'm serious about this stuff. You sit up there and smirk. I'm just telling you. Number three, identify the specific adopted rule or authority within the NRS 241 open medium law provisions to remove a public speaker from a meeting because they call you an asshole or something like that. You don't have the authority to do that. If somebody says something like that, I'm not calling you that, but I'm just telling you to read the law. You're an attorney. You should know. So are you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Please move. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please, with anything logical? Come on down in front, please. Good. File a complaint.

Diane Southworth, S-O-U-T-H-W-O-R-T-H. It's community outreach time. Recovery comes with real-life needs, and this is a... information from the Nye County Health and Human Services on how they can help people with drug addiction, housing, homelessness, transportation, et cetera. Then we've got the NICOM training. You can do this and get prepared so you know your rights. Funding assistance.

Excuse me, sir. Can you keep it quiet in the audience? We're trying to let the speaker speak. Please give her extra time. Go ahead.

funding assistance for reproductive health services, vaccination education and where you can get those vaccinations. Need a ride? We've got a list. Pantries? Got a list. ex drug disposable and where you can do that safely and of course our alternate forms of pain management also things you can do for veterans and service members that have served in the military you do not have to face this alone And then we have Nice Space Upcoming Events. And they're getting to do some things that are helping the mental health of this community. And we have Fit and Strong. This is to improve fitness and strength, increase confidence and safety for those over 60. And the others are just duplicates. So have a good day.

Have a good meeting. Thank you.

Thank you, Diane. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Come on down and prompt, please.

good morning everyone my name is amy fortin f-o-r-t-i-n i am a prevention specialist with nye communities coalition and i am here to sorry um report out on our 2026 compliance checks so compliance checks are one of the ways our community works to prevent youth from accessing alcohol tobacco nicotine and other age restricted products these checks are designed to see whether businesses are following the laws and properly checking identification before completing a cell As a result, it helps us identify where education, employee training, and prevention efforts are needed. So on May 8, 2026, we did 31 compliance checks here in Pahrump. 27 of the stores did not sell. They checked ID, and they learned that they were underage, and they refused to sell. Unfortunately, four did sell. That's about 12.9%. So the good news is that nine out of every 10 businesses checked refused to sell to a youth. Again, four did, however, sell, showing that there's still work that we need to do to prevent youth access to age-restricted products. On a span of August 28th to 29th, we were able to do compliance checks in Armagosa, Beatty, and Tonopah. We conducted 32 checks over that two-day period. Twenty-three did not sell to youth. Nine sold to youth. So seven out of ten businesses were refusing to sell to youth. At the same time, nine businesses did complete the sell, showing that we still need a little bit more work up in those areas. So together we conducted 63 compliance checks, 50 refused sells, 13 businesses did sell to youth, so it ended up being 79.4% of all businesses refused sells, and 20.6% did complete a sell. This is something our community needs to recognize. At the same time, every successful cell... Oh, sorry, I missed a line.

Thank you. You're welcome. I'm so sorry. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Go ahead, Mary Ann.

Good morning, Mary Ann Hollis, H-O-L-L-I-S. I forgot my speech, which I had timed at three minutes, so I guess just as well I left at home. So I've condensed what I believe were my major points, probably over two minutes. But at any rate, here I go. I wanted to talk about the Pahrump Debt Management Commission. Have you ever attended a meeting? They meet quarterly to, quote, manage debt. But my review of minutes and agenda from 2014 to this year record business taking anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. The two major issues that they manage is the school district and the hospital district. Continuous disregard for mandated reporting from both of these entities goes unresolved as only a letter is sent to them that they augment their thin reports to be discussed three months later. Two issues are repeated as agenda business, appointments and rubber stamping of an NRS. The chair was shocked to see anyone in attendance and admitted that she should probably attend a BOCC meeting to find out what is going on. But they're managing debt. So what are they managing? What debt? How do they claim that with no data in any backup or during their 15 minutes of discussion? In the years of attending meetings and listening to real debt management, I have never heard a report from this commission or any reference to them. Should you continue with this, you know, useless, I'll say, commission? They're not managing any debt. Not to put any more responsibility on the comptroller, but their 5 to 15 minutes of their business could, in my opinion, be incorporated by the financial department. Oh, and I have one question. Who was the liaison to the library board?

Okay. Thanks, Marianne. Okay. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please? No, Chair. Come on down, ma'am. We dissolved it.

Good morning, Commissioner Chairman Cruz, C-R-U-I-S-E. I want to thank you for banning Data Center, and I ask that you do exactly the same thing with medical waste, especially since toxic medical waste, once it goes into our system, then we become a ghost town. And I kind of like living here and would like to continue to do that. So I would ask you to please do the same thing you did with the data centers with Mediways. On a lighter, somewhat lighter note, the Cleveland Clinic, the Lou Ruvo Center is hosting a workshop for dealing with dementia. It's designed for individuals that are caring for people with dementia. It will be held on September 22nd at the Coalition from 10 to 4. And those that are interested really need to register. And they can call the center at 702-271-9563. And if anybody wants to take a picture, I have a copy with me. Thank you.

Thank you. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Come on down, ma'am.

Hi. I'm Shuey, S-H-U-E-Y, initials D and C. I think it's funny to follow someone who just had talked about dementia.

Okay, anyway.

Council, I texted to Mr. Koenig. Good evening, Saturday. This is Ms. Shuey. I gave my phone number. And I'd like to know where I can find online the environmental impact study that shows how all the sewage from all these multi-dwelling areas for homes and supposedly 40,000 more homes that are probably going to be possibly developed. Where is the sewage going? Do we have a sewage treatment plant? Where is that being built? We have to have one, right? And so that came up because we were talking about Mr. Weeks. He was telling the group about... on Saturday about, oh, we have plenty of water. Well, we're going to need to use water for the treatment plants. And we don't have to worry about data centers because you guys are not going to get those because you need sewage treatment plants. I don't know. Do we already have those? I mean, we've got lots of big homes being built. And you're not going to ask me now, but Mr. Koenig, I know you probably get a lot of phone calls, but you can just text me back or just have somebody. I know you've done it before, so that's cool. And if you can't, that's cool, but just try to get somebody to answer me, a secretary or somebody. I appreciate that, and I'll look it up and try to find out that information. Because sewage is just as bad as medical waste, and that's what we're going to need water for. So no data centers, et cetera, et cetera. Thank you.

Thank you. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Come on down, Stephen.

Good morning, Board. Stephen Pittman, P-I-T-M-A-N. I'd like to throw my three cents in about MediWaste. What was originally on their permit request is totally different from what's existing now. Please take that into consideration and make them comply with all the things that have now come up. Thank you.

Thank you. What do you think, Sam? Do you have anybody, please?

No, Chair.

Wow. Come on down, Daryl. Maybe our phones are out.

Daryl Lackey, L-A-C-K-E-Y.

I'm wondering how much that three-minute timer cost us. But anyway, I guess it's not acceptable to two, maybe three minutes is all it works, so I guess we'll never see that thing going. But anyway, but you could probably spend another couple grand on maybe having them readjust it, or maybe tape off part of it. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. To hundreds of a second timer. Anyway. I want to talk about an old thing that you guys had was the tribal grants. You know, half of it you just sliced right off and gave it to yourselves. And then none of it went to any tribe. Right? None of it went to any tribe at all. And there's two different kinds of tribes. There's recognized tribes and there's unrecognized tribes. And again, that all comes back to you all. Oh, anyway. You know, back to the water, back to what? Okay, I knew some people that put in, they put a bar in and they had to put a bladder in the parking lot. A bladder in the parking lot cost them a quarter million dollars. And the bar is not there anymore. You know, it's something else, whatever. But anyway, years later, are you requiring a bladder in the parking lot for this medical waste thing where trucks are going to be sitting there? Is it going to be a bladder under the ground to stop anything that flows out of these trucks? Is that any of the consideration I'm wondering? But when a private entity goes in there, oh, $250,000, boom. But when it's you guys' stuff, you know, like the tribal grants, let's go back to that. Not one penny went to any tribe of the $12 million where you could have stopped homelessness and poverty with my program. But you're all just kings and queens up there. You're all just in charge. And you're sitting there loving it, even though you're so hated.

Thank you. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Please check with Serena.

Anybody on the phone, please, Serena?

No, Chair.

Come on down in front, please.

Good morning, Commissioners. How are you?

Good, thank you.

My name is Mary Rose. Last name is Parkman, P-A-R-K-M-A-N. And I will keep it to maybe one minute. Don't faint. I'm here just to give you six months' notice to save the date because Seroptimus said International of Pahrump Valley is planning the annual Mardi Gras fundraiser. So put it on your calendar, Saturday, March 6th. 2027 it's going to be at the prump nugget and we'll have a lot more information we are sending out emails now thanking any of our past sponsors and encouraging current businesses that may be interested in advertising and those that might want to sponsor it's our largest fundraiser that raises money for our scholarship program So thank you. And again, under two minutes, it's a miracle. Have a good one. Thank you. Thank you, Sir Optimus.

Come on down in front, please.

My name is Nancy Yanda, Y-A-N-D-A. And I'd like to see you guys put a ban on data centers. We already have them doing meta waste over in Beatty. We don't need it in Pahrump, especially right across the street from the DMV. What are you guys thinking? Right in the middle of town, you want a data, a meta waste? We don't need it. Absolutely not.

CHRIS JERRAMSEN. Thank you, Sam. Serena, do we have anybody on the phone, please? No, Chair. CHRIS JERRAMSEN. Come on down to Pahrump, please.

Angelina Jackson, JAC, KSON. My first thing is with the metal waste. I think that needs to be reviewed by the board because it wasn't originally before it goes any further. With that, also, I'd like to know why our roads are not being maintained or the easement of the road where children are waiting for a school bus or people are trying to walk. They have to walk into the streets. You would think that with all the money going to those departments that something would be done because there's nothing to show for it again. Also, regarding the homeless, to my understanding, there were some funds that were allocated to the board in order for the homeless. What happened with that? There was a grant that was given and I don't know what happened with that because we do have a homeless problem here and they're not all transients from somewhere else. You don't know what a person's situation is, why they're in that situation and leaving them there or punishing them for it does not help the situation. So that's it. Thank you.

Thank you. Sam, anybody on the phone or I'm sorry, Serena, anybody on the phone, please.

No chair.

Come on down. I wonder if they're working.

Good morning.

Julian Musall, M-U-S-A-L-L. And thank you, Beth, for bringing up Medi-Waste. Because I've been reviewing a lot of the agendas throughout the year, and I do notice that a lot of times things get approved by the commission, But then when you see what's going on, whatever they propose to you is completely different than what they're doing. And it's not just medi waste. I've been reviewing a lot of things. And it stems, a lot of it comes from planning first, initially. They let a lot go through, and then it comes to you guys. So anyway, I just hope that you guys don't let that come in. So thank you. Have a good day.

Thank you. Come on down, Tammy. I give up on the phones.

Tammy Pittman, P-I-T-M-A-N. So I'm going to try to cram this in at three minutes. People who pander to veterans and virtue signal by pretending to help veterans are akin to scum on the earth. A request to rezone an area currently zoned for 1.5 acre lots to high density from a maximum of 88 homes to 543 boxable homes off of flag. Hold on to me. Hold, please.

I don't think that's on today's agenda.

It's not on the agenda.

No, Commissioner, it's not. Go ahead, restart.

I apologize, Ms. Tammy.

Thank you. Go ahead.

So these boxable homes will be off Blagg just past the Catholic Church. The existing cell tower will have homes built all the way around it. I read a study recently that correlates cell towers with increased cancer risk. Cell towers were the original microwaves. Veterans discovered how to cook their lunch by watching birds fall to the ground when the Sales signals cook them. The valley's water rights are already over allocated that they want to exacerbate it with high density home. 6.17 times the allocated water consumption for that land. The plan includes extending Great Basin's water and sewer lines from a mile away. If public utility has agreed to provide water, all neighbors within x feet of the public utility main are required to shutter their septic and their well and connect to the public utility. And I confirmed this with somebody who has been here for a long time. His parents were told, oh, no, no, no. You have to get rid of your well and sewer. They fought it until they needed something from the planning department. And all of a sudden, it was like, It's hold over their head. You do it, or you close your well in your sewer, or you're not going to get what you want from planning. So it really is a truth issue. So a lot of people are going to be really affected. Pahrump is approximately 40% veteran, which speaks to the area already providing affordable housing, because we're here. I searched the internet and found many homes under $300,000 with significantly larger lots. I would have listed many more, but I stopped at 12, and I have them listed on here by address and square footage and acreage. So it would seem there's no reason to purchase a home with a postage-sized stamp lot. Thanks, Tammy.

Thank you very much. Come on down, Susie.

