All right. Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for being here uh for the Reno City Council meeting, Wednesday, May 7th, 2025. Um, we are going to start with the pledge of allegiance and we have some very special guests with us today and that is troop number 508. Am I correct? From the Our Lady of Snows. So, good morning girls. Do you want to stand up and lead us in the pledge this morning? Yeah. You're going to be great. All right. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Great job. [Music] All right, Madame Clerk, I am going to send it to you and then I believe the first public comment is going to be um from our Girl Scouts. Correct. Yes. So, we are calling role for the Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 Reno City Council meeting. Uh Vice Mayor Taylor here. Council member Der. Council member Martinez here. Council member Eert here. Can you hear me? Council Council member Reese here. Council member Anderson here. Mayor Shibi here. Madame Mayor, you do have a quorum. All right. Thank you so much. U we are going to head into public comment at this time. So I hear you have a special project to share with us. Correct. And uh I just want to recognize Dr. Beo. Thank you so much for being here and all your community service. You're amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Uh she's an influencer, too. Follow her on social media. She's amazing. Madame Mayor, we also have some elected officials in the audience. We do. Yes. They should stand up. Yes. Here. She's over. Where are you? Diane Nichollet. Good morning. Thank you from the school board. and someone that's a no stranger to this life, Katie Simon. Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it. Thank you. It's great to see you women. All right. Uh Madame Clark, we're going to start with um public comment and that is um the Girl Scout presentation. I'm super excited to I know a little bit about it. So, who wants to come up? Why don't you all come up? Future mayors. By the way, I do need to read the disclosure in the link as well. Okay. Members of the public may hear, observe, and provide public comment virtually by registering through the following link, which can be found on reno.gov/meings. https colon slash slash l i n ks period e n o period go ov slash c o u n c i l05-07. It should be noted for those in attendance that comments are to be addressed to the mayor and council as a whole. Comments heard under this item will be limited to three minutes per person and may pertain to matters both on and off the council's agenda. Council may not take action upon any matter not agendaized on today's agenda. When you are called on for public comment, please state your name for the record and begin speaking. The timer will begin when you've stated your name and you will be afforded 3 minutes. For those participating in chambers in accordance with council rules 6.3.11 while in this room, please be respectful. Disruptive behavior from audience members like clapping, yelling, whistling, etc. which impede the meeting may result in a warning issued by the presiding officer. If the behavior continues, you may be removed from chambers. If you are an attendee in the Zoom meeting and would like to make public comment, please raise your hand at this time. Okay, fantastic. Okay, girls, you ready? Yes. Take it away. TV. Uh, I'm Michelle Leech and this is Ava, Drew, Charlotte, Jordan, Cameron, and Ka from Troop 508 of Our Lady of Snows, and they have a presentation for us. All right. Good morning, Mayor Shibi, Reno Council members, and guests. We are Girl Scout juniors from Troop 508 at Our Lady of the Snow School. We decided to work toward earning the junior bronze award, which is the highest award a junior Girl Scout can achieve. We have been learning about the process of planning, leading, and carrying out a project to help our community. We have followed the steps to develop a team, discovering the skills needed to be effective leaders, exploring our community, finding common ground regarding a topic we feel passionate about, and brainstorming to formulate a solution. The problem we identified and decided to focus on is pet grief and loss. The meaning of grieving is going through a difficult time following the loss of some someone you loved. Pets are special family members, best friends, companions, and the ones who are always there for us no matter what. They are a source of joy, comfort, fun, and for some service or therapy. Man's best friend has usually been considered to be a dog, but we form special bonds with many animals. Cats, bunnies, horses, birds, even lizards, and snakes. year. We all have experienced the extreme and lasting sadness following the death of a cherished pet. And we have shared sadness along with grieving family and friends. It is an intense and heartbreakingly painful feeling. It even affects animal workers such as veterinarians caregivers and euthanasia providers who experience loss right along with their clients. Our research shows that the process of pet bereavement can last for years and there are very few ways to help it. It can also lead to depression and other mental illnesses. We found a few available methods to heal. Paying tribute to a pet brings comfort and happy memories. There are companies who create personalized memory items such as jewelry, ornaments, garden stones, pet ash containers, photo blankets, and also there are many wonderful books for readers of all age groups that focus on pet grief therapy. But the reality is there are very few ways to comfort those who've experienced death of a pet. We've created a survey titled Understanding Pet Loss and had a local school take it. We received 230 responses kindergarten through 8th grade and 82.5% of those that took the survey said that they had been significantly affected by pet loss before. We asked a question about how much the death of a pet impacted them on a scale from 1 to 10, and 73.2% of the answers were a level five or above, showing that the situation seriously affected them. 76.7% of those pulled were between the ages of eight and 12. And one of this age group's most common mental health issue was depression. The death of a family member or a friend or in this case it can contribute to depression. Lastly, 66.8% of the people who took the survey said that that it would have have helped to have a special place to go mourn to be alone with their feelings and memories as they grieved. This shows our community has a need that we feel we can help them with. Searching for the literature related to our topic le No, you're fine. Go ahead. led us to a popular poem, The Rainbow Bridge, which was written by a Scottish woman 65 years ago. The poem and its message of hope are well known worldwide. Many people are familiar with the concept of pets c crossing the rainbow bridge to a beautiful place where they are young and healthy again. and they will see their owners someday again someday. Our goal is to support our friends and neighbors by creating Reno's rainbow bridge or as we like to say the biggest little rainbow bridge of Reno. Creating this unique place of healing would be uplifting and inspiring to our community and show we care. Originally, we were looking for a location to build a bridge, but we found that our community already seemed to have bridges where they are needed. The idea could occur to us that an existing bridge could be used. As we continued to explore our areas, parks, and public spaces, the idea grew and flourished. We saw many beautiful and suitable bridges that could be adopted and assigned for this purpose. Our bronze project team would like help with choosing a location, a bridge with railings or ra or where railings could be installed. Our plan is to do any needed repairs, sand and prime the bridge and paint it as a rainbow. We have listed a few possibilities on the handout provided which included bridge structures at bestie Dy Colin Park, Manzanita Park, Chrissy Col Park and others. We are but we are open to all [Applause] suggestions. Besides painting the bridge, our team has other ideas which include the installation of a special sign with the rainbow bridge poem and dedication of the bridge to commemorate our beloved pets, past, present, and future. It is possible that depending on the location chosen, we could add a bench where our citizens could sit to enjoy the memories they made with their pets and many ways their pets enriched their lives. You would also like to publish a pamphlet with helpful links or at least a QR code to allow people easy access to some of the comforting books and other resources we have found. A weatherproof brochure holder could easily be posted to keep these materials available. Our final idea is the hope that it will be approved to allow people to leave their pets collars on the bridge railing. Beside commemorating their deceased pet, this would demonstrate to other visitors that they are not alone in their grief. Our team is committed to checking on the bridge regularly to ensure that everything is tidy and secure and does not become an eyesore or a source of litter. We have been considering many troop fundraising ideas to cover the cost of our supplies and any additional costs. For example, a rainbow lemonade and snack stand at our school on Fridays. The rainbow bridge project is very important to us. Pet grief is a problem we are passionate about. We strongly feel that providing a place where our communities, individuals, and families can honor their pets lives will benefit us all. We envision this place will be quiet, calm, and comforting, and everyone is welcome. We have shown how difficult it is to cope with pet loss and hope that you can see how helpful it would it would be to have to have a special place to go to be with your thoughts, emotions, and memories or to or to talk and share experiences with other people. We want you to understand how meaningful this project is to our troop and with your to our troop and with with your approval and assistance to our whole community. If if you care about animals or have pets who are near and dear to you, please consider our proposal as a step in a wonderful healing direction. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Please let us know if you have any questions. Wow, that is impressive. So give them a huge round of [Applause] applause. I am so incredibly impressed. You girls knocked my socks off. Uh future mayors actually maybe no future presidents, you girls are outstanding. This is such a really important project um on so many levels. How many of us um have pets that we absolutely love and adore? Raise your hand. Yeah. I have a very very pet friendly counsel. They all know um and we all talk all the time about how when we get home from our stressful jobs, the best thing that we have greeting us at the door is our pets. And we're also grateful that Petco deemed us a pet friendly city, which is sort of a hard award to get, and they have given us um over $100,000 in grants um to take care of pets in need with veterary care. So, we are a city that absolutely embraces our pets and to your your point, you mentioned mental health and that is really really critical and I work with a lot of seniors that their pet is everything to them and to your point about the grief. We've all experienced grief of losing a pet and it's probably one of the most difficult things in the world. Um, so I am just beyond thrilled. I know this council would love to help you with this project in any way possible. I'm sure we can find the perfect bridge. I did not know that tale that it started 65 years ago from a Scottish woman. So, that is that is something. Um, did you know that, Naomi? I didn't. She didn't know that either. And we're major dog lovers. So, um, anyway, I'm going to let my council give some remarks because I know that they're chomping at the bit because they're so impressed and they probably have some very good news for you, too. All right, Councilwoman Der, go ahead. Well, first of all, I just want to say you couldn't have struck a more important note. I mean, you're you're hitting on mental health, as the mayor mentioned, but also empathy. You're talking about healing. Um, we're about to cry. Um, we we have all and I certainly have um gone through that unbearable loss of your terrace pet and right back from childhood all the way to current day, you know, just a few months ago. So, it's incredibly hard to heal. You keep them in your heart forever. One of the reasons is that they give that um unrequited love. They they don't ask a lot in return. They just want to be food, water, and love, right? And I think everyone in this room can relate to that. Um I am I happen to be your council member now. You said um the school. Yeah. And I happen to be your council member now. And so it will be a privilege to to be able to make a financial contribution uh both personally and from the city and uh also to help you find the right location because I I think that's very symbolic the concept of the bridge and it being a rainbow bridge. it it wraps up so many things together. And there are some good places in city parks. Um, you know, besides the ones that instantly come to mind, you know, that could be really really valuable. So, thank you for being here. I don't want to take up too much time, but you know, you really and both dogs and cats. I mourned a cat for 15 years, you know, and I'm just barely getting over it. So, thank you, Councilman Ree. Oh, thank you, Madam Mayor and Miss Der. Um, first of all, incredible presentation. uh it hits on a lot of things for all of us because we all have lost pets. But another thing is is I I love the leadership that you're exhibiting as young people getting involved in civic education and engagement and public speaking. Something that I'm very passionate about. Uh I think director who's here with us today from parks and recreation is waving in the back is going to help us to find the right bridge. That's the first thing. Uh and then the second thing of course is that financial commitment and like Miss Der I will donate specifically to the Girl Scout troop. Um, and so we'll make sure we get those things taken care of here in this fiscal year to help support you. I know that the fundraising can be a challenge, but there's also a learning component to that. I heard you said you might sell um drinks at school on Friday. Good for you. We'll get you some money to help you get going. I don't know what the cost is and maybe you've costed that out and that'll be another component of learning about this process. Sometimes the hidden costs are the ones we don't think about and we learn about how to get through them. And so we'll make sure we get you some uh dollars that'll help to the goal and and be an honor to do it both on behalf of both the lady to my right who has been a champion for pets and the lady on my left who uh has recently lost a pet and it's hard. So thank you so much ladies. Very appreciated. All right, Councilwoman Taylor, thank you for your commitment to our community and um thank you for the presentation. I'll keep this brief. I will absolutely donate personally and help you achieve your goal. Please reach out to me and let me know what you need and I will take care of it. Thank you. She's not expressing this, but she's a major animal lover, too. Major, right? And I shouldn't say this, but I once had four rescue dogs, and I think you're only allowed to have three, and they were so poorly behaved, and I've I've had a few couches that um I've donated to the landfill. But yes, absolutely. She's being very humble. She'll send me pictures of her laying on the bed with all her dogs. Counciloman Martinez. Thanks so much, Madam Mayor. I'll just add that I appreciate uh your troop leaders as well and making sure that you all are prepared for this conversation. You've shown the excellent skills that you've gained throughout this program. So happy to support alongside my other council members and make sure that you all are successful. I'm glad you did your research and you even found out from your own school mates on how bereavement affects their daily lives. So, thanks for identifying the problem and working to make our community better. Councilwoman Anderson, thank you. I too am a a big big big pet lover. I just want to commend you ladies. A lot of times um in the world, people identify problems and then they talk about it or they complain about it or they worry about it. But what you did was you identified something that matters in your life. You did research. You asked other people how it affects them. You did research. You wanted to be part of the pro. You're part of the solution. And then you brought a proposal to a group of people that is obviously extremely excited to help you as I am as well. So very great just great job there. And all of you gave public comment more calmly and um succinctly than most of us you know do including myself. So very very proud of you and whatever I can do to help I'm excited about it. Great. Fantastic. I do want to thank you so much for all of those comments and I wanted to acknowledge Mr. Culpin wherever he went for his encouragement and he was just so helpful to work with. Well, he's a big animal lover, too. Yes. So, you got a lot of friends in your court. Um, just really quickly, the bronze award. So, you did get the award. Not yet. Not yet. Okay. You're submitting this? Yes. Okay. Yeah, we we got approved to do the project. Okay. Um and hopefully it will occur in a somewhat timely way. When will we find out? I'm very competitive. I don't like to lose. So, tell me who I need to go and make sure they know that we're serious. Um well, we're we're represented by our council here. So, she is going to make sure that this happens for these girls. We have um they're nine and 10 years old. So, we have a couple that are um going to be a couple of our girls couldn't come today, but we have a couple who will be Well, that's aging out in September. So, we're trying to Got it. Okay. And you've got a lot of support in this room. Friends like Steve White over there, correct? All of you. And and Steve White has many many bunnies that are his pets. And so, um, you have a lot of supporters out there. We would love to get a quick picture and then I need to get you guys to school so I don't get fired. Okay. All right. So, um, come on up. And we have Feisty Mike for you. Our little mascot. So, come on over. Cameras right? AJ and we all should have a No, I know. One two three. [Music] Cameron, thank you guys. I'm sorry. [Applause] One more proclamation. Oh, we have two more proclamations. Um, it is historic preservation month for arts and culture and then we have teacher appreciation week. Um, so who has our proclamation? Uh, Megan B. Oh, there you go. All right, Megan, come on up. Hi. Thank you. We are um here to present a proclamation for historic preservation month. It's national preservation month in the month of May. And today our intern and historic preservation in the arts and culture department, Dylan Bloomfield, is going to read the pro proclamation. Hello. Whereas the National Trust for Historic Preservation established May as Historic Preservation Month in 1973 as a way to promote historic places for the purpose of instilling national and community pride, promoting heritage tourism, and showing the social and economic benefits of historic preservation. And whereas the city of Reno Historical Resources Commission recognizes May as historic preservation month and sponsors annual events to instill awareness and promote historic preservation in the city. And whereas Historic Preservation Month can instill awareness of the local historically significant buildings and landmarks to the residents of Reno and surrounding communities. And whereas historic preservation can be a community discussion that unites residents behind an important cause. And whereas preservation work strengthens communities, breeds new life into neighborhoods, supports a healthier planet, and builds a more just and connected society. Now, therefore, I, Dylan Bloomfield, on behalf of Hillary El Shivi, mayor of the city of Reno, Nevada, do hereby declare May 2025 Historic Preservation Month. All right. Thank you so much. Congratulations. And madame mayor, go ahead. I want to invite the whole council. tomorrow night um are the historic uh Reno awards and they have picked some amazing both people and businesses um that we are going to be very proud to honor. It's over at the Elma State at 5:30 and uh everyone will be here as well as all of our awardees and we're expecting a really good crowd. So I want to invite you to to come and be part of it. That's fantastic. And the awards go to what? Um they go Well, why don't you just explain Megan or or Melissa? Either one. Yeah, sure. So, Megan Burner, arts and culture manager. For the record, we have our historic preservation awards tomorrow night um at Elma State 5:30 to 7:30. And these are awards that go to advocates in the community for historic preservation um legacy businesses, which are businesses in the city of Reno that are 50 years and older. Um and to historic preservation projects in residential and non-residential buildings. Okay. Well, the first thing I think about is Alicia Barber. So, I hope she is getting an award. I know she's probably gotten some. She wasn't nominated this year, but she has had many. Well, I would nominate her. So, and I got to say, we started a couple years ago the legacy business, and we had businesses over 100 years old winning awards. 