Good morning, Susie Hertz, H-E-R-T-Z. I have a concern over what is happening with our planning for this community and for this county. I read the agendas, I study the background, I look at the backup, and constantly there are changes of zoning and land use for all sorts of different reasons. And I don't understand how we can have a master plan that is how we've decided we want our community and our county to be developed, and then we spend 100% of our time changing that for somebody else, for some other reason, for some other purpose. And I don't think there's a lot of really good justification for it as it happens. And that's what the eye of the public sees from what goes on in planning and RPC and then up to you commissioners. And I really would ask you to pay more attention to this and honor what we're here for and how we chose to live our lives. We created the master plan together to create and maintain a good community with good quality to it. And each and every one of the items that come up on the agendas that seeks to make these changes has done nothing but create a negative effect to what our life is going to look like and I would beg you to change your attitudes and your approach. Finally, I really am very sorry that you have taken a minute, one-third of our speaking time away from us. We don't get much to speak to you in the first place, so it's very hard to take a third of it away.

Serena, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

I'm back, Chair.

Oh, Sam.

Yes, we do. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Hello, Commissioner. Michael David Garcia, G-A-R-C-I-A. Did my time just start?

Yes, sir.

I have a question for the chair. I have a subject matter when it comes to unconstitutional rules and ordinances that supersede the Constitution, as well as the First Amendment, a natural right, a God-given right. Ms. Strickland, who's like God? Y'all have a right to prayer. We have a right to practice. Let's practice. What good is your constitutional oath without the Bill of Rights? Let's practice. Let's give thanks and praise. What about Jesus Christ? What about the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit? Where are you? Take that sign down behind you. Y'all are weak Christians. You hold no cross when it comes to fraud, extortion, and official oppression. You look the other way when our children are being abused in these courtrooms. You have no Have no scars. You show no mercy, no compassion. Where is the service? We're talking about God's trust, the future. Where are you at? Look at what's going on in each department. Age matters whether you believe in a rainbow or not. Administrative law. Do you really think you supersede the rights of the people? Where is your authority? authority come from i can't hear you where's the constitutionality what about this da everybody sees it why don't you why do you bow down to his council we serve god's trust not the da his opinions don't matter attorneys what about the bar where's your allegiance it's not to that constitution so stop saying it you took took an oath to the bar Thank you.

Go ahead, Leah.

Leah Aldridge, A-L-D-R-I-D-G-E. Good morning, Commissioners. I had an idea. That spot up there on 160 where they wanted to put that hyperscale data center because the developer said that's where the water is. That's where we should build a fish pond. Thank you.

And they're going to get rid of the one I keep trying to get her to use. Go ahead, Anthony.

Anthony Greco, GRECO. So our Secretary of State has removed 390,000 people from the voter rolls. I'd like to know how many of those people voted in the primary. Why did they remove them?

Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Danielle Cruz, KRUSE. I'd like to ask the board to put an item on the teacher agenda to discuss what the county can realistically do to address homelessness, mental health, and drug addiction in our community. I know we can't solve everything locally, but I think we can at least start somewhere, have the conversation, and do something, because I do not think that the cycle of arresting and releasing, arresting and releasing is going to do anything. We need to have deeper discussion about it. Thank you.

Thank you. Come on down, Patricia.

Patricia Robb, ROBB. I know it's not easy serving as a county official. The responsibilities to work within laws, budgets, and practical limitations are something most of us never see. I also believe you care, and you care about our county. You care about the quality of life and its reputation. However, when people repeatedly express concerns and do not see or hear any action, these meetings start to feel confrontational. And Becky McCrae. She's from Save Our Towns. She actually wrote a book called The Idea-Friendly Guide. It explains that when communities involve residents beyond the traditional public comment process, people feel more connected and positive changes happen together. Officials do not have to predict winners on their own in advance. Testing shows what works, what doesn't work, what needs to be improved. all while protecting public health and safety, kind of like our utility challenge lots, which we're looking forward to the planning department having the overlay ordinance ready at their next meeting. Providing opportunities to collaborate with everyone in a nonpolitical community environment helps residents feel included in the process rather than pleading their case from a podium. Rules, procedures, and efficiency matters, but the greater purpose is building a healthy community and improving quality of life. When a policy no longer serves that purpose fairly, we should all be willing to examine it together. We will not all agree on everything, but when people feel heard, respected, and empowered to help, we build a stronger community, one we can be proud of. I do suggest reading her book, The Idea-Friendly Guide by Becky McRae.

Come on down and prompt, sir.

Good morning. My name is Angel Moreno, M-O-R-E-N-O. You know, I've been to just one of these in my person here. I've been watching some stuff with all the boards and stuff online, and, you know, I'm going to take this time and, one, just say thank you. OK, you folks get attacked a lot as a board. I understand that. I personally have been on some committee boards and stuff, and I know it's a tough job. So I personally appreciate all of your folks' efforts. A lot of people out here are very angry with you folks personally. And I see that. And all I can do is apologize for that. And in turn, I don't want to just address you folks. I want to address all you folks out here. There's no reason to be so hateful and angry and mean and insultive to the people that have committed no sir not sold out and i don't appreciate that everybody has their time to speak and that's what it is all about this is the disrespect that you folks are showing to them they may not be a hundred percent right in your opinion but you know what You are not up here doing the job. Give them the due respect and give them the respect that, yes, our Father has asked all of us to give one another. When you lose that respect as a person, it's bad.

If I could, I would let you go on, but I can't. And thank you very much. I appreciate you. I really do. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Closing public comment. Moving on to number four, please.

Item four, Commissioner Manager Comments. This item is limited to announcements, brief discussions of public comments, correction of factual inaccuracies. Direction to staff for topics proposed for future board meetings. Lengthy deliberation of topics not on the agenda is prohibited by the Nevada Open Meeting Law.

Thank you for that. Since I never get to see her in person much, I'm going to go right to Corey.

Good morning, Commissioner. Thank you. I just have a quick couple notes. One, I did want to address Mr. Greco. The voter registration, we do voter registration maintenance every year. And it's generally between two and 300,000 for the whole state. It is the counties that do that. We are touching the voter rolls. So if you have any questions, Mr. Greco, you're more than welcome to give us a call. A couple of things I did want to say is today is national register to vote day. So please, if you're not registered or you're unsure, go to vote.nv.gov to check your registration. Other things are the ease ballots. which is for our military and overseas. Those are out. Sample ballots are going out on the 23rd. In-state, the ballots will be out on the 5th of October. So ballots are going to start being seen out there. So keep your eye out. They're orange. You'll notice them. One thing I do suggest is if you're going to use a mail-in ballot, please mail early. The USPS is having issues. Just yesterday, we received 15 undeliverable ballots from the USPS from the primary election. So if you don't receive your ballot by the middle of October or anything like that, please give our office a call. And I think that's it. Thanks. Chair? Clerk?

Yeah, go ahead.

Chair. Clerk, they can also drop those ballots off. You have drop boxes available.

Yes, and I highly suggest if you can get to one, we do have drop boxes there at the clerk's office. We'll have it there at the Bob Rood. If you want to wait to election day, you can go to any one of our polling places. We'll have drop boxes. Bring it into the clerk's office in Tonopah just to ensure that we get them on time.

So your vote is heard because that's terrible, clerk, that five of those show up late.

It is, and again, I told the numbers last time, but there were over 100 votes that didn't have signatures on the mail ballots that we couldn't count. So, again, get them in early so we can, if there are problems, we can get them fixed.

Okay. Thank you, Corey. Thanks. Come on over, Corinne. Yes, the 30-year gal.

Good morning again, Commissioner. Corinne Smith, Director of Health and Human Services, SMITH. I'm here to go over the annual plan that you should have received a copy of about a month and a half ago. I thought it would be good to just kind of skim over it and give some facts. It is also posted on our webpage. The report covers our federal fiscal year from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. Our mission is to help Nye County residents achieve and sustain self-sufficiency so that they can reach their full potential. Our vision is to provide innovative programs, services, and referrals that help residents establish strong foundations and well-being, ultimately creating a stronger community. We serve Nye County through two offices, one in Tonopah and the other in Prump, which currently is dedicated. We have a dedicated team of 20 employees and one volunteer. Our department oversees a wide range of programs, grants, and contracts designed to assist qualified individuals and families in need. These include indigency assistance, which includes inmate medical, indigent burials, and abandoned body cremation assistance, supportive services to outside agencies and programs, food and transportation assistance, employment supportive services, and housing and or utility assistance. We currently administer 11 grants, each with its own eligibility requirements and funding limitations. One of our longest running programs is the Community Service Block Grant, or we call CSBG, which we have administered for more than 29 years. CSBG provides assistance to low and very low income residents through services such as food, transportation vouchers, rent, mortgage, and utility assistance, home repairs, and other essential services. During FY 2025 and through the various programs we facilitate, that includes CSBG, Welfare Set-Aside, Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Emergency Solutions Grant, and Rapid Rehousing. 378 families were assisted through our food programs. 100 individuals received transportation assistance to numerous medical appointments. and agency-specific services. 115 households were assisted with preventing eviction and 255 households were assisted in preventing utility disconnect. Our Ryan White program serves individuals living with HIV AIDS and has grown significantly from its beginnings as a small gas voucher program. Today it serves more than 50 clients through case management, transportation, food assistance, hygiene supplies, and emergency financial assistance.

I'm trying.

The nutrition and health of 1,251 women, infants, and children were improved through the WIC program. This program serves eligible pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five by providing nutrition education, breastfeeding support, nutritious foods, and referrals. Together, our two offices have served approximately 830 WIC participants each month. Through our senior nutrition and transportation programs, we provide more than 1,200 meals each month and more than 400 transportation trips, including long distance medical transportation to Las Vegas and Reno. Our transportation services account for more than 8,000 miles each month. We also serve as an intake site for energy assistance program, helping residents apply for assistance with electric and propane costs. The Tonopah office provides access to Nevada Energy Safe program residents experiencing difficulty with their electric bills. In 2025, we also launched the Resilient Nevada Recovery Assistance Program, which aims to serve residents affected by opioid addiction. Our public guardian's office has grown from serving one protected person approximately 14 years ago to more than 30 today, with referrals coming in frequently each month. This office provides financial and medical decision-making, attends care conferences, conducts monthly visits, and maintains 24-7 availability to individuals appointed by the courts. Our community health nurse provides services in both Pahrump and Tonopah, including immunizations, screenings, vaccines, family planning, STD, and TB, and they serve approximately 100 to 150 clients each month. The Tonopah office is also a satellite point for Nevada State Welfare to assist with applications, interviews, et cetera, with Nevada State Welfare. Beyond our individual programs, our staff provides intensive case management, working with clients to move them from unstable circumstances towards self-sufficiency. We also conduct quarterly outreach clinics for Beatty and Armagosa Valley and host annual social service fairs in Tonopah and Pahrump, which we usually have about 75 vendors and more than 240 visitors. Our department overall assists more than 1,100 clients each month through information, referrals, direct services, and programs. Our department's proud to provide a broad network of resources and supports residents many different stages of need. While each program has specific eligibility requirements and funding limitations, our goal across all of them remains the same, to connect Nye County residents with the resources and support they need to become stable. If anybody would like any further information or to discuss our program or would like a copy of it, they can always reach out to us at our office at 250 North Highway 160 or call 775-751-7095.

Thank you very much for that, Corinne. However, next time, please get an agenda item for a presentation because it's not fair to everyone else.

Okay, thank you.

And I apologize, but we've got to stick to it. Thank you very much. Any other managers or directors before we go to commissioners?

Come on up, Tammy. Good morning, commissioners. Tammy Engel, E-N-G-E-L. I wanted to come and just briefly discuss the badge of honor blood drive that we held on September 10th and September 11th. On Thursday the 10th, we collected 55 units of blood. and on Friday, 49 units. We had a goal to meet 100 units, and in total, we collected 104 units, so we surpassed that. That was great. We had 18 first-time donors, and the 104 units has the possibility of impacting 312 patients, and I just wanted to thank Vitalant for our partnership with them, and I wanted to thank the community for donating. and we're already planning for next year.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Tammy.

Come on up.

Nice to see you.

Hi, commissioners. Jennifer Fanning, F-A-N-N-I-N-G, town finance manager. I just came to remind you guys in the public that the fall festival is next weekend. The tickets are on presale until this Friday. for the rodeo and the arena. I'm sorry, the rodeo and the carnival. The tickets are available at the town office, Valley Electric, or Shadow Mountain Feed, and they are cash only.

Thank you, Jennifer. Come on up, Christy.

Christy Sigmund, SIE GMUND, Manager Animal Services. Just want to give you guys some numbers and some updates. I missed updating you on July adoptions. So our July adoptions were 73, and then our August adoptions were 95. So we did see a great increase in our July adoptions, making a total for the last few months 169 adoptions. adoptions, which is wonderful for our shelter. We did intake 308, so we are still on the other end of it, but we are going to celebrate each one of those adoptions and those animals that are now in their forever homes. Starting September 18th, which is this Saturday, we are participating once again in the empty the shelter event. So our adoption fees are reduced to $20. We currently have over 50 cats on and kittens. Most of them are four to six month old kittens on the floor. If nothing else, come to see how that front room is set up because it is quite comical to get over 50 cats in that front room. Um, and we also have over 70 dogs available for adoption in our prompt animal shelter, small dogs, big dogs, lots of different breeds, extra toes, you name it, we've got it. Um, so come in and check them out. Um, and then just kind of a public service announcement slash me begging. Please vaccinate your animals. Um, the distemper adenovirus parvo vaccine we have. veterinarians that are open on the weekends we have veterinarians that are open late you can walk into tractor supply and purchase that vaccine and administer it yourself at home distemper and parvo is a horrible virus and with our shelter being open intake accepting all the strays we get everything in it my team has spent the last 10 days along with several veterinarians trying to mitigate disease management and it starts with vaccinating so with as Accessible as that vaccine is I just please please please. Vaccinate your animals and if you need help or resources come to the shelter and my myself and my team are happy to assist.

Thank you very much. Mr. Bain. Mr.

Thank you chair. Good morning. Everybody. Um, I do have a question. Before I get to the question, Tammy, I'm going to ask you the question because you came and stood with. one of the commenters during public comment. Very serious matter is before us, and as I mentioned the last two meetings, we have scheduled for the first meeting of October to set the date and time for a public hearing for a metawaste issue. The second meeting of October, that item will be heard going back to square one originally, where it never came before this commission, went through the planning commission, and so here we are almost two years later. And so we are going to hear that item, bringing that item forward, just so you're aware. So thank you for revisiting, keeping it alive, and we are going to address it one way or the other. Tammy, thank you. So not a trick question. I'm a little alarmed, concerned. I want to thank the merchants that did their jobs. They know what the rules and regulations are, and it's not always them. And that's fine. Your colleague from the coalition is here to help answer. 79% of the merchants did their job, and their employees did their job. The others did not. I'd like to know, was that sales of vapes, cigarettes, alcohol? Because I missed, and I will apologize, I missed that part of what they were sold, these youth, because this is very important. These are our children that we're concerned about.

So for the two compliance checks that I reported out on, they were all alcohol-based.

Okay. And so from that, what, if any, were the ramifications to these establishments?

We'll call up one other person who can better answer that question.

Thank you. Detective Parra. Good morning. You're welcome. Thank you.

Aram P-A-R-R-A. So the ramifications for them is the employees get charged or whoever sells and furnishes any prohibited items to under 21 individuals.

Okay. And what ramification to the actual establishment? They're the license holder of the liquor license.

Yes. We were working on a bill to introduce to see if we could get past that. so we can go after the employers because the employers don't have any consequences and sometimes they don't train their employees. So to them it doesn't affect them at all. So with the new bill that we are hopefully still in the works to propose that the employers themselves have some consequences and they have to pay some type of fee or penalty.

Hmm. So detective par of the bill that you're referring to will come before the liquor licensing board for, I am hoping we're reviewing who's putting it together.

Please. It was Lieutenant Williams, Harry Williams, who?

Okay. And he's retired now. And, and did he leave the file behind?

Uh, we are working with our new Lieutenant.

Okay. So please, um, as quickly as possible because this is very serious, uh, that's a pretty large percentage of our children going in and getting alcohol.

Uh, just to mention it on the previous, uh, compliance checks with, we did do vapes, nicotine, alcohol, uh, tobacco and alcohol. And, uh, We don't have those numbers today, but they have sold vapes to minors and we were hoping to focus more on them in the future. They do sell a lot of, there's a lot of issues that we don't, we don't have the ordinances here to prohibit a lot of the prohibited items that Clark County and Vegas prohibit at tobacco shops. And we allow it because we simply don't have an ordinance for it and there is no NRS to prohibit those. Simple meth pipes are sold for 99 cents at some of the shops. Um, and we don't have anything to prohibit that.

So I appreciate the conversation. Uh, all of those items are, are all inclusive and, and so should be incorporated in the proposed bill that you're going to help put together. And if you need some help, uh, please contact, uh, of course the sheriff is the chair of the liquor licensing, uh, uh, board. We have... Is it Commissioner Koenig is the vice chair for the liquor licensing, and every one of us is on the committee. So you're welcome to reach out to us from our experience, background, and expertise to help you with this bill. This is very important. I sincerely appreciate that. Okay, so thank you for the conversation and answering the questions.

You're welcome. Can I get in for one second and ask a question? Of course. Because I saw the... after those things were done. I thought a couple of those places got shut down for like a week or so because of what they did.

That's not a compliance check for this, for selling 200 each. That was them not having their sheriff's card at that time. So we temporarily shut some of those.

I was told they didn't sell enough product, Commissioner.

I thought when they didn't have a sheriff's card, it only affected the person that didn't have the sheriff's card.

Yes, that's different than the compliance checks for underage sellers.

Right, but underage, I thought some of those places got shut down, but maybe I'm wrong.

No, that's what we're trying to work on.

Rhinestones got shut down.

No, that's incorrect.

Okay.

Thank you again. Thank you, folks. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Part of the problem with those vapes is they market them to kids. I mean, they literally, which is a whole separate issue. Commissioner Strickland.

Thank you, Chair. I thought the board might find it interesting that we had 26 people that spoke during general public comment. Of those 26, five wanted to speak about the two-minute discussion while only three went longer than the two minutes. Of those three was Ms. Fortain, who is speaking, Ms. Hollis, and Mr. Garcia. Mr. Garcia has often, along with others, commented about how we don't have the right to reduce the time. and that we don't have the right to remove people. And yet it is in the rules and regulations for conduct for the Board of County Commissioners, and it's on the front of your agenda. It's always been there. We're trying to conduct the business of the county and respect you for being able to speak on every single item, unless it's a presentation only. And I take exception to what Mr. Garcia said, and I'm not going to sit still. Mr. Garcia, I'd like to read to you Romans 12, 10. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. We do our best here to show you honor. Please do the same. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Commissioner Koenig. I don't even need two minutes today. I have nothing.

We ready, sir? My comments are this. We have not had a recent water study in a long, long, long time. Nobody can tell you or me where we are with water. Some will say the sky is falling, we have no water, and others will say I have wells that are artesianing. So until we get an actual good study, we don't know. Clark County, it is scheduled. Clark County, in their public comment, they have three minutes in the beginning to comment on any item on the agenda, no individual comment during each item, and three minutes at the end. We are not doing that. We could, certainly, but we're not doing that so that you guys can all have a chance to speak because I do believe in that. I was one of the ones that fought to keep the phone system before I took office, back when you guys had that on the agenda before. The other thing I want to talk about real quick is I saw a report of the 17 counties in the state of Nevada. Nye County ranked the saddest, sad, like the most sad people in the county of all of the 17 counties. And I just find that really upsetting. and disturbing because look, as I've told you before, we're all in this, like me, don't like me, whatever. We're all here together. We're all invested here. We all spend our time here. And man, I just think that's really upsetting that it's that way.

Excuse me, Chair, if it'll be any help to you on that, those stats. Yes, is that study was conducted in California. Sure.

Anyway, that's all I have. Thank you all for being here. Let's get on.

Chair, we still have more managers that need to provide reports. Okay. I thought they were done.

I just wanted to make a correction. Zena Teich, T-E-I-C-H. One of the public comments about the Debt Management Committee said that they meet four times a year. It's actually twice a year. They meet in August and in February.

Okay. Thank you. Sam, is that it?

No. I have an update. So the Nye County Veterans Banner Program application process will be starting up in November. These are the banners that we see hung in the Calvada Eye here. We also have a couple up at the Justice Complex in Tonopah. So the application process starts October. It ends in December. We'll be reviewing applications and creating the updated banners and getting them hung. The current banners will be retired via a ceremony on Memorial Day and the new banners will be up by Veterans Day of 2027. So the applications are available in our administration offices. Just right down the hall here or at the Tonopah admin office. You can also get them from our website, NyeCountyNV.gov. And... We will be making our selections in January.

Thank you. Anyone else, please?

That was it.

We're going to close that and take a 10-minute potty break. I'm ready if you are. Okay, let's continue on number four because I don't think I closed it. Commissioner Koenig had a comment.

The comment was made about our new sign, about thousands of dollars. That sign cost $154. Sorry, guys. You tried to get us again and it didn't work. Darn it. Thank you.

That's it? That was your comment? All right, closing four. Five it is.

Item five, approval of the agenda for September 15, 2026. Commissioners will be pulling item six on page one. Item 22 and 23 on page five. And also 25, number 25. 22, 23, 25. Yes.

22, 23, and 25. All right. Thank you for that, Lorena. Let's go to seven. Seven.

Item seven, 10 o'clock a.m., fiscal year 2027 community development block grant CDBG public meeting. A, presentation, discussion, and possible direction to staff regarding applications received, and B, invite the public to provide comment on suggestions regarding potential applications.

Thank you for that. Hello. How are you?

Good morning, Commissioner Stephanie Elliott, E-L-L-I-O-T-T. Just want to thank you for your time this morning.

Go ahead, if you'll go ahead and show that.

We're just going to put up on the screen the proposed projects. And really excited to share that we had five fantastic Nye County applications, and we did receive one sponsored application that will not be moving forward. And these are all for our Northern or Commissioner District 1 area. Of these five applications, we would like today, at the end of the presentation, direction to staff on which ones we should move forward as submitting for applications to CDBG. That will then determine if these projects are eligible for the Community Development Block Grant or infrastructure grants that are available. I do want to point out that Nye County will be very fortunate to get full funding for one grant project. We have been advised that we would not be eligible for any more than two grant projects. As you can see on the screen, we've got total cost projects of near $5 million, and we're asking CDBG for almost 2.4 million. There is only $3 million available for the entire state, and that would be for non-entitlement grants. I would also like to say that our grant administrator, Stephanie Erga, she invited the four different applicants to come into chambers. I do see that there are some even in Tonopah or even by phone if the commission would have any questions on the submitted applications or any information provided in the backup. And then other than that, we are inviting public comment on these five proposed projects. So if there's any questions for me or for the applicants, please let us know. Thank you.

Thank you very much. All right. Let's open this up for public comment, please. Do we have anybody on the phone, please, Sam?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Oh, yes. Amy Nelson, N-E-L-S-O-N. I know Round Mountain is having some issues up there with water. and if they need to have their old town water system refurbished or replaced that would be where i would start but that's my opinion thank you thanks go ahead linda linda clark celia okay just a quick note

I begged for these screens to be used on a regular basis. I was told you didn't have anybody that could operate that system to show us out here in the community. But I do have a comment on it since we have it up there today that Deborah, excuse me, Stephanie provided for, but I can't read it. Thank you.

Come on up, Beth.

Beth Borasevich, B-O-R-Y-S-E-W-I-C-H. Um, I had two tremendous ideas to submit to this. However, after talking with Stephanie, um, I felt that she was telling me that what I had to say did not matter and that I should take it. One of them was for the animal clinic or the animal shelter. I was going to set up a nonprofit, which was friends of. Nye County Animal Shelter. And I just threw it out. And the other one was to help people in town that are having trouble cleaning up their lots. We were going to establish another little company that was going to be called Homeowner Assistance Cleanup. And we would put together little groups and send them out to help people clean things up and we were gonna ask for some money for that. But I threw that one out too because I didn't get any support and I'm really upset about that. Thanks.

Thank you, Sam. Anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair, the caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Patricia Robb, R-O-B-B. I just want to say the reason why I submitted for Kearney Court It's because it's a small little cul-de-sac. There is water and sewer that runs along Kearney Street. The two corner houses have water and sewer. I figured it is considered to be a utility-challenged area, and it's not a massive area, so I was trying to keep the cost down. A cul-de-sac is not going to cost as much as an entire area to get water and sewer in so i'm just trying to help somewhere but it was turned down because there was no planning building permit issued well i do know that maurice and cynthia francis from 2561 kearney court did want to build but they were turned away because they would have to provide the infrastructure for the entire block The people at, I believe it's 2520, has been trying to sell their lot for over a year now because there is no water and sewer there. So again, just trying to help. Of course, no one can build. So when they say there's no plans to build, that's because they can't build. They can't build if there's no water and sewer there. So that's why I submitted that, just to let you know. Thank you.

Thank you. Come on down, Debra.

Deborah Thomas, T-H-O-M-A-S. That is what I talk about when I'm talking about water. And I think it's really, really important that we pass the... projects that will make the biggest difference to the most of your constituents. We don't want worthless water, worthless land, worthless homes. We need to have water and good, healthy water. Thank you. Oh, I was late today because the Well Owners Association was Measuring how deep our well had gone it went from in the time the nine and a half years. We've been here it went from 58 feet to 72 feet I don't know if that's a lot or a little But because I was kind of headed out the door when they told us. Thank you.

Thank you Sam do we have anybody on the phone please?

Yes chair the caller is unmuted Please speak and spell your name for the record

Hello, Commissioners. Michael David Garcia, GARCIA. Can you hear me?

Go ahead, sir.

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Given the, are you okay? Is somebody banging out or having an absolute? Hello? Can you all hear me? You said yes. Hello? I was wondering the banging, you know, are we still dealing with self-gratification? But anyhow, I basically think, you know, Any state or federal agency that allows you to deal with public grants, considering the obvious dip in your margins, is outright criminal. So just the fact that you're able to practice this area, given the light of the disdain against the people and basically state and federal guidelines, You know, somebody's going to be held accountable here pretty soon. You know, there's assurities that come with those, and just your rules, ordinances, and regulations don't supersede those. But one of these days, we're going to have a wake-up call. And maybe we should start with the First Amendment. You know what I mean? How much more time do I have? Maybe I should be able to make use of my full two minutes here. Y'all get more than two minutes, and we get two minutes. First Amendment, do we have a right to criticize our government? Maybe we should start there. Sheriff, DA. CHRIS RODGERS.