136, I think, one of them. But, but anyway, the business aspect has just been transformational um for them. They're bringing their whole families, their whole team to these awards. are so so proud and and the list is like the the who's who of businesses in our Reno area. Yeah, that's impressive. Thank you so much. All right, thank you. Good luck. Okay, next proclamation. We have teacher appreciation week, which I absolutely love because if it wasn't for some teachers that believed in me, I probably would not have gone to school for a couple of years there to be honest with you. So, I know firsthand how important our teachers are and the work that they do. So, good morning. It's nice to see you both. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning council members, staff as well and community. Trustee Diane Nichollet, a proud trustee to serve Wo County School District. And I am joined by one of our many fabulous teachers, Jenny Kamacho, and she's going to read the proclamation. And if time allows, I have a little letter of appreciation. Very short. All right. Okay. So whereas teachers play a fundamental role in shaping the future by educating and inspiring students to achieve their highest potential and whereas teachers dedicate their time, energy and expertise to fostering a love of learning, critical thinking and personal growth among students of all backgrounds and abilities. And whereas teachers often go above and beyond their professional duties serving as mentors, counselors, and role models who provide guidance and encouragement beyond the classroom. And whereas the impact of a dedicated teacher extends far beyond a single school year, influencing students for a lifetime and strengthening the entire community. And whereas teachers have demonstrated extra extraordinary resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges such as technological advancements, shifting educational standards, unprecedented circumstances affecting the learning environment. And whereas it is fitting that we recognize and express our deepest gratitude for the contributions of teachers in our community and beyond. Now therefore, I, Jenny Kamacho, on behalf of Hillary El Shivi, mayor of Reno of the city of Reno, Nevada, do hereby declare May 2025 teacher appreciation month. All right. Congratulations. As a trustee, I I again am very proud to to serve our community. Um, and I've been in education a very long time. the silver hair and attest to that. And I wrote a little letter of appreciation thinking about all the teachers that I've I have in my life and still have in my life. Teachers, always remember, teachers, you are interested in our lives. Patiently you dedicate your work to helping us understand. With great care and effort, you share your time, expertise, and knowledge. Teachers, you coach us on what life holds and its meaning. You encourage us even when you need encouragement. You add to the very existence of every student. Teachers, you touch our lives in a way that leaves an enduring mark on our minds, hearts, and existence. Through tough times, moments of joy, and feelings of uncertainty, you teachers were with me to celebrate, console, and champion. Your trust gave me courage. Your teacher look helped me check my behavior. Your daily presence helped me want to come to school. Teacher, for all of this and much more, I thank you now and forever. You will always be a part of my life. Please never ever forget teacher, you are needed. With gratitude and deep respect, Dr. Duck. Wow, that's fantastic. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Yeah. Try one more time. Yes, sure. One more time. One more. Good morning. How are you? Nice to see you. Good to see you. Thank you for coming. All right. Thanks, AJ. Oh, thank you. All right. Isn't it so true? Teachers just make such an impact in your life. I bet every single one of us in here remembers something about a teacher that means a lot to us. Right. Anyway, um okay, I'm going to send it back to you, Madame Clerk, to keep us on track. Uh just a quick reminder to to attendees on Zoom, if you're if you would like to speak to please raise your hand because I think we have some people registered. Okay. Uh, Mark Markel, followed by Paul White, followed by Jerry Brooks. Nice to see you. Hello. My name is Mark Merkel and I mad mayor and city council member's c manager and whoever ro. But anyways, I was involved in a drunk driving crash uh back in ' 89. And the reason I tell tell people what happened to me is because I don't want it to happened to them. It It's I was in a automobile crash. We rolled eight times and I was ejected and it landed on my head and it put me in a coma for a month and I was in the hospital 5 and 1/2 months. Anyways, I just want I just want to be make sure that have I got in the car with the drunk driver. I just want to be sure nobody else does. Hey, the drunks. I'm sorry. You're fine. Take your time. But there just I have nothing else to say. Okay, Mark. Good message. Thank you so much. You're doing good, Mark. I love you. We love you, too. Paul White, followed by Terry Brooks, followed by Jerry Myth. Good morning, Paul. Well, good morning. Uh, Paul. No, you're Paul. I'm Paul. You're Paul. Oh, okay. You're Hillary. Yeah. Okay. Hi. We got two Paul's in the room. So, there you go. Okay. Go ahead. Hey, you know, it's funny cuz uh when I was in school, uh I was almost always the only one in the classroom, but uh it may at some point become a popular name. Who knows? Okay. Uh, honorable members of the city council Madame Mayor, I am here to express concern about proposals affecting the Grand Sierra Resort and a proposed arena and its relationship to the UNR. There are many technical matters involved in this that are way beyond my competence and I thank staff for being able to provide some of that information. But in general, I do have one statement to make about this sort of thing. For 18 years now, various citizen advocacy groups, currently Faith in Action, have advocated for the inclusion of community benefit agreements as part of any profit-making corporations. privileges of use of city infrastructure tax breaks, sometimes financial participation and so forth. We have never really adopted a firm policy on that that would be applied across the board. I wish we would, but if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. I only hope that everyone keeps in mind that the council and madame mayor represents all the people of Reno, not simply those with the deepest [Applause] pockets. On a side note, Madame Mayor, I wish you well in the face of surveillance, potential harassment. Thank you. potential aggression. Thank you. Which is probably going to be achieved with impunity because of a suit to prevent the perpetrator's name from being public. Anytime I've been involved in a court process, I was not so shielded. Thank you. Thank you so much, Paul. Appreciate you being here. Thank you, Paul. And uh for the record, I believe that was Paul Leonard. So we're going to move on to Paul White. Okay, Paul. Second, Paul. Paul White. Uh virtually co-signing for the GSR's billiondoll arena project and partnering with their owner, Alex Moro, would be a huge risk Reno cannot afford. Mr. Morelo says he has genuine concern for Reno. He promises he'd be a good partner on this project. I don't believe him and I urge you to vote no. I base that on a firsthand incident from the past few months that shown that Mr. Moro and GSR have no genuine concern for the people of Reno or our future. One of GSR's other local properties is a maintenance building on Spring Street on the back side of GSR's Golf Lake. Immediately next to this GSR property is a strip of half a dozen small businesses, including a gym, a book publisher, and others. On Mr. Morelo's property, right next to this small business parking lot fronting Greg Street, sits a homeless camp with a pile of typical homeless trash. Mr. Morelo has allowed this illegal camp with its periodic noise and controlled substance use to stay on his property for months because it doesn't impact his casino or his ability to make money. But two of the female business owners next to the property have told GSR how the homeless camp does impact them makes them feel fearful coming and going from their parking lot sometimes in the dark with the homeless camp just a few feet away. For months, these homeless business owners have urged GSR to remove this camp, but they've refused. In the last month, on behalf of the business owners, I've spoken with GSR four times. I've asked them, "Please have concern for your property neighbors and removed the illegal camp. Every time I've spoken with GSR, they've told me how much they care about the situation, said they would remove it immediately, and then did nothing. The illegal homeless camp and garbage remain, as does the daily intimidation of the small business owners. GSR could remove this camp in 30 minutes. It would cost them almost nothing, but they haven't cared enough to do it. This small incident is a canary in the coal mine for the council. It should warn all of you how GSR and Mr. Moro would deal with Reno in the event of unanticipated problems. GSR would do what they want to do regardless of how negatively it impacted our community just like they've done with their small business neighbors. I urge you vote no. All right. Thank you, Paul. Paul number two. Okay. Terry Brooks, followed by Jerry Myths, followed by Bridget Harmon. Terry, so glad you're here. Where have you been? Where have you been all my life? I've been here. I'm usually early. So, good morning. It's me, Terry Brooks again. And today, I'd like to share with you my thoughts on retirement and social activity and what seniors go through. When seniors had spent most of their lives working with a lot of people, they got to know a and routinely interacted with a lot of people. But when seniors finally retire and spend more time at home, they might not spend as much time with others while they are at home. Many seniors remember the time that they spent with their children. And when they retire, they may get to spend more time with their grandchildren, but many seniors have children that have moved to far away places. And then their grandchildren may also be in far away places. So many seniors now have already lost a spouse, so they wind up being alone in their house. So when such seniors are less socially active, they're probably less physically active and less mentally active. But the more physically active that seniors want to be, then the more mentally active they will probably be. And the more mentally active that seniors want to be, then the more socially active they will probably be. The more time that people spend with other people, the more active they are and the more they learn from other people. So, it's good that there are so many senior centers and so many good activities at such senior centers. People usually have a lot of fun spending time with each other while they're getting to know a lot of things about each other. I spend a lot of time with quite a variety of people and I've even learned to write about what I've learned from people. I would like to thank you all for listening to me today and I'm sure that I'll be back after learning more from people someday. Oh, I'd like to add another good thing about pets is that they have interaction with elderly people who live alone a lot. and I didn't have time or space to bring that up here. But do you have a dog? I used to have pets when I owned my own houses or farms, but uh since I started renting the place out here, I haven't had a pet. But I've got a lot of friends who have pets and they're sort of like my pets. Yeah, I love that. Come up and speak. I love that. Okay, maybe Terry, the next one you can do on pets. Actually, I am going to do a series on animal rights. I love that. So, so important. It'll be a while. Okay, good. But we'll publish it. Yeah. Good job. Did you get my book on uh discrimination? I did. Okay. I did get it. It was fantastic. Okay. So, we're going to publish that, too. Oh, okay. Good. Yeah. Thank you. Great job. Thanks Terry. Okay, Madame Clerk. Jerry Myths, followed by Bridget Harmon, followed by Mac Rossy. Jerry the Pizza. Hi, Jerry. Come on up, Jerry. The pizza man. Good to see you. Good for you. Okay, can I get some uh a little bit lower? I'm Jerry the pizza man. Okay. Myth sad. Not easy to say. I'm also a deputy sheriff and the power invested in me. I'm making the citizens arrest. I like the following. Carl Devin Mr. Martinez the mayor. I want you to stand up against the wall. Put your hands up and spread your legs. You're under arrest. Just a little joke. Okay. Um, I've had extensive talks. Mayor Chibi, can I have your attention? I've had extensive talks with Brian Copen. There he is holding up the wall over there. Okay. Um, if you'd like to retire me, and I want to be retired as a what? The grandfather. A grandfather. Okay. Um, I would like to add to my uh legacy, some paperwork. So, being recognized for my body of work that you've helped me with, Marish TV, you remember we put in the first senior related street sign on Paradise Drive thanks to you. Once I got to know you, everybody else fell in line. Oh boy. Somebody talked real fast. But that's that's all right. I I did a lot of work out there to protect my fellow citizens and threw a big party. You gave me $500 and so did other city council members. Um I want to thank a few people. I see Nathan over there. He's the guy that wears an ascot. Okay. Um he needs more money, more staff to run the 100 parks that you have in this town. He's a great leader, but he needs more staff. And give him a raise for God's sakes. Look at the guy. You know, he wears an ascot. Who wears an ascot anymore? I told you I'd pay you. Um I want to thank a few people cuz I promise to be nice today. Uh Marissa with Reno Direct. Um used to be Janine, right? She is great. Yeah. Um Paul Ellison with the traffic department. You wouldn't know him, maybe you do. He's on the eighth floor. He helped me put in the speed humps on Paradise Drive. Maria Paz Fernandez, uh, a Latino lady. Um, Mr. Martinez. Um, now there's some people I don't want to thank, but hi Carl. How are you? There's the city attorney. Looking more like Jay Edgar Hoover every day. Um, oh, I'm getting that look. Anyway, I got 3 seconds. Thank you very much for your time. I like that certificate. Thank you very much. We'll make sure we get you one for all the work you've done for our seniors. So, she's on the record, Brian. Anyway, I have a Bible here. Have a great day, Jerry. I also brought a joint. Can you give me a match? Okay. It's tobacco. Go have a great day. I'm trying to get rid of All right, Madam Clerk. Bridget Harmon, followed by Mac Rossy, followed by Steven White. All right, Bridget. Give me a minute here. Okay, Hillary. Okay, you know how long it takes you to get ready. You're so lovely. Me and Mark, the guy in a wheelchair, are fighting for your attention. We're both in love with you. Okay, and away we go. All right. Bye, Jerry. Hi. Good morning. Good morning. What did I forget? Mayor Shivi, city council. Thank you for having me this morning. My name is Bridget Harmon. I am a lifelong resident of Old Southwest Reno. I currently live in W 2 with my husband Dan and our two little boys, Ren and Rivers. I'm here today to ask the council to prioritize a matter of great importance to my family and the residents of War II to revisit the changes um the changes to neighborhood commercial zoning made in January of 2025, specifically allowing drive-through businesses to be developed in residential areas zoned neighborhood commercial. I would like to recognize Councilwoman Naomi Door for her communication with the neighborhood and her efforts to help bring your attention to this issue. For the last few months, our our neighborhood has been very concerned about plans to develop a drive-through quick lube in one of the lots zoned as neighborhood commercial. Located on the corner of Mayberry and Hunter Lake Drive, this lot is within a school zone a mere 500 ft from Hunter Lake Elementary and in an intersection heavily used by parents and children walking to and from school. Had the special use permit been granted to the Jify Lube, this would have presented an unacceptable risk to school children. In addition, this drive-through quick loop would have been built in the heart of Mayberry Avenue in a highly residential location, forever changing the face and the feel of the area. After nearly 800 public comments were submitted in opposition to this project, we realize that the real underlying issue is that the changes to the zoning put in place January 2025 failed to recognize the unique characteristics of this lot and failed to take this con into consideration the needs of the neighborhood and the residents who live there. The description of neighborhood commercial in the city codes has an emphasis on pedestrian-friendly businesses and a drive-through business seems in contradiction to this zone description. On behalf of our community, I am asking that you immediately re-evaluate these changes and do away with allowing drive-through businesses um to be developed in this residential area. Oop, sorry. I think I Oh, sorry. On behalf of our community, I am asking that you immediately re-evaluate these changes and do away with allowing drive-through businesses to be developed in the residential area and all other neighborhood commercial zonings. Reno is showing tremendous growth, which is a wonderful thing, and the residents of Old Southwest are not opposed to development. But as we continue to grow, all the more reason to keep these pockets of neighborhoods unique and familyfriendly. These are areas worth conserving, and the residents that live there agree. The amount of public comment submitted in opposition of this drive-through quick loop is unprecedented and a true testament to how much we love our neighborhood and our community. As I said, we are not opposed to development, but a drive-thru in a neighborhood commercial zone does not serve the well-being of the community. All we ask for is that these neighborhood commercial lots be zoned appropriately so that as Reno grows, we can welcome in a business that enriches our community. A place where the neighborhood and the business can both thrive together. Time is of the essence. I ask you to prioritize your consideration of this issue. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you for your advocacy. Great job. Mac Rossi, followed by Steven White, followed by Craig Bronzen. All right. Good morning, Mac Rossi. For the record, I just want to touch base on a comment for the engagement for community through the board committees and commissions that has been addressed. All city employees are compensated for serving the residents of the city of Reno. Many residents of the city of Reno volunteer by engaging in community through their boards, committees, and commissions, which those volunteers receive no compensation for the many hours of help serving the city and their fellow residents. I would assume the city staff is needed to conduct these board meetings and uh for the committee and the commission meetings which take place sometimes after the hours of 5:00 possibly two times a month. with this possibility is the staff members are now overtime are now being paid overtime to conduct these meetings which is possibly the staff members starting their days a little later on the days they are going to be conducting a meeting and they won't fall into an possibility of overtime on the pay scale. I not I do not believe that one issue is going to affect this one issue is going to affect $26 million gap that is underway. I assume this would be a no-brainer for the city would by cancelling any board, committee, and commissioned meetings that the many volunteers have put their time into. Thank you. All right. Good job, Mac. Thank you. Steven White, followed by Craig Bronzen, followed by Angelique Martinez. Good morning, mayor. Good morning, council members. I got to tell you, I I'm having some post-traumatic issues here this morning. Watching the little girls girl scouts up here talking to all of you. Kind of blew what I had to say today. But you see, in the spring of 1999, I was invited to talk to a bunch of Boy Scouts, a local church, tell them how they could go to the parks and have art shows and raise money for the camping trip. The next morning, I was getting ready to set up my own artwork in front of a park bear. Gunshots rang out. That was a massacre at Coline that morning. I witnessed it firsthand. And those boy scouts that I talked to the night before walked right into that massacre the next morning. Changed my life forever. put me on this mission to deliver the gift of art back to the children of our country as an alternative to guns, drugs, and violence. I've been on that mission now for 29 years altogether. I've fought federal lawsuits. I got a state assembly bill passed here in Nevada. And you don't do anything about it. None of these girls. Did anybody tell any of these kids that they could go to the parks this summer and have art shows and raise money for their camping trips? You're having a senior art show down here at the art and cultural center. Is anybody going to tell any of those seniors that they can set up right in front of the art and cultural center all summer and sell their artwork? And you know what the problem is? The mayor, you hit it on the nail. You talk to other mayors about it. They have a blank look on their face. They don't know what to do about it. They don't. They're clueless. All of you are clueless. You have no idea how to deal with it or even what to tell people. You need to sit down across the table with me and visit with me for an hour. Each one of you needs to. Mayor, you know that, don't you? I have information to give you that we can we can finally do this. You don't understand that each one of you has the personal power to deliver the gift of art back to every city and every kid in this nation because you have this opportunity to create art in the park in the city parks here in Reno. You know, I gave you a documents. I hand this out to everybody. I put this down here right now. It gives you the wording to tell everybody. I want you to hand that document out first to all of your staff. They don't know any of this. Your city business license department is telling me I have to have a license to sell my artwork in the park. I asked them why. They said, "Cuz I'm selling a commodity." They have no clue. Your own city, what the ladies told me up there, it wasn't their fault. It was your fault. What they told me was a violation of your city ordinances, a violation of state law, and a violation of federal law. And it wasn't her fault. It was your fault because you didn't know what to tell him. All right. Please you God, please give the gift of art back to your kids. God, please do it. Thank you, Steve. Appreciate you so much. God bless you all. Thank you so much. Craig Bronzen, followed by Angelique Martinez, followed by Connie S. Vera. Honorable mayor, members of city council, good morning. My name is Craig Bronson. I'm currently the chair of the city of Reno Recreation and Parks Commission. Having worked full-time in parks recreation over the last 36 years and continuing to work as a consultant with local government for the past 11 years, I have a pretty good understanding of the needs for citizen boards and commissions. And I'd like to discuss three points today related to agenda item C2, which is the 90-day hiatus that has occurred with city boards and commissions. First, I support the city review of all boards and commissions as this is a best practice that should be done on a regular basis. Without a regular review, boards and commissions, a board and commission creep can occur when a city continues to set up citizen involvement opportunities and doesn't sunset the groups when the needs been addressed. Second, the edict from city staff for a 90-day hiatus without warning uh is, in my opinion, a slap in the face of every citizen who stepped up to volunteer for their time and sends the message that we don't need you. City budget problems are unfortunately not new. However, I've never heard of a city taking it out on their citizen board and commissions that serve as volunteers in service to their community. Yes, we take staff time for the things that we do as a commission. However, as your staff reviews the need for boards and commissions, I would hope that they will also identify the dollar value of the many hours boards and commission members have contributed to the city so that this 90-day we don't need you is reflected in the value of the community loss, the amount of money that we've been putting in as volunteers on your behalf. I would also hope that city staff includes board and commission members in the review so that any action that is done together is done together and not to us as volunteers. Thirdly, as chair of the recreation and parks commission, I've made a formal request to staff to allow the commission to have a joint meeting in June with the city of Sparks and Wo County to discuss the forming of a regional park and recreation district that could relieve the city of Reno for general fund support for parks and recreation. Since historically it is parks and recreation departments that are the first ones to be hit when there are budget problems, I would think that you would want your recreation and parks commission to be proactive and look for alternative funding sources. And my understanding is I heard from our director this morning that that may have been approved. So go ahead and have that joint meeting. And if that is the case, I thank you for doing that. And since this wasn't on my list, but I have 30 seconds. The presentation by the Girl Scouts is the example of things that go on in the community that your park recreation commission can work with staff and the community to make things happen. Unfortunately, if this hiatus sticks, it's going to have to wait till August or September because we're not in session. Thank you. Thank you so much. I love your comments. Angelique Martinez, followed by Connie SA followed by Danny Heinen. Hi. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Angelique Martinez. I'm with Nevada Mining Association on behalf of the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce leadership class, class of 2025. Awesome. I was going to say I don't remember ever mining coming to the city of Reno. So, welcome to the the state, but not so much at the city. So, welcome. And these are my classmates, so I'll let them introduce themselves. Hi, I'm Jenny Nton. Um, I am an employee of NB Energy. Hi. And I just want to thank you all for having us today. All right. Yeah. Hello. My name is Jerel Go forth. I am with Panasonic HR, specifically with our strategic um programs and community outreach. I love that. HR is always so stylish. You just are. I love it. I'm Michaela Porter from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. Um, and I just want to thank y'all for your continued effort to the community and your dedication, even though we may not always agree on all the things. I think we have the common goal of um, wanting to put our people first in our community first. So, thank you. All right. Great job. Hey guys, uh, I'm Lance Scalgon. I'm one of the owners of the Elma State River West Resort businesses downtown. So, always I know who you are. I know. I know. I know your mom. She'd be proud. So, yeah. Right. So, thank you guys for the opportunity today. Really appreciate it. L, don't you have a grand opening coming up? Yeah, in 13 days for a mini storage facility. So, yeah, right downtown. So, if you guys need storage, let me know. I know. I love it. I love it. But yes, thank you all for having us today and it's been a pleasure to experience a Reno City Council meeting. Okay. Well, we look forward to seeing you guys in these seats because usually that program has really sort of inspired a lot of young people in the community like yourselves to run for office. So, um, hopefully we can convince you to do it. You know, they're kind of like, uh, no, you got this. You got this. Hashtag mayor made me do it. We We You guys are our future. Yeah. Come on up. Yes. Sure. Sorry. Does anyone have the phone? Ideal. How are you doing? Good. So, good. Right. Okay. [Music] Connie SA followed by Danny Heinden followed by Manuel Ortiz and mayor. I wanted you to know you have mining in the house every day over here. Oh yeah, I forget. I forget how the miner at least a finder. Aer finder minder. Yeah. Hi. Good morning. Who's your special guest? I'm Connie S. Vera and this is my grandson, Frank S. Vera. Well, no wonder, Frank. Do you know what she does? She comes here every council meeting and advocates for better parks, better slides, a better environment for your for your future. He's going to say, I remember when you We'll watch him on YouTube tomorrow. He'll be excited then. I love it. And Jackie, thank you for the distraction, raccoon. Perfect. Um, thank you for letting me speak today. I'll be brief. I I gave you all a handout with all of Got it. Um, but mostly I just Can we bring this up? Yeah. So, I'm advocating I know ADUs are not on the menu today, but I didn't know when it would be back or the final one or what opportunities would have to speak. So, I just wanted to give you a few handouts. Um, the two main things that I'd like to be heard about is um, one, the architecture thing keeps coming up with ADUs and there's several examples I gave you of different architecture and how it kind of runs the gambit. It doesn't seem fair to really focus here, Frankie. You're not your turn. And, uh, so I just wanted to get that across. And I I wonder if it isn't motivated by, you know, now you can buy a little house on Amazon and maybe people don't want that in their neighborhood. But a lot of them are really nice. I mean, they have the snowload capability. They're wellbuilt. They're inexpensive. And the funny thing to me is you can even get free shipping on a house. Wow. And I find that totally amazing. It's amazing. But a great option, like I've told you before, for the multi-generational housing. Frankie lives in my little house back here with his mom and his sister. And we would like to This is one of the prefab homes you can see over off Villanova. If you ever get a chance, go by there. It's less than 1,000 square ft, but it's a two-bedroom, one and a half bath, perfect for a small family like this. Um, and you can see by my chart that I have no options at this time on what I could do with that property. And so for 30 years, it's just been a maintenance issue. Um, so the other thing is lot size because this is a 6,000 ft lot. And I think what's being lost is the fact that 6,000 square ft in our neighborhood is a large lot. And we have small houses, large lots, lot of maintenance issues. um that in the old days you had $30 a month for water. That isn't the case today. We don't have time or money for all of that. So, I do hope that that really brings it home to you. And so, that's about all other than I would be opposed to the GSR thing. Having lived in downtown Reno when in 1983 when it all began, too many horror stories. You remember in 1983? Yes. Right. We still own the little house down there. And do you? Yes. And it has been a problem for years. Oh, and Jackie, this is Frankie's rendition of the raccoon. Oh, I love it. Look at that. So, thank you. That is incred. Look at you. You're an artist. I hope Steve White is outside. If you see him, let him let him see your art. He will love it. Great job, Frankie. Madame Mayor, through you to the manager. Um, I'd like to make sure that Miss Sylvier's uh excellent uh letter to us and the pictures especially are included in the packet for our planning staff working on the ADU ordinance. Um, because this is the kind of real visual representation of what we're trying to help accomplish that I think would be very helpful to the people and you've done a better job than we have, I think, of telling the story. Well, thank you. I really appreciate those comments. Yeah, it it actually also I would just say to reiterate what you're saying, it really matters when we see the people that it impacts instead of just, you know, some people don't um aren't experiencing that. And so when we see it firsthand, it really makes a difference. So, thank you so much. Thank you. Appreciate that. Have a great day. Danny Heinson, followed by Manuel Ortiz, followed by William Pooert via Zoom. All right, Danny, come on up. You've been waiting so patiently. Absolutely. Good job. I wasn't planning to speak at a city council meeting with less than 24-hour notice, but when opportunity knocks, you answer. All right. My name is Danny Heinson. I'm the founder and executive director of My Hometown Heroes. Our mission is to help bridge a gap between cancer and college, one scholarship at a time. Back in May 1999, I graduated from the University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. A week prior to graduation, I woke up with a headache that just wouldn't quit. Went to a couple doctors and they said it's probably stress of finals. You're anxious to graduate and you're excited to go to Europe. Symptoms continue. Calls back. You know the routine. Graduated on a Sunday. Two days later, I'm supposed to be on a plane to Baal, Spain to backpack Europe with my best friends. But Monday, the day before I left, the headaches were worse than ever. And my dad and I went to the emergency room at St. Mary's and after two and a half hours of testing met my dad back in the waiting room and he said, "It doesn't look like you're going to Europe. The doctors think you have a tumor." They found a raetball sized tumor on the left parental lobe of my brain which was removed three days later. Due to massive seizure complications, I had to relearn how to walk and talk and tie my shoes at the age of 23 years old. July, I had a conclusive cranottomy where I was conclusively diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma, a type of cancer with a median survival rate of 25 or of five years. I'm happy to say that 2025 is my 25th year of remission from brain cancer. Wow. And that is incredible. I'm a big celebrator of milestones. In in 2010, I celebrated my 10th year remission from brain cancer. And I decided I'm going to compete my first Iron Man triathlon, 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile marathon. And with that, I was going to crowdfund and raise over $10,000 symbolic of the decade milestone, and start a foundation called My Hometown Heroes because the people who were there for me when I was diagnosed, the community, the the hospital staff, the nurses, they were my heroes. So this is 100% reciprocating back into the community. And since 2011, we have awarded over $350,000 in scholarships to collegebound cancer survivors, not only in Northern Nevada, but for cancer survivors all across the country. And um it's it's one of the most overlooked and and underfunded demographics in our country today. Um pediatric canc gets 4%, this demographic gets much less than that. So our mission at my hometown hero is to help bridge the gap between cancer and college. I believe in this mission so much that in 20 uh 2015 I left my corporate job to go all in on the foundation and to to build infrastructure and now we have a sustainable board and thanks to to amazing people like Brandy Anderson who I've known since high school and to Devin Reese who have stepped up to become uh sponsors of a My Hometown Hero scholarship they get to be the first person to contact the recipient to inform them of their awards. One of my objectives is get 100 people donating a hundred bucks a month, which equals $100,000 on the $100,000 a year. If we get a 100 people donating 100 bucks a month on a recurring basis. Wow. Um and that's looks like my time's up here today. But thank you so much, Deon, for your time. Great to see you, Brandy. Love you. And um Oh, Danny, what a beautiful story and what an inspiration you are. And you are so right. I don't think people realize the young age whenever you're affected by cancer because your life is just sort of starting and I think the hard part people don't realize is that all your friends are young around you and they're going on to live their life very vibrant and you feel um a sense of loss there and it can lead to depression and all those other things watching you know everyone else around you kind of get excited like you were saying going backpacking and so I think it is harder on that demographic For sure it is. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that to light, Hillary. Um, going through that myself. Um, because you as especially for just anybody in general, but especially for young men, we're very stoic. We want we're very guarded on our expressing our feelings. Most men. Yeah. Right. Um, so it's it's it's very important that we get out there and we definitely express ourselves to to to to highlight this overlooked demographic. So, I thank you for your time. Well, thank you to Councilwoman Anderson and Councilman Ree. I really appreciate that because I think everyone in this room has probably had some relationship with um cancer and it's um really remarkable what you're doing. Love to help you too. So, I'll get in touch with these guys and uh love to see how we can all get involved. Good job. Thank you, Danny. Don't you have some events coming up this um summer and into the fall? Boy, do we ever. Okay, good. Yeah, we have our networking night out of the ballpark on August Tuesday, August 12th. We have our signature event called Heroes Out taking place on Thursday, September uh 25th at the World War Garden Atrium. Oh, good. Um Okay. Ry's son was uh one our honorary speaker last year. Devon was there as well. And we've have a a fundraising poker tournament that's really starting to to catch fire. Uh we raised over $20,000 back in the end of March this year. We're going to keep that flame burning and grow it bigger and bigger. Awesome. That's awesome. Well, congratulations and you look like you're doing amazing in very inspirational one day at a time. Awesome. Yeah, there you go. Sometimes one minute at a time. All right, Madame Clerk. Good job. Manuel Ortiz, followed by William Pluchert via Zoom, followed by Ilia Arbidman. Hi. Hello. Hello. Who are all your friends? Good morning. Good morning. My name is Manuel Ortiz for the record. Uh I have some of the mentors for a program called deans future scholars and yeah future mayors no future presidents future scholars. Yes DFS for short. Yeah it's usually a lot easier to say but anyways good morning. Good morning Mayor Shivi and council members. Good morning Trustee Nichollet uh who we have the pleasure of working very close with with the school district. Like I said, my name is Manuel Ortiz and I'm here to speak in support of agenda item B23. Um, I have been a part of the deans future scholar program for 24 years. As you can tell, I have grays in my beard. I didn't always have them. Um, but I was recommended for the DFS program when I was a sixth grader uh in Glen Dun at Glen Duncan Elementary School. And prior to that point, I had never stepped foot on a college campus. I never even thought about college as a possibility for me. I had no idea what it was. And to be honest, I didn't see the value of the counselor coming to me and telling me that I was going to be a part of this program. I actually always tell this story that I got in trouble in that first meeting. But I'm so glad that the the counselor didn't give up on me. And even after this point, I didn't want to participate in the program. I didn't want to give up my summer and go to university. However, I have a very strong willed Hispanic mother who is very persuasive in her ways and I remember she literally dragged me to the university and after that my life changed for the better. I voluntarily went to the university and I actually met my wife uh who was also a participant in the program when I was going through the program as well and now we have two beautiful daughters. Um, through the DFS program, I received academic support, mentorship, college prep, and perhaps most most importantly, a sense of belonging and a belief in my potential. After a lot of time and hard work, I eventually earned my bachelor's degree, my master's degree, and my adviser was here earlier. I even took some uh PhD classes. So, that is in the queue. Um, today I am honored to serve as the program's assistant director. And for me, it's a great story that now I get to help uh shape the lives of students who are walking the path that I once did. Dean's Future Scholars is a local homegrown program housed in the College of Education and Human Development at UNR. It supports first generation college students from sixth grade through college graduation. All of our services are free and includes summer programming, academic tutoring, paid internships, mentoring, and assistance applying for college. DFS knows that college is not for everyone and so we support students who want to enter the trade, go to the military, or enter the workforce. Our number one goal is to help students graduate from high school. And we have supported close to 2,000 students from underrepresented backgrounds achieve their goals. On behalf of our team, our students, our families, I want to sincerely thank all of you for public service. We know your job isn't easy. We like to especially thank Council Member Martinez and Council Member Ree for your support and considering Dean's future scholars as a recipient for your support. Thank you. That's awesome. Great job. Thank you. Thank you. Do you all mind if we take a picture? Yeah, we love it. Hi. Hi. Nice to meet you. Congratulations. It's well done. Well, hello. Who are you? Future scholar. This is our youngest scholar. Good morning. I know, right? Yes. Okay, here we go. One two three. One, two, three. And then one, two, three. Okay, good job. Good job. Thanks you guys. Goodbye. Bye. All right, Madame Clerk, I'm going to send it back to you. William Poocher via Zoom, followed by Ilia Arbitman, followed by Emma Dodie. Hi, Willie. Good morning. Good morning, mayor and members of the city council. Um, my