Sir, what does this have to do with the agenda item, please?

CHRIS RODGERS. Management.

CHRIS RODGERS. Sir? CHRIS RODGERS. Oh, I just want to state. CHRIS RODGERS. Okay. He's done. Moving on. Sam, do we have anybody else on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Royal Bankton, A-R-R-O-Y-O-B-Y-I-N-G-T-O-N. I work for Beatty General Improvement District. I am one that has submitted a proposal today. I just wanted to say thank you to Stephanie Urga who answered all the questions that I had both via email and phone call. I think she's very well versed in the CDBG guidelines when it comes to this grant. I had the opportunity to go to the Silver State Grants and Procurement Conference and from what I gathered there, is that the CDBG has very strict things that you can apply this grant to, so I just want to say thank you. I'm new to branch everything, so I felt like I had the support I needed to submit my application, and thank you guys for providing this opportunity.

Thank you. Anybody else, Sam, please?

No, Chair.

All right, we're going to close public comment. Commissioners?

Were you interested in hearing from any of the applicants if they're here?

Are there any applicants here? It's up to you guys.

Joe Weston is here.

Come on up, sir. Either of you sirs. Good morning, commissioners.

would you like me to just give you a briefing on our application again?

Yep. Spell your last name and then a briefing would be great. A brief briefing.

Okay. Joe Westerlund, Tonopah Town Manager. Last name is W-E-S-T-E-R-L-U-N-D. And the project that we submitted for the CDBG grant is approximately $700,000 to bridge the gap we have on our SRF grant that we're getting. Back in 2020, our population was 1,799 per the state demographer. This year it came out, it's 3,074. So we're seeing a huge increase in our population. And we had a PER done by Shaw Engineering, finished up earlier in the year. And that showed that we have a storage deficit on our ARAT mountain tanks. That tank feeds directly down to the Sierra Vista area and also serves as a reservoir to supply water to our other tanks in town. We're seeing a huge influx of people coming in from all the mining activities that we have around the area. Goldfield just opened up their construction portion of their project. Those people are coming into town. We don't have a lot of rentals in town. We have developers that are trying to meet with us and come in and start doing things. And it ties our hands because we have There are certain restrictions on those tanks that we have the deficit on, which there's fire restrictions. We can't take those tanks down to a certain level. We want to install a 500,000 gallon tank up on the Arat Mountain. And total price of that is about $3.1 million. I also wanted to say that we have participated in the CDBG grant programs before, along with other state and federal programs. We have never we have always been on time and reported everything that we are required to do, and we've closed out everything on time. So we have a really great record with the CDBG, and we have a great record with the state of Nevada.

All right. Thank you, Joe. Come on up, sir.

Okay. Oh, thank you.

Hello, my name is Benjamin Magana. Excuse me, M-A-G-A-N-A. I am the new general manager for Beatty Water and Sanitation District. A new face just took over on June 1st of this year. We submitted two projects. The most important one is the, sorry for the long title, the EW4 Well and Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project. and arsenic treatment plant improvement project. Just to summarize that, the treatment plant has three filter media vessels that are used to remove the arsenic that comes in from the well. And the current media, we recently did a, we had some sampling done from the company who built it out of New Jersey in August. And we got the lab results and it's reached its maximum lifespan, just about. And to confirm that, the last two quarters of our arsenic testing, the EPA, which the state of Nevada follows, sets the maximum contaminant level for 0.010, which is 10 parts per billion of arsenic in the water. And our quarter two testing was at 0.015. parts-per-billion just over and our quarter three years at point zero one one we know that we have to uh... definitely change out the filter media and take care of this problem uh... e w four goes hand-in-hand with it because it's the water source that feeds the water into the arsenic treatment plant removal and that has occurrence parts-per-billion count of about thirty to thirty four it's already over the MCL and as the water comes into the arsenic plant, it strips it and removes it and gets it down to below the level. So that project, I've turned everything in. The only thing we're in the process of is completing the environmental assessment. It's pretty much complete. We just have to send out the letters to the respective agencies associated with that.

Say something about the project.

I know that project is a little over 600,000, about 595,686 would be CDBG grant funds. We do have some in-kind amount. A LITTLE OVER 14,000. THE ONLY REASON I SUBMITTED THE SECOND PROJECT WAS I WASN'T SURE OF HOW MUCH FUNDING WAS AVAILABLE AND MAYBE THOUGHT, WISHFUL THINKING MAYBE WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT APPLY. SO WE SUBMIT A SECOND PROJECT AND OR IN CASE, THE SECOND PROJECT IS A LITTLE OVER 200,000 AND THAT'S IN REGARDS TO SCADA UPGRADES FOR THE WELL SITES. ALSO TO PUT IN SOME TRANSFER SWITCHES TO THE Generators and some of the well sites in case the event the power goes out automatic transfer switches kick on and the well and the Wells keep running as well as the plan like I said that one I put that one in just in case there was a limited amount of applicants more funding or maybe the board decided hey, we'll go with a smaller budget and that one is obviously, you know a third of the cost of the first project so I I'd like to thank you guys for your time and consideration.

Thank you very much. I'm going to transfer back to Tonopah.

James Swaggart, S-W-I-G-A-R-T. I'm the town manager at Round Mountain.

And with me is... Josh Yost, Y-O-S-T, down at Round Mountain, public works manager.

Before... let Josh explain the project. And this is our first time submitting for a grant. So, but I want to talk a little bit about the history, history of Unique Round Mountain. And I encourage everyone to go to Google Earth and pull up that area, Smoky Valley, and encourage everyone to come on out. But Round Mountain, Old Round Mountain is what we call it. There's only eight residents up there. But it was built in 1906. It was started mining again through the 30s, 40s, 70s. And then they had a big discovery and started with the open pit. And Round Mountain Gold, who was number one taxpayer for Nye County for many, many, many years, they decided to move the town down to an alfalfa field where Hadley is. So Ramon gold moved it. Everyone down except for just a handful of people in old town. So Hadley was, was pretty much built by, and it has everything come on out. We have a school, we have a pool, we have a golf course, right? So bring your clubs. It, uh, left Old Town, which deteriorated over the years. But there's close to 250 lots up there. So we have the necessity and the need to repair the infrastructure for the water system. But we do have an opportunity to create a whole new town for Nye County. If you look at Zillow, Zillow is, uh, and you look at the prompt areas, other areas, there's a lot of red dots. You go look at round mountain area and that includes the Carver's area. Also don't want to exclude them, but there's not a lot of housing up there. It's a, the opportunity to turn old town and it's just a bit of vision. I might not ever see it, but it has the potential. Once the mining is done, become a Jerome, Arizona, or become a Virginia City, Nevada. The potential, it's there. And I think necessity and opportunity. With that said, I'll let Josh explain the project a little bit.

So what we're looking to do up there is fix a failing infrastructure. We have decaying pipes, our tanks in disarray at best. So what we're asking for is $620,000, and that would take care of relining the tank, the 300,000-gallon tank that's up there, replacing mains down to what you could call a subdivision. We're going into... all the roads, all the properties, all the lots that are up there and just being providing better water to, uh, the town that's up or the people who are up there already and the potential for more people to move up there.

Plus the maintenance, it's, uh, the maintenance that Josh and his crew and time and effort. It's like, uh, it's like making repairs on a 1972 Datsun pickup. Okay. I'm kind of dating myself there or at 2025 Tundra Toyota Tundra. So the costs are just, just, uh, they keep to increase year by year by year. And one thing about that ground up there is about four to five feet of sand and silt. So you never see a surface leak. Uh, so, We know we have a leak somewhere because our pumps are running longer and longer and longer. And that's just extra cost and waste of water also.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Go ahead, Stephanie.

With your permission, if we can check the phones. I know Autumn was on the phone earlier with a quick public comment, but she may like to talk about the project in more detail.

OK.

The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Our proposal is for the replacement and repair of the sidewalks in Cottonwood Park. We have been working on replacing the most critical points over the last few years, so Essentially, these sidewalks have been placed in the 1970s, 80s, and they're just coming to the part where they're crumbling, they're lifting, and they're just not really accessible for anyone with a handicap or wheelchair accessibility. We also have been working on making a continuous loop around Cottonwood Park for exercise, just to connect businesses, make it safer for people to walk outside of the road. And we did get 800 square feet along Armagosa Street. So we were really excited about that. And we have noticed there's been an uptake with usage. So now our next goal is to finish connecting that outer loop. That will require us working with the Beattytown Advisory Board and getting their permission to continue the sidewalk in their public easement area and then also to put that forth to Public Works for approval. And then other than that, we are looking at just the concrete paths inside the park. We had replaced around the concession stand as our first replacement. It was really pocketed and heavily damaged And we specifically noted around baby days that people were kind of tripping. It wasn't easy for those who were pushing people in wheelchairs. And so we just think that this is really important to our community and our community does have an older community and we would plan on continuing to. Make replacements as we go, but as I said, we've already made some replacements and we're looking at $60,000 over the last two years So we're hoping that you guys will consider our proposal here And support us in making this an accessible facility for our town Okay, thank you for that come on up Stephanie

Great projects, right? No, you did great. Really good.

Questions? Sorry, go ahead, sir.

Oh, don't be sorry. Very difficult.

No, we don't have to rank yet.

No.

That is correct. We'll come back in November for actual ranking. What we're doing today is submitting applications to the state CDBG program analyst to review and verify if these are considered eligible projects. They all look really good.

Through the Chair. Stephanie, thank you, and I think Stephanie.

Yeah, Erga did all of the hard leg work on this, guys.

Well, she usually does.

Thanks, thanks. Only kidding.

I had to make her smile back there. So if we can put this into perspective, We know that the state has $3 million for the 17 counties under the CDBG project this year. And of course, all of these requests are legitimately important. They all are, absolutely. So my question is, and I know through experience, we all know through experience that the CDBG panel goes through with a fine tooth comb and sometimes they reject the projects that are submitted to them. Sometimes they approve two, sometimes none, sometimes one. And we play the risk of that happening. So my question is, because I believe these are all so very important. My question is, are we able to consider an amount up to for these projects, four of the five projects, for example? Are we able to, here, let me be more specific, Stephanie. If we were to say we appreciate what their cost, their ultimate cost is going to be, but the lion's share of the monies we know are going to go to other counties. Are we able to say we'll give, for example, $200,000, up to $200,000 per project in hopes that it passes the second phase?

Are you stating that you would like Nye County to participate in the match?

Didn't say anything about the match. that if we cut down their requests to 200,000, for example, and then we'll try to help them figure out where to get the balance, and 200,000 looking at these projects, I mean, 200,000 is a lot of money, but it's almost 50% less or more than what their requests are.

So, Knight County would only be eligible for two Knight County grant awards in this next round.

Okay. And so, your confidence level of you and Stephanie working with CDBG in detail with these programs year after year... Do you suggest, would you suggest us giving an amount up to for those two projects that we're going to force rank in November?

I would not. I would recommend that we ask for the full CDBG funding request. One of the questions that they do ask is whether or not your project can be phased. So, for instance, we'll just start at the top. Let's say Cottonwood Park sidewalks is phased. approved the board likes it it's not only economic development it's infrastructure it's good for families but we can't give you the 265 we can only give you 200. it is possible that we may be able to accept less upon their recommendations the other question that they would also ask of every applicant is can this project be phased so in part of autumn's application it was phased out so yes We could take a portion of the funds that are available and awarded to us and do phase two and three, but we may have to come back next year to get phase four. Or in the meantime, I know each of these applicants were providing other grant availabilities and opportunities that are available within the state. So having a phased project approach will reduce the amount of CDBG funding that would be awarded, but then they have that anticipation of reporting and coming back the following year to finish out the project.

And it's not guaranteed?

That is correct.

Yes, okay. Any other questions?

Chair, I would like to see us put in all of them for review, see what CBDG comes back with. Then when we go back into it November 17th, we do our ranking and determine who rises to the top with the top two.

At that time, would you like them to do all of the applicants, assuming they're all eligible? I think they will be. Would you like to have another presentation with photos or any sort of formal presentation?

That would be a good idea.

And we'll do the limited time. Okay.

And through the chair, I will mention as well that there are other people that didn't submit their requests. The folks that did submit their request, please don't take it personal because the grants team, they know full well and they have the confidence of, you know what, we're not, and I'm not speaking for Stephanie or Stephanie Orga, okay? But they have the experience of what's been rejected in the past and not to waste any time or money or your time or money. Perhaps maybe the presentation or response wasn't received as well as expected and so I'll apologize to those folks that did submit or wanted to submit knowing that perhaps their idea was a good one but it just wasn't going to pass the test, right?

Thank you for your time.

So thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Okay. Moving on to number eight, please.

Item eight, 10 a.m. timed item for possible action, public hearing, discussion, and deliberation on ZC26-6, an application for a zone change to change one parcel from a rural estates residential to rural homestead residential. For a total of 4.6 acres located at 2091 West Quail Run Road, Pahrump, Nevada, assessor's parcel number 029551-05, Jennifer Wessel, property owner applicant. Thank you for that. Hello.