name is William Pooert and I am speaking to you today in the capacity of president of the Sons and Daughters of Aaron, Northern Nevada's Irish Heritage nonprofit organization and I am uh speaking to you on uh item B22. I wish to thank you on behalf of our organization for the discretionary funds and uh especially uh Councilman Ree. Um, we uh have been around over 50 years. Uh, we uh were one of those legacy businesses mentioned by the Historical Preservation Society last year. We're very proud of it for our um efforts in um uh preserving uh Reno's Irish history. And um uh we would like to invite all of you and the public to our upcoming Northern Nevada Celtic Kaye which will be held um next Saturday, May 17th in the Reno Brewery District in the 400 block. And um I just would like to say on a personal note, I was listening to the um Girl Scouts and I found that her presentation very moving. We all have pets that we miss. Isn't that so true? Thanks. Thanks, Willie. Have a nice day. Thank you very much. You too. Take care. Ilia Arbertman, followed by Emma Dodie, followed by Nicole Anagapas via Zoom. I got this thing for you. Ilia Arbertman, for the record, um I am uh on the W three neighborhood advisory board. I'm going on four years on that body and I was at the community forum last night um which was scheduled in lie of of the board. Um, I actually thought it went great and I'm looking forward uh to the next one. Um, I'm speaking today uh on the GSR uh tax increment financing which was a matter of heated discussion yesterday and um city manager Bryant was definitely trying to explain to us and you know sort of do some acrobatics and justify why it made sense to um give uh the GSR the deal that the city's uh poised to poised to give them. So I wanted to speak to a couple uh issues that I see with the deal. I'm not necessarily opposed to the arena, but I think that we've learned, we should be learning our lesson, especially given the budget crisis that has canceled the boards, right? We need more revenue. We need uh we do need developers to actually give back and we also need requirements on those developers that whatever they build is actually going to benefit the city. So, the redevelopment zone, why are they even eligible for tax increment financing in the first place? Right? I have some clips here from NRS. As we know, this is a very specific statutory designation that refers to blighted areas. I mean, there's really um a lot. I was trying to kind of highlight some of the areas here. It's found in a clear that um a blighted area uh eligible for redevelopment, right? Um communities blighted which constitute the social economic liabilities, right? The benefits which will result from remedying such conditions, constructing in blighted areas, right? Will acrew to all the inhabitants and property owners of the community in which they exist. Not really sure that the parking lot of the GSR is even um uh uh would qualify. Um it's not a blighted area. In fact, there are no residents there. There is no community there. It's just a parking lots on the other side of the freeway. It's very difficult to really indicate what benefit the city will get from this. I think we're taking a big risk saying that, oh, we're going to make money from sales tax, we're going to make money from this and that, right? Because we might not. We don't know what's going to be happening in a few years. Are people still going to be showing up in big numbers to events like this? We don't know. We do know that if they build this, we will get property taxes from them if we allow them to pay the property tax like they're supposed to rather than giving him back through the financing. Um, also, TIFF financing should really only be used if no other reasonable means of financing, right, are available. This guy's got a billion dollars. He can build this thing without the city's help. Here's on the city's website. Here's agency goals for RDA stuff. um increase the diversity number of residents living there, quality housing options, optimizing flow of pedestrians cycles vehicles right? Safer, more accessible spaces, outdoor spaces, right? All of these things. I'm not seeing any of this in the proposal, right? We're just basically saying this is going to bring money um because of people coming to shows and concerts. I'm just not sure that it qualifies. Finally, a lot has been reported on this, but I have some of your guys' CNE reports just to show here. Devin Reese, 15 grand from the GSR. Uh Miguel Martinez, here's five grand from the GSR. Right. This list, it's pretty long here. Naomi Der, I think we have here five grand from the GSR. So, and here's everyone else's campaign contributions. So, thanks. Attorney Hall would know, but probably best for most of the council except for council member Eert to recuse yourselves from the discussion anyway. All right. Thank Thanks. So, Ilia, um, you're on three three now. I'm award three neighborhood advisory board. Well, I was three now. Yeah. Okay. Got it. And you said four years. Going on four years. Yeah. Okay. And I'm glad to hear you said I It was just nice to hear you say that it went well yesterday. It went great. Let's keep them going. Yeah. Good job. Yeah. Okay. Um, Madam Clerk, Emma Dodie, followed by Nicole Anagapas via Zoom. Hi Nicole. Oh, Emma. Emma. Hi. Hi. Um, um, well, yeah, first I'd like to thank a previous public commenter for, uh, drawing attention to, um, cancer and young adults. Um, I am a 22-year-old cancer survivor myself. Um, so I'm glad that, you know, the attention that was drawn on the public record today. Um, to move on to my prepared remarks. Uh, good morning. My name is Emma Dodie and I'm a UNR student. I'm not here to necessarily speak against the proposed GSR arena as I understand this is not tied to a student fee. But while UNR is in the spotlight today, I would like to draw attention to students basic needs. UNR students are struggling to afford the essentials of food and housing and this is not expected to get better anytime soon. When I served on the student government ASUN, I learned about all the data that has been collected on this topic. to run through some numbers. A survey last year showed a 45% food insecurity rate and a 25% housing insecurity rate, as well as that food insecurity unsurprisingly correlates with lower GPA. Visits to the campus food pantry pack provisions, doubled year-over-year in FY23. And the starkkest indicator to me, the student emergency fund, which requires that all other sources of aid, including loans, be exhausted first before applying for assistance, had its entire annual allocation from ASUN depleted less than halfway through the current fiscal year. To add insult to injury, every single student fee increase proposed to the board of regents in December passed, totaling an extra $237.50 per semester in fees. No wonder enrollment is projected to drop. Make no mistake, this is a threat to the future of our city, state, and nation. If more and more people are simply priced out of college, then we can expect shortages of doctors nurses teachers lawyers engineers, scientists, and other essential professions. Meeting the needs of students is something we can't afford to not make a priority. Though a new basketball arena is currently proposed would not directly worsen the financial situation of students, which is why I'm not really speaking against it today. I wish this same attention could be devoted to ensuring that we students have access to the bare essentials needed to earn our degrees and become the future. And that maybe one day, sooner than later, a project of similar ambition aimed at building an affordable campus grocery store, affordable student housing, or support for programs so as to prevent further fee increases could come before this body. Thank you. Wow, you need to run for office. Impressive. Thank you. You did a great job. Were you nervous at all? Kind of. No, you didn't. You didn't seem like it. I I thought you did a fantastic job. Well, thank you. Thank you, Emma. When I was on um ASUN, I did a lot of uh fighting for food insecurity. I've been down to the legislature uh to discuss it. I do think it's just not enough of a priority. And while we're talking about UNR, here's what UNR needs more than anything in my opinion. That is fantastic. I am glad that you brought that up because I don't think people think about that food insecurity when it comes to um your age group particularly, right? So, um good job. I think we need to do some initiative there for sure. Very much. Yeah, keep coming back. Good job. All right. Okay, Madame Clerk. Nicole Anagapasis via Zoom. Hello. Oh, hello Mayor Shibi. Can you guys hear me? We can now. Awesome. That's fantastic. Hello. Good morning, Mayor Shivi. And uh I'd like to extend a special hello and thank you to our most ethical council member, Councilman Ree. Um I'm unable to make it today in person, but despite what Councilman Ree may believe, myself and my friends are always tuned into these meetings. They're incredibly entertaining. Um, and we watch the decisions that the council makes very closely and we do our best to stay informed about sort of how those decisions affect our daily lives and the work that many of us do in the mutual aid space. Uh, I'm here today not just to remind Councilman Ree that he's very lucky to have such a devoted constituency, but also to ask of an audit of the so-called activation efforts that are taking place in downtown Reno this summer. Um, especially those taking place at the Belief Plaza. While the city is in an active deficit, uh it does seem to be spending or is considering offering a billionaire tax break for a proposed stadium at the GSR and allocating $370,000 of ARPA funding to a well sponsored, well-funded organization that holds events at perhaps the most active and wellutilized space in downtown Reno. Um that organization is the Downtown Reno Partnership. Um I heard someone mention in a public comment the other day that budgets are about priorities and I could not agree more with that statement. Um, my question is how defunding the neighborhood advisory boards and essentially incentivizing a billionaire to move forward with a development that arguably has little evidence to activate the downtown area or the university area fits on your list of priorities. Um, but I'm sure Devon will let me know on Facebook, so that's always great. Also, um, the presentation that the Girl Scouts did was fantastic. Um, I'd like to remind council and everybody that we see a lot of homeless pets in our weekly mutual aid distributions. Um, we actually get pounds and pounds of dog food and cat food donated to us that we distribute. Um, it's always uplifting to see these animals and the people that love them out and uh joining us for our little block parties. Uh, but it is very heartbreaking and we do our best to keep those pets comfortable. Um, also uh somebody was mentioning um you know uh cancer and how I think Mayor Shivi you said that we all know somebody who has been touched in their lives by cancer in one form or another. Um, I myself am one of those people who knows and lost people to cancer. Um, I'd like to remind you all again that we do see a lot of people experiencing homelessness because of their health issues, uh, like cancer. Um, one woman I know uh, spent her time doing chemo in a shelter, which is just a horrible way to have to go through that. Um, yeah, it's heartbreaking. And also to touch on students, um we have many students that utilize our services as well. Um either they come to get food, we hand out plenty of non-p perishable food items, uh hot meals and the like. And we see lots of students. There are lots of students who are definitely food insecure. So I appreciate Mayor Shibi that um you are going to give some more attention to folks experiencing food insecurity as students. Um yeah, thank you for your time. Okay. Thank you, Nicole. Okay, Madame Clerk. And with that, we have no additional public comment registered. We did receive 41 comments that were general in nature or not directly associated with an agenda item prior to yesterday, May 6th, at 4 p.m. These comments were written correspondents received via our reno.gov online public comment form or by email to our office. Copies of these comments have been distributed to the Reno City Council and are available to the public on reno.gov/meings. These comments were distributed as 13 letters of support, 11 letters in opposition, and 17 letters of concern. All right. Thank you so much. I'm going to send it to um city manager Bryant. Uh go ahead. Thank you, Madam Mayor. We're going to pull item B17 off of this agenda as it's an accidental duplicate of a donation made at a prior council meeting. Then we will hear uh any items that are pulled from consent. Move into C1, the joint fire presentation. After that, we'll have lunch and a labor meeting. Return for around 1:00 for the GSR TIFF agreement. After we've opened the RDA, we'll close the RDA and then move through the agenda as in order with a target of handling items D1 through three for Rancher around 4:00. Okay. Thank you so much. And I just want to say goodbye to Miss Nichollet. Thank you for all you do. You're amazing. Um I've, you know, had the pleasure to see you work with students and speak with them and I just want to say thank you for your service. You really are. And you can tell how much you care when you're just looking at that teacher and just being so compassionate. So, thank you. And um the force, may the force be with you. I know it's not an easy job, but you got this. All right. Take care. Bye. Okay. Um here I'll move to approve the agenda as presented then. Second. So, I have a motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. Were we pulling consent items? We're not at consent yet. Okay. Okay. Sorry, you missed a sec. Okay. Um I have a motion, a second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed. Motion carries. Okay. Then we're going to head into approval of the minutes. Move to approve. I have a motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed. Motion carries. Uh now we are at consent agenda. Madam clerk, do you have any public comment? Uh, we do have one person registered. Uh, Kessa Lee. Okay. Come on up, Kessa. Love that name. Thank you. Great. Good morning, council members. My name is Kessa Lee. I'm here on behalf of Eddie House speaking in support of agenda item B18. We just wanted to express our sincere gratitude for your support and donation so that we can do all the important work that we do. Thanks to donations like yours, last year we were able to serve 544 homeless and at risk youth and give them the life and job skills necessary for sustainable independence. We also began construction on our TLC 36 building which is expected to open later this year and we're looking forward to seeing you all at the ribbon cutting. All right. Yeah. When are we doing that? It'll be We're not 100% sure on the date yet. Just a little bit later. We're hoping late summer. But you're going to keep us posted. Absolutely. Okay. That's awesome. And I saw some new donations of furniture just the other day. That sounds exciting, too. Like literally rooms and rooms of furniture. Yes. Yeah. We're so excited for um we just had our gala this last weekend and everything was amazing. Oh, it was it was beautiful. I loved it. It was incredible. Yes. Congratulations. Such a great organization doing great work. Thank you so much. All right. Good job, Cassa. All right. Um I'm actually going to send it to Councilwoman Taylor. Oh, Madame Mayor, I need to pull item B18. Okay. For disclosure. For disclosure. Okay. Um, so that with that being said, I'm going to ask council members what items they want to pull off the agenda. Vice Mayor's uh B18. Madame Mayor, I have B21 for disclosure, please. Okay. Hold on. I'm going to start with you, Councilwoman Anderson. Is there anything else you'd like to pull off? Nothing. Okay. Okay. Councilman Martinez. Wait, wait. Did you get B21? B21. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, Councilman Martinez, I'm okay. Thank you. All right. Any other ones? Okay. Councilman Reese. Madame Mayor, I have items uh B17 to pull and that I have B22 for a disclosure. So, B17 and B22. Okay. Thank you so much. All right. B7 was removed from the agenda. Okay. Thank you. Okay. All right. Uh, Councilwoman Der, nothing today. All right, Councilwoman Eert. Yeah, I have uh B11, B14, I'm sorry, B14 and B15. Okay. All right. May I get a motion to approve all other agenda items? So moved. I have a motion. Second. I have a second. All those in favor say I. All those opposed. Motion carries. All right. We are going to head into um Madame Clerk, I believe it B1. Yes, madame mayor, can I ask that we do the disclosure items before this one over because we have people here who are waiting on those items. Sure, no problem. They are just trying to get back to it. No problem. We are going to um head into a disclosure for B8 B18 B21 and B22 and B22. Okay. So, let's start with um B18. Uh, Madame Mayor, on item B18, I am a board member of Eddie House, so I will not be ving voting on this item. Okay. Thank you so much. We have um I'll move to approve that item then as um directed by staff. Okay, we have a motion. Second. We have a second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. All right. Item B21. Okay. Madame Mayor, fellow city council members, and madame clerk, on item B21, I'm disclosing that my son has been the grateful recipient of a college scholarship for two consecutive years from hometown heroes and continues to pursue his degree. On this matter, I have sought guidance from the city attorney's office. I've been advised that my son has a significant pecuniary interest in the scholarship and I have a commitment in private capacity to the interests of my son and his continued education. I've been advised that the independence of judgment of a reasonable person in my situation would be materially affected by my son's scholarship. I will not be participating or voting on this item today. Madame clerk, please accept this disclosure and lodge it on the record for this meeting pertaining to these agenda items and I will step out of the room for this item. Thank you. Okay. Thank you so much, Madam Mayor. Item B21 is mine. You've heard from uh Danny about the incredible work that Hometown Heroes is doing. I I certainly wish it was more than the $1,200 that our um discretionary funds allow, but I will invite each of you to participate in any way you can in the programming that this incredible organization is doing. Uh certainly uh many of you know that uh we lost Emily Reese to cancer and it's always a difficult time to or always a difficult um topic for me. uh but so honored to be able to make this small contribution this year and and please try to attend their events when they have them. But with that, I'll move to approve. Love that. Second. I have a motion and I have a second. All those in favor say I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. And madame mayor, we should do item um uh 212. I'm sorry. B2. I'm sorry. That was 21. Gotcha. Sorry. Okay. We're at B22. B22. Madame Mayor, I pulled this one. and fellow city council members. Madame clerk, in the interest of full transparency, item B22, I am disclosing that I am Irish and a paid member of the Sons and Daughters of Sato. Sedo is a nonprofit charitable organization that works to revive, foster, and promote Irish cultural events, interests, and sentiments in Nevada. The city donation will support Sato's mission, and I pay an annual membership fee to meet fellow Irish Americans, participate in and receive discount admissions to the organization sponsored events. On this matter, I sought guidance from the city attorney's office. I have been advised as a paid member of a charitable organization. I do not have a commitment in a private capacity to the interest of Sato. Madame clerk, please accept this disclosure and lodge it on the record for this meeting. Madame mayor, I'm prepared to move to approve item B22. All right. Thank you. I have a motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Now back to 11. Okay. Now we're going to head into item B1. Hello. Hello. How are you doing? Doing good. And you? Okay. Good. Okay. You look like you're ready? Ready. Uh, senior civil engineer Justin George um public works. I don't have a presentation for today, but am available for any questions. Okay. Yeah. So, this is for um a contract to um do a project in uh the North Valleys. It's a North Valley's corporate yard phase one um for uh about $3.5 million. So, can you just kind of say what what this what this project will be for? What this 3 million will cover? Yeah, so this is uh the first phase of several phases of building a corporation yard in the North Valley's area. And this will be for on&m to be able to to store service and utilize um sewer and streets and parks um equipment and vehicles up in the north valleys to be able to provide a a much better response to the north valleys rather than having to come from the downtown corpyard. Great. So this is being able to reach up north and you put less wear and tear on on our city vehicles and provide provide a more timely response. Great. So, will there be um designated street