Thank you, Chair. Amanda Marshall, M-A-R-S-H-A-L-L. The Preempt Regional Planning Commission heard this item at their August 12, 2026 meeting. After discussion of the items, the PRPC voted 7 to 0 to recommend approval to the Board of County Commissioners. This item is a request for a zone change of one parcel totaling 4.6 acres from RE1. to RH 4.5 and conforms to the existing master plan. I'm available for any questions you may have. Thank you.

Thank you for that, Amanda. So let's go ahead and open public comment first, if you guys don't mind. Come on up. Nope.

Oh, I see. Thank you so much. I'm the applicant. My name is Jennifer Wessel, W-E-S-S-E-L. Look at this incredible opportunity we have today following a unanimous recommendation from the Regional Planning Commission. I am seeking the zone change for my home to bring complete municipal oversight, accountability, and full legal compliance to Riders Rescue Ranch, a 501 nonprofit. Our community has an animal welfare gap, and I believe my partner Chelsea and I have the exact space, passion, and expertise to fill it. We'd like to create a private sanctuary where animals, and humans come together to learn, heal, and thrive while remaining an exemplary, respectful neighbor. To ensure Riders Rescue Ranch's viability, without depending on fluctuating donations, the requested zone change allows for scheduled low-impact boarding, doggy daycare services, and a private dog park through the online platforms Rover and Sniff Spot. My operational plan strictly adheres to appointment-only services, reducing noise and traffic with a 10-minute drop-off and pickup interval to maintain a tranquil neighborhood atmosphere. Revenue generated through commercial business operations would help fund facility maintenance, outreach programs, animal feed, and emergency and continuous veterinary care. A self-sustaining business model that directly serves our county's residents while protecting its animals. Furthermore, business operations will actively support wildlife conservation and and ethical animal practices. I am educated in fear-free and at-liberty training methods. I've specialized in saving animals deemed too damaged or afraid and compassionately bringing out their best over time. I love teaching people about animals and their care, and it is my purpose in life to provide a safe haven where animals can heal and people can learn to develop a greater appreciation for the natural world. Some of us 4-H kids actually do grow up to lead the next generation of ethical agricultural practices. Now it is in my mission to share my unique abilities in understanding animal and human behavior developed from years of professional experience and community service.

Thank you very much. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair, the caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

My name is Courtney Wolf, W-O-L-F-F. calling in support of the zone change for riders rescue ranch my sister chelsea nolan is the treasurer there has always had a love and passion for animals and animal rescue i have visited the ranch myself often with my young daughter it's a beautiful sanctuary and i believe the approval of a zone change will be beneficial and a positive impact on the community thank you thank you come on down the front please

Good morning. My name is Chelsea Nolan and O L E N. I am the vice president and treasurer of writers rescue ranch. Our ranch is not simply about providing sanctuary education and inspiration are at the heart of what we want to accomplish. We want writers rescue ranch to be a place where people of all abilities and backgrounds feel welcome. That includes sensory friendly experiences geared towards individuals who may benefit from a lower sensory environment. A study of children with autism found that when dogs were present, the children's morning cortisol response dropped from a 58% to only 10%. Then when the dogs were temporarily removed, it rose again to 48%. Cortisol is one of the body's primary stress hormones. That is a striking statistic behind the idea that animals provide a calming, regulating presence. We also hope to create opportunities specifically for our veterans. An average of 17 veterans die by suicide each day. While animals are not a replacement for professional mental health care, we believe creating opportunities for connection, service, and meaningful interaction can be a valuable part of a healing journey, a segue that some people need to get the professional mental health care that they deserve. Our onsite educational programs will be intentionally small, allowing us to prioritize safety, animal welfare and meaningful interaction while complying with all federal, state and county regulations. Our community engagement will not stop at the ranch. We envision bringing programs to schools, libraries, hospitals, senior centers, community organizations, festivals, and other local venues. Programs such as art classes, nature workshops, photography days, wellness programs, future zookeeper events, and community service projects. every one of these programs serving the same purpose, to support our rescued animals while creating opportunities for people to learn, connect, heal, and develop a greater appreciation for the natural world. I respectfully ask for your approval of the requested zone change so that we can take the next steps towards making this a vision for Pahrump.

Thank you very much. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Yes, Amy Nelson. In the LSON, I was at the meeting where this was approved, and I'm torn with it because they do such great work. But I am absolutely against any zone changes with our, I can't remember the name of our plan, the county plan. But it sounds like it's going to do a lot of good for a lot of people. And in my opinion, this is a tough call. Thank you.

Thank you. Come on up, sir. Hi, my name is Ryan Milliken, M-I-L-L-I-K-E-N. I just want to state I am one of those people that are currently benefiting from the farm. My best friend, Oso, goes there for daycare. I had the honor of meeting Chelsea and Jennifer roughly a year and a half ago when I was searching for daycare for my rescued best friend, Mr. Oso Wilde. who also had some things to say at this meeting, but I promised him I'd represent both of us, and I feel confident I can do that. Oso and I interviewed three of the highest recommended doggy daycares in Perum. One didn't show for the scheduled meetup. The other was a bubbly young woman who Oso thought was a bit flighty and motioned to me that it was a hard pass. And then there was Jennifer and Chelsea. I could tell just by the way they approached Oso, letting him decide on his own path. who he was going to choose, and he chose them. Little did Oso and I know that we had struck gold, and that gold was evident in their hearts, in their highly conscious, loving, empathetic, and tenacious tenacity. As a side note, we discussed over lobster rolls in conversation one day that we shared the same dream of operating a rescue farm. After my tour of the farm, my dream suddenly became real and achievable. I followed them around, watching excitedly how they interacted with each animal. I could feel a deep respect and love in each encounter with the animals. We all know a relative or friend who seems to communicate well with the animals in a way that is rare and intuitive and sometimes to be mesmerized. It occurred to me that day why these women would want to share their rich and full life that they had created out of pure love with the public. When your heart is so full each day from doing what you love, eventually it pours out into your community. What I see these two women overfilled with gratitude, hope, and dreams, that others will see the immense value and hope in the dreams of others.

Thank you very much. I'm sorry. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

yes chair the caller is unmuted please speak and spell your name for the record my name is monica zavala z-a-v-a-l-a i'm calling this morning because i want to speak in support of jennifer wessel and her request to open riders rescue ranch as a non-profit rescue i've known jen for over 20 years and i can honestly say that caring for animals has always been something She takes very seriously. She has the knowledge, experience, and compassion that I believe are so important when running a rescue. Jennifer has extensive experience with stage husbandry and understands what it takes to properly care for animals, from appropriate housing and sanitation to nutrition handling, enrichment, and keeping animals safe and healthy. She also worked for many years as a veterinary tech, so she has a strong background in animal health. She knows how to recognize when something isn't right how to provide appropriate care, and when an animal needs further veterinary attention. One of the things I really admire about Jen is that she is willing to help animals that may have behavioral issues and or special needs. She doesn't give up on an animal just because it's difficult or doesn't behave the way someone expects. She takes the time to understand the animal and figure out how to work with it. I know this personally because I've reached out to her many times for help with my own pets including pet rats my dog and even a leopard gecko i've gone to her with questions about different animals in different situations and she always has been willing to help share her knowledge and offer guidance that says a lot about the kind of person she is and the kind of care she wants to provide like i said i've known her for more than two decades and i trust her knowledge her judgment and most importantly her commitment to the animals she cares for I believe that Riders Rescue Ranch would be a wonderful resource for animals in need of a positive addition and a positive addition to the community. Any community would be lucky to have Jen and the services and knowledge she can provide as a resource. She has the experience, compassion, and heart to make Riders Rescue Ranch something truly special. I'm asking you to please support her zoning request and give her the opportunity to make Riders Rescue Ranch a reality. Thank you for letting me speak this morning and I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you. Come on down, please.

Well, I was going to say good morning, but I guess it's afternoon now. Hi, my name is Helen Wessel, W-E-S-S-E-L. My husband and I flew here from Chicago to be here in person today and proudly speak on behalf of our daughter, Jennifer Lynn Wessel and Chelsea Nolan. in their vision to establish and lead an animal rescue and sanctuary here in Pahrump. Running an animal rescue and sanctuary is not just about a love for animals. It requires grit, unwavering resilience, financial strategy, and the ability to inspire a community. Jennifer and Chelsea together embodies every single one of these traits. Jennifer's mission isn't a recent ambition. It is the culmination of a lifelong calling. From the time she was a little girl, our home was a revolving door for creatures sick, injured or in need. She would rehabilitate lost strays, baby birds, tiny squirrels and raccoons who had lost their mother. With endless patience, she would nurse them back to health, protect them and carefully release them back into nature where they belonged. Jennifer discovered her life's purpose in those early moments of quiet healing. After Jennifer grew, she transformed that childhood compassion into formidable professional expertise as a certified wildlife rehabilitator. With her education in criminal justice and conservation, followed by a career of specialty veterinary experience as an emergency room nurse, she has managed critical medical cases and deeply understands the physical and emotional demands of rehabilitation. Her transition into hospital management, where she successfully ran three emergency veterinary hospitals in Las Vegas, demonstrates her ability to oversee budgets, navigate complex logistics, and lead high performing teams under immense pressure. But Jen's capability goes far beyond the clinic walls. She is a gifted trainer with a profound, intuitive understanding of animal behavior. Whether she is working to really... Oh, darn.

Thank you.

Please vote yes. Please.

Sam, do we have anybody on the phone?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Come on down and prompt, please.

Good afternoon, my name is Melissa Stearns, S-T-E-A-R-N-S. I volunteer with Chelsea and Jen at their farm. They are very compassionate about everything that they do. Right down from when I walked in the door, I had a list of check off things that I have to achieve before they will allow me to spend time one on one with the animals. Since my meeting with them, I have had the opportunity of taking my grandchildren over there, and they are phenomenal. They get down at their level, they talk to them, they educate them, and it's amazing that they have a porcupine. Where would you find a porcupine in Pahrump other than a Jen and Chelsea's place? My grandson absolutely loves going over and playing with Sid. They have tortoises, they have All kinds of different animals, and like they have mentioned, they do do special needs animals as well. I mean, they have some that are missing limbs, but they're just so well taken care of, and their place is just amazing. I've seen other farms around town that aren't nearly as clean as Wetchen and Chelsea have. Their lot is completely cleared off. They have proper fencing. They have proper water for their animals. And they are just amazing people. And I just think that this would benefit our town and our community and even our kids with not so much to do here in Pahrump. I think it would be an asset to us all. Thank you. Thank you. Come on down in Pahrump, please.

My name is Jim Goss, G-O-O-S-S. One thing I'm not going to do is tear into everybody up here. You pretty well got beat up this morning, so I'll let you take it easy. I was going to say a whole bunch of stuff about Jen and Chelsea, but it's all been said. Everything that I could think of to say has been said. Has any one of you driven out by Check out the place? Oh, really? How many, if you don't mind me asking? One, two, three. I commend you on that, I really do. But no, but you can't ask for two better people. My dog goes out there and chases or loves the porcupine and the turtle. Don't ask me why, but she does. She's husky. But I can't say any more than anybody else has said. Everything they've said, times a hundred. That's the type of people they are, and they're good. And you need to vote yes. Get this taken care of, and let them go. They've been working for a long time.

Thank you, sir. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

DAVID WESSEL JR.: Good morning, commissioners. My name is David Wessel Jr., W-E-S-S-E-L. And I'm calling from Illinois today in support of my little sister, Jennifer Wessel, Riders Rescue Ranch, and her zone change request, ZC266. First, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on her behalf. Jennifer is my little sister, so obviously I love her and want to see her succeed. But I'm not asking you to support ZC266. simply because my sister, I'm asking you to consider what she has built, the work she has put into it, and what Riders Rescue Ranch is trying to accomplish. I have the privilege of watching Jennifer growing up into the woman she is today. When she decides something matters to her, she puts her whole heart into it, and Riders Rescue Ranch is one of those things. This isn't just a hobby to Jennifer. She has put her own time, money, energy, and countless hours into giving animals a safe place when they need one. Rescue work isn't easy. Animals need to be fed and cared for every single day. There are veterinary expenses, cleaning, property maintenance, and unexpected situations that don't happen at a convenient schedule. Jennifer willingly takes on those responsibilities because she believes those animals deserve someone who will care for them. I also understand why we're here today. Zoning regulations exist for a reason, and I completely respect the responsibility this board has to consider the surrounding neighborhood, the property, and the community as a whole. The request before you, ZC266, would change Jennifer's approximate 4.6 acre property from rural estate residential, RE1, to rural homestead residential, RH4.5. I hope you consider that request. or you also consider what Jennifer is actually trying to accomplish on that property. Riders Rescue Ranch isn't some large commercial development coming into Pahrump. Looking to change the character of the community. Thank you, sir. Come on down, ma'am.

I'm Ann Aldrich, A-L-D-R-I-C-H. My husband was not able to come with me. He's ill. But we are in support of the zoning change for the applicant of Jennifer. We are grateful for Jennifer and her partner, Chelsea, and the rescue. We lost our dog, Sitter, a few years ago. And we have a special needs dog that we did rescue here from the Nye County shelter. We found out that he has issues with seizures. So we found somebody that was helpful and knowing, understanding to take care of him in the need of, you know, he needed care. We visited the property at various times over the past couple years. I can see that the animals in their areas are clean, they're well cared for. Their house is more spotless than mine and they have tons of animals. They're both very knowledgeable. They've told me about different animals when we've gone around. My dog loves the pigs. He's pictured on there. I trust that they can care for him when he has the seizures. I'm asking the board to commissioners to approve the application by Miss Wessel, change the property zoning. We need somebody here in Pahrump that is trustworthy and caring for the animals, and Jen is that person, and I thank you.

Thank you. Come on down in Pahrump, please.

Angelina Jackson, JAC, KSON. My first encounter and only encounter with these two young ladies was at the planning commission when they were applying, presenting in front of them at that time. And I know you guys get a lot of people come in front of you that are applying for applications to be rescues and all that. And these two, I don't know. If you may talk to them for just five minutes, it'll tell you right then and there. And you can see it in them that the passion that they have and that the love and dedication that they actually have, it's not something you know do fly by night. It's in their soul. If there should be any exception to any kind of zone changing, this would be the one. Not only will the animals benefit from it, but the entire community will. I strongly believe that. That's children, you know, teenagers could go there and volunteer instead of roaming the streets. There's a lot more benefits to it than anything else that's been presented in front of you. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Come on down and prompt, please.

Hello, Vanessa Fernandez, F-E-R-N-A-N-D-E-Z. Good afternoon, commissioners. I'm here today on behalf of our organization, Southwestern Wilds, to state that we are in strong support of Riders Rescue and their request for approval. With decades of experience in equine and animal welfare, we have high expectations of the organizations we choose to work with. As fellow 501 nonprofits, we've developed a collaborative relationship with Riders Rescue, and we've come to know and respect the work they do. Throughout this process, they have risen to every challenge and requirement the county has placed before them. They've made the necessary adjustments, continued moving forward, and done what has been asked of them. Good intentions alone are not enough in animal rescue. Experience, sound judgment, and responsible care matter. And Riders Rescue has demonstrated those qualities. They bring another valuable resource to Nye County and to the animals who need it. It's time to elevate what our animals deserve. Southwestern Wilds proudly supports the ladies of Riders Rescue, and we respectfully ask this board to grant their approval. Thank you.

Thank you, Vanessa. Come on down to the front, please.

Renee Jones, day ONES, Southwestern Wilds. Just want to let you know I am in support for their zone change, and mainly people were talking at the planning commission. They're worried about the noise and all that, and like I told them, if you go over there, My two chihuahuas are louder than their whole farm. So basically, they're amazing with collaborative efforts, with mental health, with disability. They're amazing. Go over there and make an appointment and take a tour of their facility. It's amazing, and I vote for this.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Yes, Tim Bohannon, B-O-H-A-N-N-O-N. had the opportunity of listening on this one with the regional planning in August. And I'll tell you what, what you're seeing here is, I think Commissioner Cox would have said, is a no brainer. You've got, in the presentation that they gave at RPC, you're talking about the ability of proper training. You're talking about capabilities You're talking about a very solid operation. In fact, I believe Christie Sigmund put it best, I wish more rescues and properties were as organized and as clean as this one. So to me, this is an easy call. And you've got, there were a lot of people speaking in favor at RPC. You can see it now. You have neighbors that did. and very few concerns at all from what I saw, other than general, hey, just make sure there's no smell and things of that nature. You've got a good operation here, good opportunity. Take it.

Thanks, Tim. Come on down up front, please.

Hi, my name is Pam Seegmiller, S-E-E-G.

There you go.

Pam Seegmiller, S-E-E-G-M-I-L-L-E-R. I live exactly next door to these women. And I recommend that you guys give them the rezoning. I don't smell anything.

I don't hear anything.

But those are seasonal. But I love them. I love all the animals. I have seen firsthand what they do. It's a miracle. I've seen what they have done. with horses and donkeys and other animals. It's amazing. Please give them the rezoning. Thank you.

Thank you. Come on down in Pahrump, please.

Dan Pineau, P-I-N-E-A-U. I think this would be a great asset to our community, not only for the kids, but the animals. We all know that there's not much for kids to do here, and for them to go out there, I think it would be great. I ask that you guys vote yes to support this. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

Come on down and parent please.

Morning commissioners, my name is David Wessel senior. I address you today to express. my enthusiastic support for the proposed animal nonprofit initiative, spearheaded by my daughter Jennifer Lynn Wessel and Chelsea Nolan, who are present today. In my personal visits to Pahrump, I have seen firsthand how deeply your community values the safety and well-being of all inhabitants, including your local animal population. present to vouch for Jennifer and Chelsea's character capability and unwavering dedication to this cause from a very young age Jennifer had shown her trust to nature and it's incredible love given back to her while visiting sandy pond Baxter State Park in a state of Maine Jennifer who was only nine years of age turned to me with this passion and I quote she said dad I can talk to the animals Positioning herself at the water's edge, she carefully called out into the open lake, for there was a seven-foot female northern moose diligently grazing up and down. It was literally the length of two football fields away. But somehow, her simple gesture to communicate in a language between the two was remarkable. While calling, she had brought that incredible animal within five feet of our standing. Jennifer and Chelsea continually demonstrate a profound spiritual compassion for animals and a remarkable sense of responsibility. Whether caring for horses at home, volunteering at local rescue groups, fostering injured or abused animals of all kinds, Jennifer reflects skills needed for this task. Her career over 20 years has allowed her to master one-on-one experiences of all facets of the profession while studying animal science and behavior along the way.

Thank you, sir, very much. And it's W- Sorry. No, you're fine. W-E-S-S-E-L, for the record.

Come on down, Linda.

You didn't spell it.

Linda Clark, C-L-A-R-K. I attended the meeting at the Planning Commission, and I was really quite impressed with these people. I wish we had more. I mean, we've got Christie, and we're all thankful for that. We've got the horse rescue. We're thankful for them. And we need these. We have too many animals running around and hurt, injured, lost, you name it, we have it. It's disgusting. So my point today is, with all the stuff that comes before this board, good or bad, unfortunately seems to be mostly bad lately, Why would we not say yes to these people? I'm sure you will. I'm positive you will. And if you don't, you've got a lot of people out here that hate you, and you know that. OK, so we approve all these other things. You've got your choices. You've got data centers. You've got all this med waste crap. You've got glove factories. All this stuff that come before us, I know, Deborah, it's not on the agenda. So this is my question. You have choices here. We change codes. We change zoning for all these other people. They're asking for something very simple, and no one's objecting to their neighborhood and what's going on. We have to say yes. It makes absolutely common sense, and I hope you still find that.

Thank you for that. There's that negative again. Nobody's a bigger animal lover up here than me. Come on down, sir.

Yes, here we go. My name is Angel Moreno, still, M-O-R-E-N-O. I got a quick question for you folks. What do you call a porcupine riding on a tortoise's back? A slowpoke. So, I want to tell you that because, oh, first of all, I'm their neighbor down the street. Love these girls. I'm not going to tell you about all their incredible, because you've heard it plenty of lifetimes over. So, my joke came from actually meeting their porcupine. And they're turtles, and the ducks, and the chickens, and pigs, and everything. In fact, we spent a couple days over there helping them clean up and work with stuff there. I got to see just incredible stuff. I learned about the porcupine story. quite a bit from them just when I was there. And it caused me to look into them more and just randomly, you know how the internet is now, I come across stuff and my wife found that joke. So mom, just to say this is that they create that desire to learn. There's an incredible amount of therapy. I had a stroke, and I will tell you this, my animals and fur babies and chickens and everything are very therapeutic. It's very therapeutic. You would not believe until you've actually seen it or gone through it. So my ask is please say yes.

Thank you, Mr. Marino. I appreciate it. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Good afternoon, commissioners. My name is Jim Nolan, N-O-L-E-N, and I'm calling in support of this agenda item. The property owner is thoughtfully requesting to rezone their 4.6 acre parcel from RE1 to RH 4.5. This slight adjustment to the zoning will have zero negative effect on the prompt area. Jennifer Wessel is a seasoned veterinary manager, and Chelsea Nolan is an experienced care provider and professional marine biologist. They're both humanitarians, experienced professionals in the care of animals, the land, the community, and how a rural property should be used very seriously. This request fits their standards. The change is modest and appropriate for this site. It's 4.6 acre parcel that's consistent with RH 4.5 and compatible with the rural character of the area and the master plan. It's a reasonable site specific adjustment that will provide needed services to the front area. This is a positive step in building a stronger community. The application has already received support. It's needed through the first hearing and was recommended unanimously to this board for permanent approval. I ask that you honor that recommendation and approve the zone change today. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Come on down. As soon as we can vote.

Good morning. Julia Musall, M-U-S-A-L-L. Ten years ago, there was another animal foundation here. And I began with it from day one before anything was even built. And It was a sad day when it closed after two years. It was very beneficial to veterans with their PSDD. Kids came up and volunteered, it was very nice. And it provided a lot of help for the community. The animals that were adopted out, We were very strict on who took these animals. So I am very happy to hear that we have another foundation available. And the animals, the pictures got me. But then when the mother talked about her daughter, It's very heartwarming to hear it, and they seem, oh, don't cry. I know, they seem very qualified, very loving, and I just hope that you guys allow this, because our community does need it. Thank you.

Thank you. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair, the caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Hi, my name is Lillian Gagnon, last name G-A-G-N-O-N. I'm calling in from Sparks, Nevada for the support of Jen. I've been good friends and colleagues with both Chelsea and Jennifer for close to a decade now. I've worked professionally with them in a zoological setting and also in a veterinary setting with Jennifer. They've both shown integrity and vast knowledge and love for their fellow creatures. It's for that reason that Jennifer has become my best friend. She was my maid of honor, and she's had my back multiple times throughout the decade. Her ability to run a rescue shouldn't be in question. It is without a doubt to me that she'll show this community what love and compassion can do when it is given proper authority to operate. That being said, after hearing all the testimony and uh sitting down and listening to everything that just went on i think you guys will make the right decision today thank you thank you come on christy christy sigmundus i e g m u n d

Manager Animal Services. I'm going to keep what I have to say really short and just say ditto to everybody who has already spoken. From an Animal Services standpoint, I have zero concerns. I have had the privilege of working with these ladies. I have had the privilege of touring their facility. Truly, I wish more. As Tim Bohannon said, I wrote in my report that we had rescues and sanctuaries and organizations like theirs.

Thank you for that, Kristi. And I also wish we had more, if we could just clone these guys. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please, so we can get to a vote?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Rebecca Girard, G-I-R-A-R-D. I've had the pleasure of knowing or having Jennifer as my pet sitter since late 2024, early 2025. She's been an amazing asset to the life of my dogs while I travel. I knew Jenny was meant to love my pack when after her first visit, I checked my ring camera and heard her saying goodbye to the dogs. I'll never forget the love and kindness she showed while telling my babies, see you tomorrow. In November of last year, we lost my sole dog, Delilah. Unfortunately, it was Thanksgiving morning while I was in Florida with my entire family. Jenny showed so much compassion and love during one of the absolute hardest times of my life. Being that I was over 2,000 miles away, Jenny spent her Thanksgiving morning making arrangements, sorry, on my behalf. She contacted a local vet to come in on the holiday, and when I returned from my trip, I found she had taken paw prints of my darling girl since I hadn't been able to be there in her last moments. In the past two years, I've hired Jenny to care for my dogs over a dozen times, ranging from a few drop-in visits while I'm in California for the weekend to attend a trip while I was out of the country. Regardless of where I travel or how long I'm gone, I know that my babies are being loved and cared for in my absence. Jenny keeps in such good communication, sending updates on behavior, any concerns she may observe, cute moments, and so, so many pictures. I fully trust that Jenny cares for my animals as if they were her own, but she also sends daily photos of the food and water bowls refilled just for my peace of mind. I currently have a dog pack of four, a very sensitive skittish Great Dane, two very high energy, always looking for trouble Belgian Malinois, and an old grumpy Chiweenie. Jenny has learned their personalities and knows if and when they need a little more love. I look forward to the approval of Jenny's zoning request and the future opening of Riders Rescue Ranch.

I know that if Jenny approaches the project with consistency and love for animals, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Sam, do we have anybody else, please?

Yes, Chair, the caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Hello, Commissioner. Michael Davis, RCA, GA, RCIA. I'm sorry, what was that? Hello?

Go ahead, Michael.

Oh, thank you, thank you. I appreciate the engagement. As a father, I completely understand the need for the laws of nature. As a sign of hospitality, I would like to donate or yield my time to any other family member that came over from Chicago. I do apologize for our politicians out here cutting their time short. Anybody else that would like to come up and

That's not how this works, Michael. Do you have anything else?

Absolutely. Can you cite what law that is? That I cannot donate my time?

Sir, this has nothing to do with what we're talking about.

Can you tell me where you're?

Cut him off. No, I'm trying to. Serena, we're done. Please. Sam, anybody else, please?

No, Chair.

CLOSED. Commissioners? Mr.