sweepers and snow plows that are just there year round? Believe that's the plan eventually. Yeah, this first phase is is getting salt sand um shed and brine mixing tanks up there and also uh a wash rack and drying beds up there. So, we don't have any, you know, covered storage facilities up there with this phase. This is getting the site prepped and ready, getting it fenced and secure, and then just getting those those basic services up there that we can fit into the the budget available at this time. So, it's not this three and a half million is not for any structure. Not yet. No, there's considerable amount of work that needs to happen before we can get the structures. Okay. So, basically just prepping the land and moving materials up there. Yeah. Yeah. And we we will have a a salt barn to be able to store the the salt sand we use up there and also brine so trucks don't have to come all the way back downtown to to refill on those. Okay. So, there won't be any storage of snow plows or street sweepers at this location until a structure is completed. Um we don't have plans for for that until we have a a structure up there to protect them during the winter. But, as you know, during the the you know, the events, those trucks are moving 24 hours a day. So they're not stopping to be stored. Yeah. What about um street sweepers that don't necessarily need to be protected from the snow like when they're being used. I will um stepside and let Travis talk about that a little more. Pardon me. Good afternoon. Travis Tel, director of maintenance and operations. Um I think I can answer some of the questions about what we're doing. It's um this first of all this is a phased project so it's going to take many years to complete the construction overall. Um right now public works has been really doing us a solid by being able to uh um get this property um started. We're going to get paved fencing in um as as Mr. George was talking about. We're going to get a salt and sand tent put in um so we can store material there. There's going to be uh wash racks for sweeping operations, for sewer and storm drain operations. We do have the intention of of being able to put possibly some sweepers up there. Um however, we're still on a schedule around the city. So, um when possible, we'll have equipment staged up there when it makes sense. Okay. Um snow plows will we do anticipate probably having a couple up there um just ready to go and be staged when we know a storm's coming. Okay, great. And the structures for the salt and other materials, will those be like the kind of tent structures we see or will they be a more permanent? Nope. It's We are going with the tent, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, it's it's the sprung structure. If you've been out to the corporation yard, um we have that big white tent there. And so, it'll be just a scaledown version of that. Essentially, this yard will be just a scaledown version of the corporation. Okay. And what's the life expectancy of one of those kind of structures? Well, the one we got up right now is about 15 years old and it's it's doing very well. Okay. So, they're just very uh economical to build. Okay, great. Um, all right. I don't know if anybody else have questions. Madam Vice or Madame Mayor, um, I I just have a couple questions. Mr. Truhol, first of all, thank you and Mr. George for the presentations. I I want to sort of go back in time in the first year that I was on council. I had the privilege of spending a fair amount of time in the courtyard with your teams and just learning about the various parts of the city. And this was the outgrowth of not only your efforts, but Madame Mayor and I uh sort of found ourselves in the odd position one time on a snow plow thinking about what was going on in the north valleys. And it seems so odd. We had so many employees who lived in the north valleys who when a snowstorm was about to hit, they had to leave their their homes quite a distance. It's challenging to get in and out of the north valleys at times, even in good conditions. But they would leave. They would come to the courtyard where they would park their car, get in a snow plow, and go back into the neighborhoods where they live and now are working. They would then have to take the snowplow back to the yard, get in their personal vehicle, and get home. And I think we recognize that long-term that just was not good for our people. So, I want it to also be said, it's not just about our equipment, but that the people who work for us and who live in the North Valleys uh deserve a much shorter commute. Uh, and so, um, I know that this is the long-term play is this, uh, additional satellite courtyard, and you all are bursting at the seams. Anyways, so I have, um, and I know that Madame Mayor has for a long time thought this was a good idea, and I'm glad to see the first parts of it happening. Um, I I'll be excited, of course, to see the next phases of it as you get to the buildout. I do hope that uh at least especially for the next couple of winters that we really do prioritize having the equipment there on site before the snow um hits and I know you study the weather and do all those things. I won't tell you how to do your job, but I think we'll be okay if it's exposed to some elements uh in advance of that. Uh u Miss Eert has been advocating for this as well for a long time. It is the time has come. I'm glad that the street and sewer fund is making accommodations for that. Um, and I know that we had another sort of idea that did not come to fruition, which was to use the decommissioned elementary school up there as a site for all of this. So, thank you for continuing to work with the concerns that we have for this community because what we want is for um the the roads to be plowed and and safety to be first and foremost so that people can get to where they're trying to get their kids and to school and all those things. So, it's just a great program and I'm I'm glad that it's being constructed in Ward 4, an area where it's desperately needed. Thank you. We're we're very excited about this project. We think it's really going to bring a lot of benefit to the community. Council on door. Nope. Okay. Your lights on. I'm sorry. All right. Go ahead, uh, Vice Mayor. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just uh want to thank the board member for pulling this item because I just recently got the survey about our sewer rate increase and I think it's important for the community to know the projects that we do on a regular basis and the importance of why we're asking for this to create projects like this um for all of the community. So, thank you. That's all I have. All right. Um Councilwoman Eert. Yeah, I did have one more thing. How did we come up with this construction company? Was there like a request put out there? Was there different bids received? It was a competitive bid process, but I'll let Mr. George talk about it. Justin George, senior civil engineer for public works. We bid this project publicly. So, we advertised it in RGJ and went through our typical um bidding procedures. Okay. And I know we use Sears for other project. Is that something that we're interested in doing with this project or anything? I think for for a project this this size and something that we've got a really solid plan on, low bid was the way to go with this one. Okay. Um Semar would have drawn the process out a little bit longer than we had. So this one was was fit for for low bid. Great. All right. Thank you. And one last thing, what can you just real quick describe the location of this um site? Um location is off of North Virginia, just north of Lemon Drive. Okay. All right. Thank you. Yes indeed. All right. No further questions. May I get a motion? Yeah. Motion to approve item B1. All right. I have a motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Um, thank you. Thank you so much, Dustin and Travis. Good job. Okay, we are at um Well, hello. Hello. Nice to see you. Good to see you. Uh, let's just see. Madame clerk, where we at? B14. Go ahead. B14. Okay. Hi. Uh Lori Miles, property agent, uh public works. Uh this item is in brief is a property um project cleanup. Um we need rightaway carved out for the military road widening project. Um but however five years or yeah about five years ago we got a $5 million grant um for installing effluent treatment um at the plant which put a restrictive covenant on the property. So in order to carve out any rightway that city needs for the military widening um we need to get the streets carved out. So as you can see this is kind of a weird parcel. You got military running through the parcel at the top. So that will allow us to carve out any rightway that's needed for the city project. Okay. All right. Council neighbor, go ahead. Yeah. Um will this be affected at all by the um American Flats water purification project too when we need to come back and and address any other locations on here? No, this is strictly just carving out the rightway, cleaning up the property. That should never have been part of the restrictive covenant. Okay. So that we can use it for right away. And do we know for sure this is how much RTC needs or are we going to have to come back? They don't need all of it, but it's cleaning it up and it it will carve the rightway out. Okay. From any future future wing. Okay. And can you show on the map where the carveout will be? Yes. Let me put this other map up here. So the areas in blue is what's being carved out of the restrictive covenant. It's not all of what RTC needs, but we do feel that in the future Lear may widen. So we're asking for a little bit more carved out of the covenant, but the parts that'll be right away will be military and then the corner right there. Okay. So, is that enough room for military to have an additional lane on each side? Yes. And the bike lane? Yes. Yes. Okay. All right. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Um, any further questions? No. All right. Council Bert, give me a motion. All right. Motion uh to approve. All right. I have a motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Lori. Great job. nervous. You did great. You can never tell if you're nervous at all. Good job, Lori. Number 15. Okay, B15. [Music] uh B15 I believe. Okay. Yeah. I just wanted to talk a little bit about this. Um this is acceptance of a calendar year violence against 2025 violence against women act uh services training officers uh prosecutors um uh other otherwise known as stop grant um from the Nevada office of the attorney general to provide services to victims of domestic violence in the amount of $131,000 and some change. So, I just wanted to talk a little bit about this because I know that we have um every year there's homicides um that um are a result of domestic violence. So, I just want to kind of highlight that and highlight the things that RPD is doing to um address that and um stop that wherever possible. Absolutely. Chief Nance, for the record, this is a grant for a little over $130,000 that pays for victim advocates um that respond to incidents of domestic violence and assist with the uh the victims of those cases to ensure that they have all the resources that are needed. So, does that connect people with like um shelters that they could go to, emergency services? Is it long-term services? Is it um you know legal aid or what does that look like? It's not long-term services. It's really uh short-term in the uh right in the right after an incident happens or uh to the point that that case is adjudicated. We don't provide long-term services. We're more of an emergency stop gap between um an incident and needs. There are long-term services out there that we connect them with. Sometimes some of our cases go on for longer, but a lot of this is in the- moment emergency services for victims. But you guys connect them to the available services, correct? You have like a a toolkit or a list of resources where you connect people to those things cuz I can't imagine how stressful these situations are and how um terrifying it must be for people and um not knowing what resources is available. So I was just curious to see, you know, what that looks like and how people get connected with available help. Absolutely. So we do provide um the resources we can. We're not the only resource. We're just really for that emergency um or immediately after an incident or crime. And then there is other resources throughout the community that that we do try to get uh PE victims of crimes uh connected with. Okay. So if somebody were experiencing domestic violence, what should what should they do if they need immediate help? just call 911. Yes, for the most part. Or if it's not an emergency situation or a ongoing situation, they can reach out uh to the police department either through the non-emergency number or coming into the police department or really to any of our our local partners or resources that we have out there that um they can provide assistance with also that can connect them to law enforcement if needed. Okay. So, I really just want to stress that because of the um number of homicides we've had um that doubled over when was that last year due to domestic violence. So, I just really want to highlight if if people know anybody that's experiencing domestic violence or if you're in a situation like that that you know, please call the Reno PD or other resources available. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Uh motion to approve. All right, I have a motion. Second. I have a second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Item C1 is the next one. Do you want it? Yes. Okay. So, item C1, we are actually moving that because it is now the 12:00 hour and we are going to go into an attorney client presentation. Um, so I'm going to ask everyone to get up and attend that meeting and we will be back at 1:00 and that means we will skip over um, we'll open the RDA. We will open the RDA and item B1. Yes, item D1 or B1. B1. Oh, here. Yeah, B1. Got it. Okay. So, just that's what's happening next. So, I need everyone to get up and we'll see you in our attorney client meeting. Thanks. I understand. I mean to this. Okay. All right, madame clerk, ready to continue the meeting? Thank you so much. Um, welcome everyone. How many of you have been to a council meeting before? All right, there you go. Good job. Nice engagement. Um, I know we have a lot of dignitaries here today. We have uh former governor of the great state of Nevada, as he would say, the great state of Nevada. Uh President Sandival, thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it. I also know that we have I think um some school board members. If you're in the house, raise your hands. I want to just recognize you. Oh, I think he's in the lobby. Okay. Well, anyway, thank you everyone for being here this afternoon. Um we also have we do have a process. I'm going to let my council members know we are going to stick to the same process that we um do at every single council meeting. We're going to go with two rounds, then we'll come back. Um I know that this uh item will be um full of discussion. So I want to stay on track because the other thing is we do have uh still a very very full agenda for the rest of the day. Correct. So, um I want to make sure we get to that hearing as well. So, I do I do want to stick to procedures. Um so, just letting everyone know um so everyone in the audience knows that I don't mean to cut off my council members, but we also have to make sure that everyone has equal time and um it's all fair uh in the rounds that we get to deliberate. Um, okay. That being said, we're going to go into public comment and I'm going to open the RDA. I'm just waiting um for Wait for Mr. Hall. No, you don't have Mr. No, we don't have him. Let's do Oh, that's right. Why don't you do an open and then we'll do an Okay. Um, we do need to take RO for RDA and open it. Yeah, that's exactly right. I just wanted to know um if our city attorneys want us to make any disclosures before public comment or after I'm not aware of any disclosure there there are no mad mayor just as a point of order I think um Miss clerk and I discussed that we would first open the RDA take role approve agendas for the RDA go through that process then when we open the agenda item you want us to first do our disclosures. Um, I know madame uh uh manager, you have one introduction to make of us. Uh, someone who's new to the room, so I'll let madame clerk take that part. Madame Mayor, does that a work for you? Okay, no problem. Okay, we are calling role for the Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 redevelopment agency board meeting. Vice Mayor Taylor here. Council member Dior here. Council member Martinez here. Council member Eert here. Council member Reese, I'm here. Council member Anderson here. Mayor Shivy here. Madame Mayor, you do have a quorum. Okay. Thank you so much. I'm going to send it right back to you then. Uh for public comment, we do not have anyone signed in for general public comment. Okay. Thank you very much, Madame Mayor. to item A4, the approval of the agenda. I'll move to approve as posted. Great. Second. I have a motion from Councilman Reese, a second from Councilwoman Der. All those in favor say I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Adam manager. Thank you. I'd like to introduce the body to Rory Robinson. She will be our um attorney on all matters involving the next agenda item. Well, welcome. I looked over and I'm like, you've not Carl. Thank you. Happy to be here. This is the first time we are meeting. So, um, thank you for being here. Okay. All right. We're going to head into item B1. Madame clerk, are we opening public comment first or? Yes. Okay. Just wanted to check. Uh, I have Daryl Guardpipe followed by Eloy followed by Elliot [Music] Men. I'll tell you close. Eloy. Good afternoon, members of the council. Good afternoon. Uh, Major, uh, Shibi, how are you? Good. How are you? So, um, so yeah, so my name is Eloy Har. I'm the business manager of Labor's Local 169. So we are in support of this uh project. So we are in strong support. So my parents immigrated I'll tell you guys a little bit about myself. U my parents immigrated to Reno in 1989. It was a small town. So the growth that's happening I've seen it. Um I went to Echolot School, Vaughn Middle School, Worooster High School, uh class of 1997. So with that, um I've seen the renal growth. So um what uh what they're intending to do, I think it's part of the smart growth, I call it. So um so what the GSR is intending to do in partnership uh with uh Nevada uh Wolfpack, I think it's a great thing. So it's much needed uh for our community. So um and along with that is going to bring um good uh family supporting jobs. Uh so that's what uh we're after. So if I say smart growth, if I say that it's going to create uh family supporting jobs, uh this job. So it's a it's a really good thing. So uh from my point uh being the business manager of the local um I'm new um my predecessor um he uh 2022 he retired and now I'm blessed uh with being the new leader of labor's local 169 and I can say that we support um construction smart growth and this this project to me it's uh it's part of that smart growth that is coming our way. So, um, everybody's heard about the growth that Tesla is going through, Microsoft moving into town, Apple expanding, uh, Redwood Materials, uh, so the lithium mine project that's going on in Mcder. So, um, so everything is part of the growth that's coming our way. So, if, uh, if this project was not to go through, um, it would be bad. So, uh, we would not be able to continue going in the direction that we're heading. So, um, thank you. Thank Thanks a lot. All right. Thank you, Elo. You said small town. Nice to see you, neighbor. It's been a while. Yes. Thank you. That's how small Reno is. This is my neighbor. 