Chair, I have a question first. Go ahead. Did you really talk to a moose? Thank you. Go ahead. That's it.

Commissioners, that was only 26 people that said yes. 26 people.

You know they say don't kill the sale.

Oh, oversell the sale. Right? Right.

I do have an objection.

Oh.

When the chair calls for lunch, You have to give me a head start to get to Walmart to buy you stuffed porcupine.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion.

Hold on one sec. This right here you can't see, but it's a two and a half pound chihuahua named Coco.

I knew you were sold on chihuahua.

Go ahead, John.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve ZC 26-6.

Jabbour seconds.

Motion second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Jabbour's aye.

We have a comfort break.

Okay, what do you need? Comfort? Comfort break.

Ten-minute comfort break. Keep up the good work, you guys. Seriously. How are we looking, Serena? All right, we need a, hi, Lorena. All about 18, please. One eight.

Item 18, for possible action, discussion and deliberation to A, approve, amend, and approve or reject a lease agreement with Beatty Seniors Inc. for the Beatty Senior Center for the purpose of providing senior services to the residents of Beatty, Nevada, located at 200 South A Avenue, Beatty, Nevada, and B, approve, amend, and approve or reject an interlocal contract with Beatty Seniors Inc. for the county providing administrative and facility services at a cost and purpose of providing senior services to the residents of Beatty, Nevada.

Thank you for that. Hello, Sam.

Thank you, Chair. So in March, we brought this item before the board for consideration to renew the lease, and we present it to the board at the regular rate that anybody else would pay. And the request from Beatty Seniors is to continue to honor the $1 annual lease amount, and then with the interlocal Not really sure where we want to go with that, but most likely waive those administrative and buildings and grounds fees due to their nonprofit status, the services that they provide the community. I do want to mention that the Beatty Town contributes to their functions as well through their town budget. We were given a six month time period to compile information on what it costs to provide that facility to this group and I don't have that. I was not able to receive that from Buildings and Grounds. So my recommendation with the information that I have is to continue the $1 annual lease and we'll do another couple years with them that way.

Okay, let's open public comment first and see if we have anybody on the phone. Just stand by, guys, or we'll see if we have any public. Anybody there for these?

No, Chair.

None here. We're going to close public comment. Okay. Through the Chair. Yes.

Just real quick. She had mentioned that one of the things that we were looking for was what this building costs. I did send it out to you guys today, but it was too late to get it in the backup. But one of the things that, one of the suggestions that William and I have actually talked about, and this isn't just with this facility, but at several of the facilities that are utilized by other agencies and or towns or entities, is to possibly explore looking at just deeding the property over to them and just give it to them. And they are responsible for the maintenance and everything else. Yeah.

Different item. Yep, future item. But I just wanted to throw that out there. And I think the costs associated yearly with this are very negligible for now. But anyway, another day also.

It's just a good partnership, Chair.

Would you like to hear from the applicant, Chair? Sure.

Now I'm on. Okay, thank you. My name is Marty Campbell, C-A-M-P-B-E-L-L, president of the Beatty Senior, Inc. I want to thank you all for taking this time to listen to what we have to say. I'm going to say very little except for that we are an organization that is really needed there in Beatty. The Senior Center has been around there for a long time. And I appreciate all you guys have done in the past, in the present, and in the future. At this time, I'm going to turn it over to our individuals here that will give you more information on what we do. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Go ahead, ma'am, ma'am, either ma'am. Don't be shy. And you don't have to oversell it.

Karen Coe, COE. I'm a volunteer for the Beatty Seniors, Inc., past secretary and manager. But I just want to say that we appreciate that there's a possibility that you might go to the dollar a lease, and we would greatly appreciate that. I did ask for figures from... Mr. Allen and the buildings and grounds concerning that $40,000. And I never did get any details on that. We did have some questions about, he said that he billed it out of one trip for every work order. However, many times when they come, it's spread out to different things. So it's not just Beatty Seniors, Inc., They might have come one time, but they spent the whole day doing other things. There's maybe only a couple times that they actually spent the whole day doing something only on the Beatty Senior Center. So that was kind of questionable. And we kind of felt that, you know, as a landlord, that those costs are usually handled by a landlord. And we did do some figures for 2026, and it looks like we're actually going to serve about 7,800 meals this year versus 6,000 last year. So our clientele is increasing. We do provide meals for those who cannot afford some, and we also do homebound meals. And we, in addition to our activities, we open it to everyone. We have children or anybody who wants to come play the games. We do the game nights or whatever. And so it's open to the community and to everybody. And we feel that out of all of maybe the leases that you have out there that are maybe a dollar, we feel maybe that we're one of the most Deserving because of the services that we provide to the seniors and to our community and we appreciate your support in this matter Thank you.

Thank you All right, did you have anything ma'am or you come to church before I'm gonna think Thank You chair Also say that like she said it's open to everybody we have people come in from passing through that we've got one of the best facilities that they've seen around and I would like to say that the cooks that we have there, I wouldn't trade those for anybody in the world. They do a great job. We have gone into where we're doing a little more work in the area. So it's just, I utilize the place every day myself. All right. And there are a lot of people there that that's their only entertainment they have. We do bingo on Thursday nights, game nights on Tuesday. We have game nights on Sunday. It's open in the morning. It stays open all day long. It's being utilized. And we appreciate all you've done for us.

Thank you very much. Beatty is a super cool spot.

I just have one more thing. We do have the full support of our town board also. We met with them last night on their agenda, and they approved it. letter to come in support of us for this matter and They also support us financially. We would not have been able to do it without their help on some of the utilities Thank you, thank you.

Thank you for that additional information through the chair Beatty the Beatty town advisory board Unanimously votes on and Supports you with in the tune of fifteen thousand dollars approximately fifteen thousand dollars to help you with your utilities and and so this group Nonprofit group they are not takers they are givers They're trying to help save save some monies where they can you know you you didn't mention, but I'll mention it you know you have two cooks that drive to Vegas to help save money, although you're spending money on gasoline, on fuel, but to save money on the food purchase instead of having it delivered to you and they charge you this exorbitant amount of money for the food, for the product, you know. And so that speaks volumes in what you're trying to accomplish and what you do accomplish. Six months ago, I said, you know, This is all the seniors have in Beatty to look forward to every day. And what I'd like to hear the next time that we meet, not necessarily here in Chambers, is that more and more children are going to the facility to help bring that smile to the senior beside them looking forward to the good food that they're going to eat for lunch, right? And we're gonna be calling for lunch soon too. So thank you for driving in from Beatty and giving us that extra info. I'll turn it back over, Chair, if the other commissioners have anything to say. But I'm in full support of this as I always have been and I always will be. So thank you for what you do. And thank you, Sam, for putting this through and working on the contract. You know, we directed administration to go through all of the contracts. And some of you called me and said, how come... They started with Beatty, and I said, well, we alphabetized it. Right? So if you don't want to be first, change the name. I'm only kidding. So, yeah.

All right. If none of the commissioners have anything else, then I'm going to let it.

Well, thank you, Chair. Then I'll move to approve the lease agreement with the Beatty seniors for $1. And... And I'm going to reject the, as they don't, they're not asking for any administration through us, is that correct? You're taking care of the administration, or Sam, are you working still closely with them?

Aside from bringing the lease forward, they have not asked for anything.

Okay, so would it be appropriate that I reject the interlocal contract with the Beatty Seniors for admin?

Yes, and if we need to maybe set parameters, not so much the cost, but parameters for the level of services we do provide, we can come back with something.

Okay, fair enough. So that'll be part of the motion, please.

And a second.

All right, we have a motion and a second. I'm going to call for the vote.

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye.

Item 17, for possible action, discussion and deliberation to appoint a person from the panel of substitute justices of the peace pursuant to NRS 4.340 as a justice of the peace to attend to his or her official duties from the following list of persons, Michael Foley and Philip Bovee. A temporary vacancy from absence, disability, or other cause must not be filled by another justice of the peace or substitute justice of the peace for more than 30 days at one time.

Thank you for that. Let's open public comment on this item, please.

Come on up, Susie. Susie Hertz, AGRTC. So my question is, when are we going to be able to stop the payments to the former Justice of Peace? Is there anything that the Board of Commissioners can do to stop that? drainage of that money.

That's a different item, but he's shaking his head. I'll address later.

Aside from which, I would say please appoint Michael Foley.

Thank you. Thank you. Anybody on the phone, Sam?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Yes, Amy Nelson, N-E-L-S-O-N. I completely support Michael Foley. Thank you. Thank you on that.

Go ahead, Linda.

Linda Clark, Sally Arkay. You know I'm going to say Michael Foley is the only choice. He should have been the choice from the beginning. And I don't know why you guys did what you did, but we got punished for it. Thank you.

Thanks. Anybody else on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

Closing public comment.

Mr. Chair? Yes. I'd like to make the motion again. I'd like to make a motion to, where is it, appoint Michael Foley as a temporary justice of the peace.

Mr. Boer, seconds.

For 30 days.

Whatever. So amended, 30 days. Motion. And a second.

All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Boscovich, aye. That carries 5-0. Thank you. 19, please.

I'm 19 for possible action, discussion, and deliberation to approve adding Kent Vollmer with American Real Estate Appraisal to the list of qualified property appraisers to appraise county property for sale or lease pursuant to NRS 244.2795. Thank you for that.

Let's open public comment first. Come on down, please.

Julia Musall, M-U-S-A-L-L, and I hope you do not approve him. And I'm not trying to be discriminating, but you know what? People from Las Vegas are coming and invading Pahrump, and they want to change everything. And apparently he is from Las Vegas. So sorry, but no. Thank you.

Thank you for that. Sam, do we have anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Yes, Amy Nelson, NELSON. I agree with the former speaker. I wasn't for this to begin with. We have a county assessor, and we have a couple of good realtors sitting right there on the board, or at least who know other people that are local. And we don't need inflated prices from outsiders or other brokers. But that's my opinion. Thank you. Go ahead, Linda.

Linda Clark, CLERK. First of all, I want to know why we need another appraiser. Why? And second, third, I would like to have Ian's opinion of it. Thank you.

Thank you. Come on down, Beth.

That's Borasevich, B-O-R-Y-S-E-W-I-C-H. You know, I had an excellent appraiser when I was going to buy a house here. And, I mean, this guy was meticulous. And he actually showed that a corner of one of the houses I was looking at, it was a stick-built house, he could lift it up. You could literally lift it right off of the foundation, and other guys would not have found that. So I think we should stick to local people because Vegas people are overextending everything here in town, and they will appraise on the high end, which will not make affordable housing here. Thank you.

Thank you. Sam, anyone on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair, the caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

OK. If there's no one else, we're going to close public comment.

Chair, this is my item. I'd like to make some clarifications. Thank you. So we are required by NRS, as indicated in the agenda item, to retain appraisers to evaluate our properties to consider fair market value for leases and also sales of properties. For instance, we just considered the Beatty Senior Center. We have to have independent third-party appraisers review our properties, parcels, whatever it might be, and provide us with an appraisal report for the board to set a fair market value in order to then lease our properties or sell. It's, again, required by NRS to have that third party independent. We solicit for appraisers. We run ads in all of our newspapers locally in Vegas. We put it on our website through the purchasing department for various vendors who might be subscribed to receive those solicitations. We did this at the beginning of the year and we only had two responses which were the two appraisal companies that we already had that were set for years. And I ran into this person who also expressed interest in being added to the list. We are required to rotate the list every now and then, get prices before we need to shop. Who's going to provide the best value? This is not to determine anything with private property. This is for county-owned property.

Gotcha. Thank you for that clarification. Okay, commissioners.

Mr. Chairman, may I just, because of my background, there's just a couple things I'll just let people know. First is that there's two kinds of appraisers. There's a residential, there's a commercial. The commercial people, sometime in the 90s when the industry was regulated, what happened was, this is true, they sent out a post, at least in Massachusetts, they sent out a postcard and they said, which would you like to be? And then people put certified general or certified residential. This guy's been appraising since I was about three years old. So I'd say grab him up now. A lot of people are leaving the business. I went to law school for a reason in my 40s. It's not because I like doing real estate appraisals. So we really are not in a position to just grab another certified general person who's going to be able to do this in Pahrump. I don't even know if there is a certified general person living in Pahrump. I would guess no. I think maybe there's maybe four certified residential people that I know of. Aside from our government conflicted people myself being one of them in who live in Pahrump So I don't think we're in a position to we have to have this So I just I don't want people to think that this is some kind of thing that people are positioning some underhanded thing to do to people um realtors cannot or real estate agents cannot fulfill this it's a it's a very specific license that you have to have and it's thousands of hours of apprenticeship uh that i went through i went through three years of apprenticeship it's a it's a real hassle to become a real estate appraiser i don't think people understand that so i just want to clear that up just because i know someone mentioned that and i do know this background and I don't know what else we would do if we didn't approve of this person and their duty is to be objective. They really have to be objective. I have always been objective and sometimes being objective is not desirable in this business. I think Commissioner Strickland probably, not saying she's doing it, but just saying Commissioner Strickland would probably agree with me that they have to be objective or they're not going to last very long as appraisers. So I just, I don't think, I don't have any, I don't know this guy, I don't know any appraisers, but we have to have somebody on this list. So that's what this is all about. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Mr. Chair. Yes, sir, please. Make a motion. Yes, thank you.