10 years ago in Midtown. All right. Yes. Real quick. Um, and with that, I'll ask uh the members of Local 169 wearing orange to stand up, please. Well, hello everyone. Um, yeah, so we are all in support of the project. So, after this, we're going to leave and create room for uh the next people to, you know, have a chance to enjoy the Reno City Council. So, yes, thanks. Thanks to all the men and women for being here. We appreciate all that you do in our community. Our labor force is the glue for sure. Thank you. All right, Madam Clerk, sending it back to you. Elliot Men, followed by Japth Sanchez, followed by Ryan Gold. Elliot, where are you? There you are. There. There you are, Elliot. I know. You just have to look down. Small world. And also, Elliot was um you were selected as uh one of our almost one of our WI three members. This is how small Reno is. This is what why we all love this community. Take it away. Okay, the floor is yours. That is right. Um, again, bold habits die hard. So, Elliot Allen, for the record, and I wouldn't be remiss if I didn't mention my great board member from Ward One. Um, I want to say something a little bit unique because I got to say this to President Sandival recently, which is that it is so great to be with you guys and say something positive for once. Um, no, but really this is a great project. Um, the Grand Sier Resort, the GSR has been a great partner for the Jewish community here. they've really stepped up um especially in the wake of October 7th and been a great great advocate for us, a great partner for us and gone out of their way to help us. Beyond that, it's beautiful to see our industries coming together to help propel the university forward in this new world of college athletics. We have to think about the future and how we are going to be competitive moving forward. And I think that this project is what's going to help get us there. Um, it also creates another great uh venue space here in Reno, which I think is incredible. I grew up in Las Vegas, as I think all of you know. I moved up here for college, decided that Reno is the place to be because there's seasons, there's water that I'm not afraid to get into. There's mountains and it's beautiful here, and our community is incredible. And I think that this helps bring that community forward. It helps revitalize the area. It helps bring more investment into the area, and it helps create more jobs. So, I really uh am a big proponent of this. I thank the GSR for being a great ally to the Jewish community. I thank President Sandival for working with um industry here in Reno to figure out how to make the University of Nevada a worldclass institution for all Neadans and I thank you guys for uh bringing this up. Thank you. All right. And a birdie tells me you just passed the bar. Uh is that true? Or you're now an attorney? Yes. For Okay. Pass the July bar. All right. Good. So, thank you. Good job. Thank you. Appreciate you. Jeff F. Sanchez, followed by Ryan Gold, followed by Daryl Guardpipe. Good afternoon, Mayor Shivi and council members of the city of Reno. I'm Dr. Jafet Sanchez. I'm the director of the Latino Research Center at the University of Nevada Reno. Our center is committed to advancing research, research collaborations, student achievement, and engaging in advocacy and outreach. We work to help others make informed decisions when uplifting communities, and doing so in a way that contributes to the well-being of the state overall. That's why I'm here to express my support for the Grand Sierra Resort Arena Project. It's a project that exemplifies the intersection of economic development, educational partnership, and cultural inclusion. The project represents more than just a venue. It's an engine for opportunity. It will generate over 2,000 new jobs, many of which can directly benefit Latino Hispanic workers, entrepreneurs, and families. And it will do so responsibly without using existing or new taxpayer funding. It will leverage only the new tax revenue that the arena itself creates and that's fiscally sound as a strategy and advances the growth without burdening the public. As an educational partner, the University of Nevada Reno and by extension our students, they stand to benefit from the programmatic opportunities that is connected to this arena project. I lost my space because I'm on my tiny little phone here. Come on. In a region where Latino Hispanic identities continue to shape the fabric of our schools, our businesses, our neighborhoods, the GSR Arena can help affirm that identity. It can welcome our families to multi-generational experiences, strengthen local pride, and boost small business through tourism and all the related activity with this. And importantly, it aligns with the values of leadership and representation. We know that we're strengthening the work of individuals like CubanAmerican entrepreneur Alex Murlo and with some privilege our University of Nevada Reno president Brian Sandova who is the first Hispanic president at the University of Nevada Reno. And many of you know that while I have been part of the university in some capacity for over 20 years, I've only been part of the Latino Research Center for roughly three years. And so many of you have often heard me speak about transformation and about investing in addition initiatives that really create a lasting impact. And the GSR Arena project is one such initi initiative. It's an opportunity to reinforce possibilities, drive development, and celebrate community. It'll also be a nice chance where I don't have to go over to Sacramento to watch Enrique Glacias because we do see that when we do all the of these things um it creates an opportunity to also have that cultural connection and other endeavors that we strive for and that we absolutely need in the area. So with that, I ask for your strong consideration and support. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Ryan Gold, followed by Daryl Guardpipe, followed by David Papis. Good afternoon, Council Mayor. Hi, I'm Ryan Gold. I'm here with Martin Harris Construction. We're prospective bidder on the arena and the garage. Um, we're estimating at peak a combined workforce of over 600 construction jobs on this uh arena and garage combined. Um, our region is is very lucky to have lots of work east of town. Um, nationally, construction jobs are slowing quite a bit. I think many regions would jump at this opportunity to have a private individual and group pour multi-millions of dollars into our community at this time. I think we're really fortunate to have the opportunity to keep positive momentum in this town and I trust you all make a great decision. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Ryan. uh Daryl Guardpipe, followed by David Papis, followed by Kayn Evans. Hello, Chairman. Gardy. Nice to see you. Hello, Mayor and uh city council. Nice to be here in front of you guys. As you know, uh my name is Daryl Gardip. the new chairman of the Renos Sparks Indian colony. And our reservation is uh right across the freeway from the Grand Sierra with more than 800 of our tribal members and their families live. And our tribal government offices downtown are located there, too. There has been a good history of cooperation and goodwill between a colony and the Grand Sierra and that has continued during the whole planning process of this arena and expansion. Concerns about some lighting issues were by our planning department was expressed in meetings with the GSR team and some of the changes were made. We're happy with the outcome and think that will work for the uh public's benefit. We know the arena will mean more traffic and disruption both during a construction and after. And we hope and believe that the social and economic benefits for everyone as a result of the new arena will outweigh the income impacts of this. We hope that we can continue to work with Mr. Marillo and his team to minimize the burdens on the colony and the residents in the project area. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Chairman. David Papis, followed by Kayn Evans, followed by Michael Brady. Hi, Mayor. Hug council. Good afternoon. My name is Dave Papus. My wife, Monica, and I own Fingerprinting Express. We're a locally owned and operated. I love your wife. I've met her many times. She loved you, too. She's so cool. People think we're sisters. Yeah, she she's a big fan. See, Reno's small. Okay, go ahead. I'll tell her you said hi. She Okay, please do. She's very busy right now. Like, you're going where? Okay, that's important. Okay, so we hold hands with over 100 people a day fingerprinting 90 different agencies, industries. When I heard there was a chance to speak on behalf of this very impromptu, unscientific poll, we started asking our customers what they thought about the projects. maybe like 5 minutes to hold hands with them and it was overwhelming support for the project. Some people didn't really know about it. Um, other people didn't understand with the tax statements, but overwhelming a lot of support. So, today I'd like to speak in strong support of the GS Arena project because it's not just building an arena. It's about creating jobs, boosting our economy, and reinforcing Reno's identity as a city of opportunity, tourism, and innovation. At Fingerprinting Express, we provide background checks and pre-employment screenings essential for thousands of workers who will be hired throughout the construction and ongoing operations in this arena from hospitality, events, staffing, security, food and beverage, and then the additional jobs that are created from the incremental tourist trips creating more demand for additional employment. We believe that every new job creates a ripple effect in our local economy. Fingerprinting Express is just one of the first stops on that journey. As a low margin compliance-based business, we rely heavily on hiring spikes to stay profitable. Large employee projects like this give businesses like mine a lifeline to stay open and support our community. More importantly, our community, our company lives by our culture to care philosophy. Since 2003, we've given back near a million dollars in discounted fees to volunteers, teachers, nonprofits, nurses, and active military members. The only way we can continue to offering these deep discounts is by staying financially healthy. A large-scale hiring project like this makes it possible. But this is is bigger than just one business. Reno is an incredible growth with our logistics, our tech, our warehouses, our industrial sectors. But I want to remind everybody that we our DNA is a hospitality city. Uh right now with 95 events that are projected over the next year, that's not just a number, but it's reasons for people to fly and stay in Reno for the weekend. right now to see large acts, we have to go to Vegas. We got to fly to the Bay, Sacramento. This gives us an opportunity to see these great acts that we don't get a chance to enjoy right now. Um, in closing, I'd like to urge you to vote yes for the GSR Arena and give Reno the kind of momentum we want to see and deserve. Thank you for your time and leadership. All right. Thanks, David. Appreciate it. Kayn Evans, followed by Michael Brady, followed by Carrie Grath. Uh good morning or good afternoon actually. My name is Kaylin Evans. Uh I serve as the president of the WHO Education Association. Uh representing over 3,900 educators in the Wo County School District. That's your teachers, counselors, social workers, um and other certified professionals. Um but that's not just 3,800 employees. It's 3,800 families and tens of thousands of residents who directly connect to the health of this community. Um, I want to start off by acknowledging what I know many people may be thinking about when they hear a proposal like this. Um, that it's uh just another tax break for folks that can afford it. Um, and to be clear, I get that reaction. Our organization has been extremely critical of development deals at the state level that incorporate public tax dollars without meaningful returns for the community. We've spoken out against projects where the public carries the risk and private interests reap the rewards. Um, if this proposal looked like that, um, similar to what we've seen with stadium bonding or transferable tax credits, uh, for movie studios down south, we would be opposing it. Um, even with the potential funding increase to the school district, we would not support this if it came at the expense of the broader community. Um, but this proposal is fundamentally different. The Grand Sierra is based uh the project is based on the TIFF structure, a tool that uses a proportion of the new tax revenue generated by the development itself to reimburse the project costs over time. There's no upfront cost to the city, no use of existing tax dollars, no risk to the general fund. If the project underperforms, the public owes nothing. It's a performance-based model that rewards results and not promises. Uh this expansion is projected to significantly increase tax revenue. not only for the Wo County School District, but also for the city and county supporting critical services like public education safety infrastructure and transportation. Um, and it doesn't take money away from the existing budget. Um, but I also want to emphasize that how this project is built matters as much as what is built and the revenue it generates. And that's why I'm hoping that the Grand Sier result will move forward with agreements that include responsible contracting language with the building trades of Northern Nevada. And this is a chance to include all the trades creating good paying jobs for local workers and ensure that this development supports the families who keep this region running. And finally, I want to uh make a direct appeal to the ownership of G GSR, Mr. Marulo. Um you're already a partner in public education and we appreciate that. But if this project is going to have long lasting impact, we hope to see that support expand. There's an opportunity here for the GSR to become a premier partner in education for the Wo County School District, working directly with the schools in the neighborhood surrounding your resort and investing in the students who will become your future uh the future local workforce and community. We thank you very much for your time. All right, Kayn, nice to see you by the way. Michael Brady, followed by Carrie Grath, followed by Parker Stremmel. You know, city council president Santa. Uh my name is Michael Brady. I'm a market rep and tribal liaison for the Northwest Regional Organizing Coalition and I'm also affiliated affiliated and represent Lyuna Local 169. Uh, I want to I want to mirror a lot of what my business manager, Elohara, said, but I also want to uh say that um we feel and believe that the GSR will include um will include Local 169 on these great family supporting jobs. So with that, I am in full support of this project. Thank you. Carrie Grath followed by Parker Stremmel followed by Perry Williams. Mayor Shivy, good to see you. Oh, nice to see you. Nice to see you, too. It's been a while. It's been a while, but I'm still here. I love it. I love it. City Council members supporting your sports. Yes. My name is Carrie Grath, and I stand before you today in unwavering support of the GSR Arena Project. Transformational opportunity for the University of Nevada and the Reno Sparks community. as director of athletics for the Wolfpack from 2004, I should say, as a proud director of athletics for the for the Wolfpack from 2004 to 2013, I witness firsthand the passion, dedication, and resilience of our athletes, fans, and supporters. In my continued work today in the sports industry and as a consultant for NCAA institutions nationwide, I have seen what's possible when communities and universities unite to create worldclass shared facilities, enhancing competition, strengthening econ economies, and igniting a sense of pride and belonging. Yet here in Reno, we face a growing challenge. The Lawler's Lawler Event Center, once a premier venue, now lags behind behind modern arenas. It struggles to attract top tier talent, concerts, special events, or elite basketball matchups. As newer, more fan-friendly arenas emerged, we fell behind. And for Nevada basketball, competing at the highest level has become increasingly difficult without the state-of-the-art training, practice, and competitive resources necessary to thrive. Outdated infrastructure limits our ability to showcase our program nationally, hindering recruitment and recognition. We recognized this problem back in 2006, nearly 20 years ago, identifying over 30 million in necessary improvements to modernize Lawler. Yet, without a dedicated community partner, those renovations never materialized. The opportunity slipped through our fingers. But now, we stand on the threshold of a once- in a generation opportunity, a state-of-the-art arena, a true home for Nevada basketball. And it will transform the game day experience for students, fans, and athletes. It will elevate our program's national standing, unlock new revenue streams, and strengthen our ability to attract elite competition, top recruits, and conference and NCAA events. And this project isn't just about athletics. This billiondoll private investment will serve as a powerful economics engine, creating hundreds of jobs, improving local infrastructure, driving tourism, and generating significant tax revenue. It's a commitment to Reno sparks future prosperity, positioning our city as a thriving hub for entertainment and competition. And let's be honest, how often does a community partner step forward with such a visionary proposal? This is our moment. The GSR Arena is an opportunity too valuable to ignore. One that will reshape our university, our city, and generations to come. Let's seize it. Thank you for your time, and thank you for everything you do for our community. Well, thank you to you and your service. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Carrie. Thank you. Parker Streuml, followed by Perry Williams, followed by Nathan Albert. Good afternoon. My name is Parker Streuml. Thank you for having me. I'm just a longtime Reno resident. I'll be quick because we're neighbors, too. What are you talking about? Yeah, we are. I was kind of hoping to sneak by on that one. We're just We miss you in Midtown. Um, I'll be quick because clearly there are a lot of people here who want to speak. Uh, I want to talk about this from the civic pride perspective. So years ago, in a lifetime that wasn't as follically challenged, I used to work at ESPN. And one of the things that was often discussed is how college sports is a driver for both the university and the towns in which they reside. For Nevada, that driver is basketball. It's been that way for a while. And we've seen what a strong basketball program can do for towns that are similar in size like Spokane, Washington with Gonzaga, Durham, North Carolina with Duke. And for Nevada, that is a hu this can be a huge huge driver because these are cities that are comparable in size. In this day and age, a a top tier program comes handinand with a modern-day arena. Something like this will further elevate both the university and Reno's status. And frankly, I'm kind of tired of seeing UNLV get all the nice things. Yeah. Uh I encourage you to approve this measure. Thank you all for your time. Thank you, Parker. Nice to see you. Parker, tell your parents I said hi Parker. You You had me until you said Duke. Couldn't Couldn't you have said Lawrence? Kansas. Lawrence works. Lawrence is a fine university as well. Tucson. Them, too. Harry Williams, followed by Nathan Alpert, followed by Heather Speed. Good afternoon. Um, my name is Perry Williams and I'm here today as a hockey parent. Hi. Um, I'm speaking on behalf of hundreds of families like mine who have found a second home at Reno Ice on the south side of town. Um, and I'll get to GSR in a second, but first talk a bit about Reno Ice. So, Reno Ice has become a third place for our families, what sociologists describe as the place between your home and your school or work. Uh, where community is built. So, um, Reno Ice is where families from every background come together. It's in the bleachers where we meet our best friends. It's in the locker room where our kids learn teamwork, discipline, and how to bounce back after failure. Um, on the ice is where my son learns hard work and practice pays off and where he learned how to be confident and believe in himself. Um, what makes Reno Light so special is that it's a nonprofit, meaning it's accessible, affordable, and welcoming to all. And other places where hockey is run as a for-profit business, families like mine and others I represent would be priced out. Um, but Reno at Reno Ice, our kids get to play the sport they love, grow, and belong. And we have a communitybased model that works. What we don't have is enough of it. Um, so if this project moves forward, it means that a practice rink will be built. Uh, and I can't stress this enough that we urgently need more ice for our kids. Um, right now getting ice time is a constant struggle. My 11-year-old son wakes up at 4:00 a.m. twice a week to practice before school. Um, in the fall when the uh, season starts, they will cram three teams onto a sheet of ice at the same time where the people we compete against have the sheet to themselves. Um, we can't feel as many teams as there are players at the 14 and under level. um there are a lot of good hockey players who aren't going to make a travel team, not because of talent, but because there isn't space for two teams at that level. So, um that's why the partnership between GSR and Reno Ice could be so meaningful. Um GSR can give something tangible back to the community, a practice rink that provides opportunities to hundreds of families and supports youth development. uh with a new sheet of ice and a strong uh intentional partnership, we can amplify what's already working for so many Reno fan families without losing the values and the community-based model that make it so special. Okay. So, I I know you're weighing complex decisions and long-term implications and I respect the challenges to come with that. I just ask in your deliberations to keep the people keep these people in mind. um the kids who will grow up skating on that new rink and the families who will build community and memories there. Um for my oldest son, the new sheet of ice might come too late. Uh but I have a 2-year-old who's already obsessed with the game. Um and another sheet of ice, you have additional opportunities to learn, grow, and be part of something special right here in Reno. So, thanks for your time uh and giving families like me a chance to be heard. That's great. Thank you so much, Perry. And no, he was not my neighbor, so Nathan Alpert, followed by Heather Speed, followed by Phil Satch. Good afternoon, Mayor Shivy and Ren Reno City Council members. My name is Nathan Alpert and I am the general manager at Rail City Casino. I'm here today to speak in support of the new development plans at the GSR. Rail City believes that this project is not only significant long-term benefit to the community and therefore I urge you to support it, but it's of the utmost importance for me to reiterate. As many of people in support will tell you, no taxpayer money going towards this project is being risked. Therefore, there's nothing but upside to gain from the city. I've lived in Reno now for 22 years. I'm an alumnist of the University of Nevada. I'm an active me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me member of the community and enthusiast of all things that continue to grow this town. Therefore, as a casino leader, I applaud and welcome the innovation GSR brings to the town. It's my belief that GSR has its eyes firmly on the continued prosperity of the Reno Sparks area with the creation of the proposed entertainment district and arena. revenue, employment, future benefits for locals and people coming into Reno absolutely will be a huge boon and a benefit for this magnitude. Not only am I excited as a long-term resident, but as a concert goer, basketball fan, father, friend, and ultimately telling all my people who don't live here, come to Reno. Why wouldn't you? This project will do that and have that impact long term. We should welcome and continued growth. While the physical GSR building which was conceived in 1977 and has been many many different names, Mr. Mel in his ownership period has transformed what literally was a black eye in the gaming world into the absolute class beacon of taste that stands today. I am incredibly excited to see how he and team roll this out to the community, the university, and all the people traveling to Reno who can enjoy this experience. We should be all looking forward to the future of Reno and thankful that Mr. Mel and GSR are willing to make the continued investment to grow Reno and the Northern Nevada market. Thank you. Great. Thank you so much. Nice to meet you. Heather Speed followed by Phil Satch followed by Oswaldo Jimenez. Good afternoon members of the redevelopment agency. My name is Dr. Dr. Heather Speed and I serve as the vice president of student services at the University of Nevada and I'm here representing our students and the student experience at the university. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to you today about the project that holds great promise for our students, our university, and our broader community. The proposed new basketball arena for the University of Nevada. A modern basketball arena is far more than just a venue for our athletes, for our students. It's a gathering place. It's a symbol of pride. It's a space where they can come together, celebrate their university, and feel a true sense of belonging. That sense of community matters. It fosters relationships, strengthens identity, and improves the overall college experience. This arena is not a burden for our students, but a benefit. one that will enhance the student experience across multiple dimensions. From a recruitment perspective, a new arena sends a powerful message. The University of Nevada is growing, investing in student life, and building a future full of energy and momentum. For prospective students, especially those considering where they're going to spend the next four years of their lives, that impression can be the deciding factor. And for those students who decide to come to campus without a car, it's not a problem. We want to make sure this is this experience is as easy as possible for students to attend these events. So, we've committed to busing students to and from the venue. Not only do we want to attract students, but we want to retain students and get them to the finish line. Student retention is shaped not just by academics, but by engagement. When students feel connected, when students have the experiences outside of the classroom that build community, a sense of belonging, and school spirit, they stay, they thrive, and they graduate. And here's where the community benefit becomes undeniable. When that student experience occurs, they are more likely to stay local, to live, work, and contribute to the economy and cultural fabric of our region. A dynamic, exciting arena that regularly hosts games, events, and celebrations is a critical driver for this connection. This arena has the potential to become a community hub. It's a place where the university and the city intersect, grow together, and share in a mutual sense of pride. This is is an this is an investment in energy, visibility, and momentum. It increases our profile, benefits the students at no additional cost, and strengthens our bond with the community. It tells the world we are building, we are growing, and we are proud. Thank you so much for your support and for your vision and considering the impact this arena will have, not just on bricks and mortar, but on people, relationships, and the future of our shared community. Go Pack. All right. Nice. Good job. I see we have a lot of student athletes in the house. Did you want to recognize them or do they plan on speaking? Maybe. Yes. Um, that's a Yeah, there's I think there's one or two that are going to speak. Okay, great. Um, and if you're not, wave your hands. Recognized. Thank you guys very much. I'm gonna assume basketball over here. That's basketball in the house over there. All right. Hello, Mr. Satry. Nice to see you. To you, mayor. Hello, everyone on the council. My name is Phil Satri and um I'm here to speak from the perspective of u a longtime uh executive in the gaming industry. I moved to Nevada 50 years ago uh 45 years ago. I began a career in the gaming industry. I served as the president, CEO and chairman of Hara for 20 years, a stent uh for about 10 years as the chairman of IGT. And for the last 8 years, I've been the chairman of the board of Wind Resorts Limited. I have a perspective, I think, on what's driving gaming, what drives investment in gaming, uh, both from a Reno standpoint and a Las Vegas standpoint. And the big difference in my opinion is diversification of demand. If you're going to try to compete in this industry and you're going to try to do it just with a bunch of slot machines, table games, a few restaurants, and maybe a small theater, you're not going to make it. There's 45 Indian casinos in Northern California, and you have to get those people to drive past those casinos, whether it's snowy or sunny. And the issue is we haven't made those big investments that you need to drive the diversification of demand. I believe that we have the opportunity to do that. Now, this is a step in that direction. Uh, and I want to say a little bit about how that has affected Las Vegas. Las Vegas has significant tailwinds for growth mostly because of non-gaming investments. It it drives the diversification of demand whether it's food or entertainment or sports events, sporting teams, big venues for entertainment like the Sphere, uh F1 concours. There's just a whole paniply of investments that that community of of competitors have made to drive bigger business into Las Vegas. We don't get very many chances to do that here in Northern Nevada. This is a big opportunity for us to start diversifying demand and I urge you all to support this project. All right. Thank you, Oswaldo Jimenez, followed by Dominic Spalone, followed by Jeff Thompson. Madame Mayor, city council, I hope everyone's doing good today. My name is Oswaldo Jimenez Estupan and I'm the director of Hispanic Latinx community relations at the University of Nevada Reno. I'm here today in strong support for the approval of the new GSR stadium. I'm also a local business owner and I'm very excited about the potential growth that the GSR stadium will bring to the Reno community. The work it will bring to the community and the families and also how it will give the university a stepping stone for bigger opportunities in so many different ways. Uh it it's something really really exciting. Uh, I see this as an investment in our city's future. It will bring jobs, boost tourism, generate new energy in our local economy. A modern stadium will create a hub for entertainment, community events, and economic activity while also putting Reno on the map for bigger opportunities. I heard someone mention a concert with Indias. So, I think things like that. Uh, one thing I could add that I haven't heard yet is how growing up GSR was the meetup spot with all of my friends, my family, and so I have so many memories with friends and family there. The new stadium makes me excited because it gives families another way that they can build strong memories in the community. It's even more impactful that there is the connection with our amazing Wolfpack because education and amazing sports are two things that I love so much. And just the thought that those two are connected with the community is amazing. Um I ask that we seize this opportunity and this chance to elevate our city and support a project that benefits all of us. Thank you. Great. Great job. Thank you. Dominic Spalone, followed by Jeff Thompson, followed by Josh Hicks. Good afternoon. Thank you, Mayor, City Council. I appreciate this, President. I um I own a company. My name is uh Nick Spalone. I own a company called Taho Supply Company. We sell uh the most glamorous items in the universe, facility maintenance supplies, things like toilet paper and both. Hey, we all need it. You all need it. Um and we are fortunate enough to have uh partnerships with both people that are involved with us and I know that both of them understand the value of buying from local companies and we are truly the last local company like us in Northern Nevada. Uh our competitors have all been purchased through private equity. um when you buy from us the money stays local and I know that that the organizations that we do business with it's a big part of the decisions making that they have and and and I love these guys I want to support them um we are absolutely for this and and I hope each and every one of you sees this and and also recognizes and votes for this so thank you thanks Dominic Jeff Thompson followed by Josh Hicks followed by Trevor Jensen Good afternoon, mayor and uh members of the city council. Uh my name is Jeff Thompson and I serve as the executive vice president and provos for the University of Nevada. Yeah. I almost thought you were the weatherman when they said your name. I thought, "Wait a minute. That's not him." In a in a previous life, the weatherman worked on my faculty. So, yes. Absolutely. [Laughter] Um, as provost, I'm in charge of the academic programs and uh, education on campus. Uh, I'm also a 34 year resident of Wow. Reno, and I came here because of opportunity at the university and the beautiful community that we live in and the opportunities that come with our community. There's been many changes at the university and our community over the last 34 years. And like many people, I've come to love and care about the community even more as I've grown into it and built a family and my children have grown up here. The Grand Sier Resort project is an opportunity for us to improve, enhance, and grow the community and further build on opportunities that come with the partnership between the business community, our university, and the city and our leadership. It will also assist me in recruiting students and as Dr. Speed said, retain them. They graduate, they come to work here, they stay. 70% of our graduates stay in this community no matter where they started. Um, it will also help me retain faculty and recruit them that will also continue to build our community. But I want you to think of this as an opportunity for all of us to leave Reno better than it was at where we are today. We always want to be better. We always want something better for our children. and we always want something better for our community. This project will do that for all of us. So, I encourage you to consider the project and support it. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Thanks for being here. Josh Hicks, followed by Trevor Jensen, followed by Neil Pucket. Good afternoon, Madame Mayor, members of the council. Josh Hicks with McDonald Corono. Um, I'm here to give you a quick break on the support testimony uh to provide some comments uh from a different angle. Uh, my client is a group of six other gaming properties um in this area. Caesars, the Atlantis, Peppermill uh Bonanza Boomtown and the Sparks Nugget. Um, we've, to make it clear, uh, my clients do not oppose in any way the GSR's expansion. Uh, they think it's a great opportunity for the area. uh they fully support UNR uh Wolfpack athletics, but they do have some very serious concerns about the issue that is specifically before you here today, which is whether the use of tax increment financing is appropriate for this for this project. Uh this would be an unprecedented use of TIF um for a privately owned arena, unprecedented in this state. Um so we have submitted um over the course of the past several months several letters. Uh we've submitted a report from an economic analysis um rebutting some of the projections made by the GSR and I hope you've had a chance to review those. Um the one of the reasons I decided to speak today was because I did have some concerns about whether those letters um have made their way to you. Um I submitted three letters and a report on Monday. Um I don't think they showed up until late this morning, at least that I saw online. Um, I hope you've had a chance to see those in the past or at least um can look at those because they go into some of the technical and specific issues um that are actually before you today and the precedent that will be set with this project. So, there's a letter in there uh signed by the principles of each of my six clients um expressing their position on this um which is similar what I've articulated. There's some letters expressing some legal concerns and importantly there's an economic report from a from a gentleman named David Wells um who did a deep dive into some of the reports that have been presented um to council and to their advisory board. And I definitely would urge you to look at that and think about some of the displacement arguments that are in there because there will be an impact on other parts of town um of events moving from other parts of town and harming those parts of town and moving over to the GSR. So I would just urge you to look at all those concerns. You've got a big issue in front of you today. Uh it's not about the project, our concerns. The project is great. It's about the use of tiff and that's where our concerns are. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Hicks, Trevor Jensen, followed by Neil Pucket, followed by Adam Mayberry. Good afternoon everyone. Holy crap. Public speaking is not my point. Listen, take your time. You have three minutes. Don't worry. I promise you'll survive. Absolutely. I just want to tell you from my perspective as an employee of GSR, Mr. Melo after the pandemic, after we came back working, this man talked about how he was crying in tears about the possible effects of what that would do to the employees not working. He cares about these employees. He cares about everybody. So, what I'm telling you is much important familia is much important. Gossar is family. It's not just something that we say, it's something that we mean, we love. So this man, he's going to change this and anything that any issues, it'll be resolved. Thank you. Thank you, Trevor. You made it. See, you did a great job. [Applause] Neil Pucket, followed by Adam Mayberry, followed by Greg Moer. Madame Mayor, council members, I have to tell you that uh this project means a lot to I think the whole community. I think the symbiotic relationship that goes on between uh other businesses and what GSR is going to bring with partnership with UNR is almost unprecedented. It's also important, I think, that you understand, at least from my perspective, that this is just as Kirk Aoran when he brought that building here, brought the MGM, this is the same scale of what it's going to do for the community and something that has to be viewed that way. It's it's a very positive thing. And the community back at GSR, I wish you were all here. You would be amazed. We are so excited for it. This is such an important thing for all of us and I think you and I are with the athletes, everybody is embracing this at an incredible level. So I thank you for the opportunity to speak in favor and I definitely I believe you're going to be positive towards this vote. Thank you. All right. Thanks Neil. Adam Mayberry followed by Greg Moer followed by Jackson Bowman. Well, there you are. We were waiting for you to come in. Nice to have you. It's like a TSA out there. Well, you know, thank you for some strange times. City Council, Madame Manager, how are you? Uh, I'm Adam Mayberry. I'm the proud vice president of the Wo County School Board. Uh, I'm also a uh an alumni of UNR and a proud dad of of an incoming freshman at UNR in the fall. So thrilled about that. Uh and as a member of the Washer County School Board, I can't speak for all of my colleagues, but I'm quite certain that majority of them, if not all of them, uh share uh the same view that I have. Um you know, I appreciate some of the trepidation by some of this particular financing, but uh you know, we've seen public financing that doesn't make our schools whole, but this is different. This is clearly different. As you may know, nothing will be abated from the normal funding stream of the GSA expansion. Uh the project will undoubtedly generate a lot of uh additional revenue and property sales tax for our local governments, including our school district right here at home. And that's something that's really important for us because we need to lower our class sizes. We need to pay our teachers more, particularly with the inflationary pressures that we're feeling today, the uncertainty and that. So, uh I certainly um as a as a Nevadaan and a member of this community encourage you to get behind the GSR expansion. and I appreciate the work that they're doing and the partnership that they've had with our district as well. And thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your time. Well, thank you, Mr. Mayberry. And I want to remind well, you know this, but it's teacher appreciation week and we had Miss Nichollet here this morning. Remind Thank you very much for saying that, madam. It is. Thank you to all of our teachers who are here and in this room. You guys are amazing. [Applause] Greg Moer followed by Jackson Bowman followed by Kevin Sundy Ch. Thank you all for having me here. Uh great to see you Mayor Shivy council members and uh I want to speak on behalf of this project and and I want to tell you what's informing a lot of my uh decision making. As I was walking in today, I had parked a couple of blocks south of here and I was walking across the Truckucky River on the Virginia Street Bridge and I saw our sculpture that says believe and I was asking myself, what does that really stand for in the context of our community? When we say believe and I think this project represents believing in what our community is all about, it's about community. It's about opportunity and it's about vision that we have for things that we think we need to do in order to move forward. And I want to uh thank Mr. Mel for his thoughts on putting this kind of a project together that really can move the city forward on so many ways. Uh being a dean of the business school at the University of Nevada, I'll tell you one of the things that excites me about the project is what it'll do for employment in the community, not only in the construction side that takes place, but on the ongoing operations. So many of our students do work part-time as they pursue their studies and this will be an opportunity to them engage in the workforce, be a part of the economy and pay back as they go forward. A second thing that I think is incredibly important for us in in this project is the fact that it will expand our reputation as a premier destination location in the United States. Uh so I'm fully in support of this project and thank you for your time. All right. Thank you. Jackson Bowman, followed by Kevin Sundy, followed by Adella Figureroa. Hi there. Uh my name is Jackson Bowman. I'm the hockey director at Reno Ice, uh also known as the Jennifer M. O'Neal Community Ice Arena. Uh as the name outlines, we are a community ice center focused on growing and strengthening the iceports community in Northern Nevada. I think it goes without saying the importance for our young people to participate in organized youth sports. Um it allows for them to learn values that will carry them throughout their adult life. At this moment we have about 400 kids in our youth hockey program between the ages of 4 and 18. Uh we hold two learn to plays each year sponsored through the Vegas Golden Knights and we haven't once failed to sell each of the 