Make a motion to add Kent Vollmer with American Real Estate Appraisals to the list of qualified property appraisers to appraise county property for sale or lease pursuant to NRS 244.2794.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. I'm going to call for the vote. Aye.

Aye.

Or is aye? Moskovich, aye. That carries 5-0. Thank you. 20, please. Then we're going to lunch.

Item 20 for possible action, discussion and deliberation to A, determine that a 1995 Ford F800 VIN number 1FDX80C9 SVA80051 is no longer required for public use due to being in an accident and being deemed a total loss, and B, dispose of through salvage methods with any resulting proceeds being deposited into the funds used to purchase the vehicle.

CHRIS RODGERS. Thank you for that. Let's open public comment on this truck. Anybody for me? Sam? CHRISTIE WOOD.

No, Chair.

CHRIS RODGERS. Closing public comment. Commissioners? Or Sam? CHRISTIE WOOD.

Yeah, it's my item, but it's pretty self-explanatory if there are any questions. I am available.

CHRISTIE WOOD. No, and I'd like to make a motion to approve the agenda item as written.

CHRIS RODGERS. Four seconds. TODD BANDUCCI. We have a motion and one and a half seconds. I'm going to call for the vote. CHRIS RODGERS.

Aye.

TODD BANDUCCI. Aye. CHRIS RODGERS. Aye. TODD BANDUCCI. Aye. TODD BANDUCCI. Aye. That carries 5-0. Thank you. All right. Consent, please. But can you read them for me? Just kidding.

Oh, man.

Kidding, kidding. We'll go to Washington.

I will say no. Consent agenda items. These are items that staff recommends for approval. The board reserves the right to move any consent agenda item to the regular segment of the agenda should issues arise that need to be addressed. Discussion of any item from the consent agenda items that needs review before a decision is made. This is item 16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, 16.7, and 16.8. TODD BANDUCCI.

Thank you for that. Do we have anybody on the phone for public comment on any of these items, Sam?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Hello.

Stacy Ann, A-N-N-E. I have a few questions regarding some of these items, and I'm hoping that they can be answered during Commissioners' comments. Can you hear me?

Yes, ma'am. Can you tell us which items you're questioning?

Okay. On item 16.2, are the Commissioners aware that these minutes are late? We're at 89 days for June 18th and 78 days for June 29th, and more importantly, these appear to be recurring backlog going back to 2022. NRS 241.035 requires approval within 45 days or at the next meeting, whichever is later, absent good cause. So I'm curious, is there good cause for these delays and what's being done to correct this going forward? And just to clarify, the audio availability is a separate requirement. It does not replace the statutory requirement for timely approval of the minutes. Regarding item 16.3, without getting into all the details, I found several things in the agenda and supporting documents that may warrant a closer look before approval. So APN 02812804 appears in the dedication documents, but not on the agenda parcel list, creating an inconsistency in the parcels being presented for approval. This also appears to be confusing language regarding responsibility to the roads. um the underlying agreement assigns the county responsibility for certain land improvements grading and signage with while the dedication documents designate these as county roads but reject maintenance responsibility so once accepted uh who actually is responsible for maintaining them and i also couldn't locate in the supporting documents the underlying approval or public hearing records for those for these roads so it's unclear what prior authorization support what's being accepted today. And then item 16.4. Thank you very much, ma'am.

Come on down in front, please.

All right.

Julia Musall, M-U-S-A-L-L. And I agree with her in regards to 16.3. There's a lot of questions. First of all, there are so many parcels here. And, but... It seemed like every time you would go and look into the information, it was unclear. So I hope that you guys take into consideration that this needs to be looked at further before you approve, and especially grid lines. Nasty word around here. Thank you.

Come on down the front, please.

Deborah Thomas, T-H-O-M-A-S. I want to make sure everyone in this room knows that Grid Alliance has been sued in three different states and lost over environmental issues. They also have been sued and lost in, I don't know how, between five and seven countries worldwide.

Doesn't really have anything to do with this particular item.

16.3. Yeah. As far as the easements. As far as the county getting easements. That has something.

Okay. I must not have understood it. I thought that we were granting them easements. No, they're giving us back the land. Okay, great. I apologize. Okay. Thank you.

So we can maintain roads.

Come on down, Tammy. Tammy.

It's good afternoon. Tammy Pittman, P-I-T-M-A-N. So 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, and 16.8. First of all, 16.4 lacks legal review, even though it states at the bottom that it's supposed to have legal review. I am concerned that each of these requests for grants. They don't talk about how many years they've been in the program. They don't tell how many people they've served for the year. How many did rental assistance, mortgage assistance, utility assistance. Moreover, they never talk about success. We can give them money, but if it's not successful, helping people get off of the rolls and become paying people in society, What are we giving them the money for? So the same goes for all four of them. That's the issue. They really should be giving us more bang for our buck, and we don't seem to be getting anything. Thank you.

Thank you. Come on down, Beth.

I don't know why people turn this thing off when they know somebody else is going to speak. Anyway, Beth Borasevich, B-O-R-Y-S-E-W-I-C-H. This is 16.4. For some time, I know that Marianne and I have asked, what is the program doing and what are the successes? I know we got one report today. This was the first report that I think I've heard from Health and Human Services. Do they get filed with you? Are they all, do I have to go to public records request and ask for the last 10 years of statistics on this department and whether they have been successful? They're gonna get $32,052. How many people is that gonna help? I heard today that they give out travel. I don't know if that's airfare, bus, train, or what. That would be nice to know. And how many people actually know that they can go there to get those? There's some homeless people, or almost homeless people I know, that didn't have a clue. And I said, well, you know, if you go over to Health and Human Services, they can probably help you get a bus ticket home. Or if you go over to, I think there's an office over here where the clerk is. So I'm not sure, but I know there's another place that people can go to get a ticket. And then Nye Coalition, they also will provide money for people to go home. One thing I did have a question about is why are we accepting this award in September of 26 when the started grant period was July of 25? What happened? And that's something that I would like to see somebody provide an answer to. It would be great if somebody on your staff could keep these questions that we ask So you can answer.

Thank you, Beth. Thank you. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

Yes, Chair. The caller is unmuted. Please speak and spell your name for the record.

Hello, Commissioner. Michael David Garcia, G-A-R-C-I-A. Is my volume and tone okay with you?

Go ahead, sir.

Thank you. Thank you. Did you want to tap a little more? Do you want me to move on to the next person? I'm sorry. I'm just trying to figure out when I can speak. Are you done cutting me off, interrupting me?

You're going to get cut off. This is over. Finish it. If you have something to say on one of these items, say it now.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm just really concerned about the etiquette when we're addressing the public comment. Cut him off.

Come on down, ma'am.

Angelina Jackson, J-A-C-K-S-O-N. So just to clarify, for the Grid Alliance for the easement, that's them requesting or that's the county requesting easement from them, correct?

After.

After?

We'll answer you after. Okay. Okay.

Next thing is in regards to the safety vest for pedestrians and for cyclists. I think that's a necessity around here, especially lately, as we could see people getting hit left, right, and crossways. Unfortunately, it's not just the person in the vehicle that's responsible for that. It is the pedestrian himself that needs to be aware of it. So other than that, thank you. Thank you. Come on down, Linda. Linda?

Linda Clark, CLARK.

Okay. I guess for years now, since I've been coming here, I have mentioned and complained about HSS. We give an enormous amount of money to this division and on top of the grants. And yet, we don't get a lot of explanation. I've seen some of the reports, and I know they look for the reports. But I don't understand why a town of 55,000 people has so much money going to just one division. And there's other places we know we need it. But it's up to you. You make the laws. TODD BANDUCCI.

Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

TODD BANDUCCI. Come on down, ma'am.

Hello, my name is Ruth Matthew, M-A-T-T-H-E-W. This is in support of accepting the 248,000, this is for 1618, the Safe Street and Roads for All grants of the county. The federal rules allow temporary demonstrated demonstration project, I asked the county and sheriff's office to conduct a 90-day trial of highly visible patrol units using illuminated non-emergency cruise lights. This is not a new idea. Japan, South Korea, and Chile use lights during routine patrol. Canadian agencies, including Waterloo Regional Police, also operate patrol lights to increase visibility and discourage traffic violations. Their safety records deserve attention. In 2023, the United States recorded 12.2 road deaths per 100,000 people. Chile recorded 10, South Korea 4.9, Canada 4.8, and Japan only 2.6. Patrol lights alone did not create those results. These counties have broader safety systems, but visible enforcement is one tool within those systems. It is worth testing here. Visibility may also discourage crime by telling potential offenders that an officer is present and they could be seen immediately. A small trial reported by the National Institute of Justice compared lights on and lights off patrol days at a busy shopping center. Lights on days had half as many vehicle crimes and zero auto thefts compared to four thefts during lights off days. The study was small, so it's not final proof, but supports a local trial. County Council should first approve the light configuration and public must understand these lights are cruise lights, not in order to pull over. Compare similar roads, hours, and patrol shifts with the lights on and off. Measure average and extreme speeds. Crashes, near misses, complaints, officer time, and public responses. Separately track vehicle crime as a possible secondary benefit. There should be no ticket quota. This purpose is prevention, not revenue. Publish the baseline results. If there's no measurable... Measurable benefits stop. If speeds, crashes, or a crime declines, include the practice in a Vision Zero plan. Please accept the grant.

Thank you very much, ma'am. Perfect timing. Sam, anybody on the phone, please?

No, Chair.

All right. Closing public comment.

Chair, before you go on, I just wanted to comment. There was a comment about legal review. My team legally reviews every agenda item on every agenda, every meeting. So we do a complete legal review of all of these items. So I just want to make sure it's clear.

And it's checked on the agenda front. It's checked.

Thank you for clarifying through the chair real quick on the HHS items. I'm pretty sure in her report that she gave this morning, she mentioned that it is all posted online, the whole entire report. And then the other thing is it's a public office. If you've got questions about the report, I would feel free to contact, Corinne or Jenny, and get your questions answered.

Yes, and in the four years I've been here, I can't even tell you how many presentations on their reports I've listened to and been provided. So you got questions, reach out to the departments.

Whenever they have agenda items on, I usually personally go over there and speak to both of them. figure it out and I've asked them today to come back here with an agenda item in the near future and explain to everybody here what they do and why they do it because they're doing a job they're helping people and that's what we're supposed to do most people know that well some people obviously don't know or don't want to know that okay

The only other thing I had, Chair, is we got a lot of flack for Grid Lions giving us easements for roads, which we don't have easements. The people can't move from one parcel to the next. I think they did a great job. Thank you, Road Department. Thank you, legal, for making sure we got this done right. And we can see that these roads will go through to the next parcel. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. CHRIS RODGERS. Mr. DeBoer, do you have anything? Anybody want to make a motion? TODD BANDUCCI.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve consent to agenda item number 16. CHRISTIE WOOD. Second. TODD BANDUCCI.

We have a motion and a second. All those in favor? CHRISTIE WOOD. Aye. CHRIS RODGERS. Aye. TODD BANDUCCI. Oscovich, aye. That carries 5-0. Thank you. We're going to break. It's going to be 3. CHRISTIE WOOD. It's going to be 3. TODD BANDUCCI. I got to be. 3 o'clock, please. Hell no, I've got to be in Vegas. Okay, welcome back. Let's hammer out 21. That'll give me time to sign these forms.

Item 21 for possible action. Review, discuss, deliberate, and or direct staff on the fiscal year 2027 budget. Review, deliberate, and vote on changes to the fiscal year 2027 budget.

Okay, thank you.

Good afternoon, Commissioners. Okay, so when we went through the budget process for fiscal 27, we had to reduce service and supplies dramatically. Some of the departments came back and said that they would not be able to operate based on that budget. So we agreed to set up meetings and hear what the departments have to say. So this is actually a summary of most of the departments, excluding two, which I will talk about in a minute, on their request and giving support, for example, It would be contracts, something of substance to give an explanation about why they need additional funding. So before we go through them, I also want to say that right now, in order for us... Right now, we have a balanced budget. In order for us to... increase the budget. We would have to have some type of savings, additional savings from the cost reduction program that we have recognized. If we have our audit completed and there's an unexpected increase in fund balance, we can use that money. Or at the end of the fiscal year, we can utilize the contingency that we budgeted for at the beginning of fiscal 27. So I am going to caution you to be very careful about what you approve today. Or if you would direct me to put it on a list so that at the time when We have the ability to increase the budgets. You can have a list ready of things that you would want to approve. So the two departments which are not included on this list right now would be Animal services, because they're requesting money, and they actually get funded through the town of as well as the county. So we are going to bring back an item to break out. Animal services, and you will have that in a future agenda item. We are working right now to put that information together for you. The other item would be the sheriff's office because we have issues with having to move the jail fund and. I would like to get a better understanding on the PSST charges that were processed in fiscal 26. I want to make sure that when their budget is brought back to you, you have a full picture of all of this sheriff's area of responsibility so that you can make a good decision.

Chair. So are you then telling us that we are premature looking at these? Because you've just named two significant departments that you don't have.