50 spots. Uh this growth at our younger ages is both exciting and for us a bit unnerving uh given the fact that we're so limited on ice time. Couple that with the fact that we have a new and growing Nevada Wolfpack club hockey team also playing out of our facility. We have a couple of those uh hockey players here in support as well. Raise your hand. Yes. Oh, that's fantastic. I didn't I did not know that. Yep. Um, despite our tireless efforts to expand into a second sheet of ice through fundraising, we have so far been unsuccessful. Um, at Reno Ice, we take pride in putting the person first. While we have seen success in ushering players to higher levels, we understand that not everyone will play competitive hockey past high school. Our goal has and will continue to be developing a lifelong love of the game of hockey. The first line at every one of my coaches meetings is we need to lead with empathy. And our 40 plus volunteer coaches all live by that motto. The nonprofit community-based model of a of hockey is the most affordable, accessible, and successful model of hockey in the United States. In our talks with the GSR group, they have been supportive of our vision to grow. We hope to continue to work closely with them and follow through on our discussions. The GSR project will allow for us to offer this amazing experience to more families in our community. Thank you. All right. Great job, Daxon. Nice to meet you. Kevin Sundy, followed by Adella Figueroa, followed by Guadalupe Guam Sans. Hi there. I'll try not to uh reiterate too much of what Jackson just said, but uh I'm the general manager at Reno Ice. Uh good to see some faces. Some familiar faces, huh? Yeah, we we had uh um Congress member uh excuse me, council member Anderson's son was a hockey player. We called him the beast. Uh he was great. And so um Mayor Shei, good to see you. I know you do a lot of figure skating. Nice to see you. We had a congress member Der as well dropping a puck for one of our charity games. Anyhow, um so I'm the general manager down at uh Reno Ice and like Jackson said, we are the Jennifer M. O'Neal Community Ice Center. I'll say the word community lots and lots of times here. Um we are a nonprofit 51c3 and community is in our blood. Uh sometimes that blood is on the ice also. Um in our ice is the word community. So it's it's on the logo at the center ice. Um we've been just in this community four years now. Opened January 2021. Uh like Jackson said, we have 400 youth hockey players, uh 600 or so adult hockey players, lots and lots of uh recreational skaters. figure skaters, that kind of thing. We do a lot of community partnerships, charity hockey games, charity events. Just yesterday, we did an event with the Children's Cancer Foundation of Northern Nevada. Um, one of our 17-year-olds, uh, luckily had a scan on Monday, and she's cancer free. Um, in conjunction with them, as well as our veterans hockey team, we were able to raise $1,500 for the Children's Cancer Foundation. So, that was a great uh event and able to celebrate that uh young young lady uh being healthy. Uh like Jackson mentioned, our demand is high. Um as a general manager, I have to tell people all the time, we don't have the time to put in that event or this thing or we have to get creative with 60 young hockey players on the ice at the same time. So, uh we are looking to get more ice in this town. We've been going through um all the permitting process, all the fundraising process of building a second sheet. Um so all that is to say is a practice sheet at the GSR would be a good great thing for Reno. Uh we we need more ice time for our young people, for our uh figure skaters, our hockey players, recreational skaters, whatever it may be. And um so we've had some initial conversations with the gsr with the Mel group and we hope that um we're able to work in conjunction. They've uh certainly given us the intention that they will not be a competitor that we'll be able to work in conjunction and community with them and we're hopeful that that will come to fruition as as we expand and hopefully get more people on the ice um working in conjunction with the GSR. All right. Thank you for the time. Good job. Thank you so much Kevin. Adella Figueroa followed by Guadalupe Quaman Sans followed by Nick Bolander. Oh, thank you. Thank you for letting us come up as a group. Um my name is Jerry. This is Adella Figareroa. I'm Nathan Blackwell. Nathan Blackwell. We're here to um represent the GSR in favor. I'd like to start by saying I've worked at that property for 35 years. Adella has worked at the property for 30 years and Nathan has worked at the property for 45 years. What? Nathan. And you brought us samples, right? Well, we will have. But I do I know your work very well, sir, and it's fantastic. So, I'd like to say I've led the culinary team at that property for 25 years as the executive chef, and I've never been more proud to represent Reno, to represent this project of all the things that we have accomplished in the last 12 years under the Mel Group. And we just want to say how much we look forward to continuing servicing the community, giving back to the community, and and making sure we have really good food at the stadium when it's built. That's a promise that the three of us will make that that no one has to worry about that part so we can continue on with this project. Wow. And you want to say something? Um, just want to say that I'm very proud to be part of the Mr. Mela GSR. So just work as a family and very happy to be there. 30 years and I don't know how many more to go. That's unbelievable. Thank you. Wow. Oh, I add to that myself. Um I've been there for now almost 50 years it seems like. But uh you know the impact that Merillo and his group has done for Reno has been crazy. I mean, at one point everything was going down, but now everything is like on a a good trajectory. And so I'm just hoping that, you know, we approve that the impact that we'll have on this town would be u astronomical. Uh I grew up in Las Vegas and I remember a time in Las Vegas in the early 60s where it wanted to be it wanted to be uh like other towns. Now, Las Vegas not doesn't want to be. Everyone else is looking at Las Vegas, you know, as a place, you know, to be except for us. So, the entertainment and the hospitality that we'll bring to town will, you know, be really good for us and I'm just looking forward to it. And increased tax base that we'll have here. It would be awesome. and all everything that it'll do for the university and like someone uh previously said, students that need a job, you know, will have a place to work and that'll be really neat. So, I just want to give my support. That's fantastic. And you said 45. Did you say 45? 45 years as of this month. That is absolutely remarkable. So, you remember the lion and hello Hollywood Hello and highlight all of that. I remember those days too. Wow. Um that speaks volumes. Your entire team. A great place to work. It is. That is absolutely phenomenal. Wow. Um I hope you get a big race. I know your boss is right behind you. Maybe # mayor made me do it. Thank you so much for coming. Keep up. Keep feeding Reno in front of you guys. Great job. Well, we're glad you came today. Thank you. Guadalupe Sans followed by Nick Bolander followed by Ethan McNamera. Dear Mayor and council members, my name is Guadalupe Gman Sans and I'm here as a proud student of the University of Nevada Reno and I'm in support for the GSR Arena Construction. As a student during my first few years, I've noticed a lack of connection between UNR and the broader city. Now, with the creation of the GSR project arena, I'm hopeful that the connection will be stronger and that the jobs created will help support graduating students and also Reno residents. I'm personally invested in the opportunities that diversity for diversity that like community space will bring. And that's all. Thank you. All right. Good job. Yeah, thank you. Nick Bolander followed by Ethan McNamera followed by Lisel Keml Kemmel Meyer. It's kind of freaky. Uh, good afternoon everyone. My name is Nick Bolander. Uh, I currently serve as a college of business senator at the University of Nevada. And in addition to my service to the student body, I am the social chairman for the Alpha Omega fraternity. um both of which strengthens my pride in the university and dedication to creating to creating an exciting student experience. I'm happy to speak before you all today in support of the GSR project. Uh this build will significantly boost the standing of the university in terms of student life, academics, and athletics. A brand new stadium will instill a greater level of pack pride, especially on game days, and boost the college experience and retention for students and student athletes alike. Student retention is necessary. University enrollment is currently trending to dip from 17 to around 15,000 uh just next year. The more students that enroll at our beloved university will allow ASUN more opportunity to throw events that students want to see with an increased budget. Students can also take pride in the new stadium bringing new events, concerts, and athletic competitions that will put Reno on the map to increase tourism and stimulate economic growth. And we get more kids to rush fraternities. I yield my time. Thank you. Wow. There you go. Okay. Future mayor, future senator, I don't know. Good job. Ethan McNamera followed by Lisel Kemmel Meyer followed by Dawson Deal. All right. Hello everyone. As you can see, I'm not Ethan McNamera. Um Ethan did have to go to appointment really quickly and so I just wanted to make sure that his comments could still be read today. And with that being said, my name is Kina Agaba and I'll just be coming back to go deliver my own public comment um later on. But with that, um this is Ethan's remarks. Good afternoon, esteemed Reno City Council members. For the record, my name is Ethan McNamera and I'm the current vice president of the student government of the University of Nevada. I'm here today to give some brief remarks on why I believe you should all vote in support of the Grand Sier Resort Arena project. The students of the University of Nevada and the greater Reno community would all greatly benefit from this project. I'll refrain from talking about the possible economic benefits as I'm likely not the person who will be able to explain it the best. I instead want to discuss the impact it will have on the people who live, learn, and are proud to be from the city of Reno. A quick anecdote to start. I remember being in the seventh grade watching the UNR men's basketball team make their historic run to the Sweet 16 in the March Madness tournament. The entire season, my family outings consisted of going to watch the team play, cramming into Lawler Event Center, and cheering on the team with all I had. And off the record, well, on the record, as Karina, I remember Ethan and I had been friends since elementary school, and that is true. In the seventh grade, all he would talk about in class was March Madness and the fact that UNR was in March Madness. But anyways, going back to Ethan's remarks, this is where I developed my commitment and love for the university and on a larger scale, our community. The GSR Arena project has the potential to make this a reality for more people in our community. It will attract better talent, make space for more to attend, and spread the influence of common rallying point outside the breath of the university area. This project gives hope to the future of Nevada athletics and to the future of Reno. This has the opportunity to create a cultural shift in the right direction and push our city to where we all want it to be. This is a chance to leave our mark on turning Reno back into the college town it's always supposed to be. Thank you for your time. All right. I think Ethan would be proud. Hello everyone. Good afternoon. My name is Lisa Kemmel spelled L I E S E L K E M E L M E I E R. I love it. Long one there. Um but I was born and raised here in Reno. I'm a W five resident. have been for almost my whole life and like everyone else I'm here in strong support of the project. I'm also a graduating senior at the University of Nevada. I was the former undergraduate student uh body vice president this academic year and I'm also an incoming master of public administration student. I think it's clear as everyone has been saying that the university directly benefits from this opportunity not just as a future tenant but ultimately as a community stakeholder. No student fees, no university dollars, and no public expenditures will ultimately go towards a project that has lasting community and economic value. I know on my end, I grew up with the Wolf Hack going to the games all the time. So, being able to see the opportunity for an expanded um value and venue really hits close to home. If you guys review the documents as well, I think the facts also speak for themselves. The independent study projects that with this TIFF and project, Reno could see over 2.6 6 billion in new spending and at least 300 million in new revenue to Wo County through 2055. This simply does not happen without this project. According to another one of the letters submitted, the TIF model proposed for RDA2 is also in line with NRS and other similar rulings before the Nevada Supreme Court. Without the TIFF funding and with the sun setting of RDA2 in 2035, as you guys all know, and rising construction costs, ultimately this 100% privately funded project is not possible, which was also supported by the independent study. This mechanism does not take current funding streams away as others have stated from our public services. Rather, the base uh tax revenue continues to flow to these entities while the new growth ren generated because of this development is temporarily redirected for reinvestment. Ultimately, a world-class arena though strengthens the momentum of Nevada athletics and our community pack pride. And as announced in 2023, it's really exciting that students will be able to have free transportation to the venue um to cheer on the Wolfpack as well. Ultimately, this project is about growing a community and stimulating growth, positioning Reno to host events that currently bypass us for Las Vegas without burdening our taxpayers. TIFF is designed to activate growth that gives back. As someone who's continued to watch the city evolve and plans to stay here and serve, I really believe that this is the kind of project we need and I sincerely thank you and hope you will consider the proposal. Thank you guys. And wow, Lisel, you got to run for office. Can I convince you? Maybe. Maybe. We'll see. Oh, I heard a Thank you so much. Great job. Dawson Deal followed by Niha Shaw followed by Terresa Galddez. Good afternoon, Mayor Shivi and council members. My name is Dawson Deal. I'm a lifelong Sparks resident, a soon tobe graduate of the University of Nevada, and I have had the honor of serving as the undergraduate student body president this past year. Like many in our community, I grew up attending events at Lawler. I still remember being a kid in the stands, watching Nevada basketball with my classmates, the fight song playing, the crowd on their feet. It made a lasting impression and helped shape my connection to the university and our region. But Lawler is aging. It wasn't built for the scope of today's events, whether that's a soldout game, a concert, or community celebration. That's why I'm here to voice my support, my strong support for item B1. The university announced this project last year, clearly outline outlining its terms through press releases, social media, and a public FAQ, including a free shuttle for students to ensure they can still show up for the Wolfpack. Importantly, no public money, no student fees, and no university funds will go toward construction. This isn't just a win for the campus. As we've seen, the independent analysis projects billions in new economic activity and hundreds of millions in new property tax revenue that after 2035 will go back to funding public services that are much needed. This project honors the legacy of Lawler while building for the future with private dollars, student access, and long-term community benefit. And just like Lawler creating memories for me and thousands of others, the new venue will offer a space where future generations of the Wolfpack and our broader community can create new traditions, new experiences, and new connections for years to come. Thank you. And as always, go pack. Yeah, that's great. And Doss and I followed your elections, so I do expect you to be a state senator. All right, Niha Sha followed by Terresa Galddez followed by Jacob Hos. Good afternoon everyone, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for here being my name is Nihasha. I work at GSR. I represented Indian community. I am here today to support Mr. Alex Melo and the new arena project. Working at GSR is more than just a job. It is where I feel part of a family. Mr. Alex Morillo has given us good jobs and a place to grown up. The arena project to bring more people to Reno, which means more jobs and more business and more opportunities and more life in our city. That's why we are here to request Arena uh project. With this help, we can make Reno even better. Please help our community grow up. We are one team, one goal. Thank you so much. You made it. Good job, Nia. You did fine. Fantastic. Teresa Gddez, followed by Jacob Hos, followed by Nathan Blackwell. Okay. Uh, good afternoon everyone. My name is Thea Gamz and I representing housekeeping department. I'm working for 35 years. I am a part of this community. My children's and grandchildrens were born here and Reno GSR is like a family. We are gathered together as a community. When the hotel went bankrupt and we are afraid to losing our job, Mr. Morelos bought the company and he promised that no one will lose their job and he will work hard and offering competitive salaries and students scholarship. Building this arena will be investments in our community and our families. Exactly that the tax increment finances fund are mean for the t funds are not and additional tax or substranding from funds from essential service like police or fire department. The GSR arena will add grow out to our city and attract people to our area without bondering taxpayer. And not only that, I don't understand why they why another casinos they're jealous because they building the convention center with the bridge coming from our pocket money and Atlantis benefit that and another casinos throw in the Italian festival. Karanus get benefit and also the Caesar Entertainment will spend 160 million in California Lake Tahoe for Reno. We do know and Alex Marwell is being his own money to invest in this city from his pocket to get better opportunity jobs and more scholarship for our children's and new generations. And Mrs. ly said his daddy start to enjoy us work hard to bring the hotel number one in Reno and bring better quality to our customers. I'm so happy GSR is our second home. Mr. Morel is the best owner we have. I working for NGM Bis all the companies. Wow. And when he arrival, he treat us like his family, not he own the place. We grow out together. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Nice job. Jacob Hos, followed by Nathan Blackwell, followed by Mark Gladowowski. Well, hello. Good afternoon, Mayor Sheil members. Uh, my name is Jacob Hos. I am the business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers here in Northern Nevada. I represent over,00 members and their families. Um, Mr. Marino has been wonderful with my contractors and have put lots of our members to work and this project will continue to do that. But also besides that, putting our members to work, I think this is a huge asset to the community and not just the university, but our kids in the community. That's one thing that through good times and bad times, no matter what, we spend money on our families. And with what that'll bring, I think it's great. So, I strongly support this for my members and for the community. And I do not see any negative this and I look forward to building this project. Thanks. Thank you, Jacob. Nice to see you. Nathan Blackwell followed by Mark Gladowowski followed by Jonathan Magcguire. Mark Glidowski followed by Jonathan Magcguire. Good afternoon. Uh Mark Lowski. I'm the owner of Silver Blue Outfitters. Um here on behalf Oh, I love your store. Oh, thank you. We love you. Um I'm here on behalf of myself and obviously my company. uh watching all of the uh speakers today. It's kind of crazy cuz I was here with Carrie Grath. Uh been interviewed by Parker Strimml and uh worked with several people in behind me here. So, uh forgive me if I'm a little nervous. No, you're we're fine. Don't worry about it. I graduated from Nevada in 2004. Uh started Silver and Blue in 2006. And it came from just a standpoint of uh my passion for the University of Nevada. Um, as such, I'm in a unique position because, uh, you know, we have a store right across from Lawler. Uh, excuse me. We, Last time I was in this room, I was actually trying to get zoning approval for that store. Um, and we're in a position that our sales might decline slightly with Gamebase. Um but I also started this business with a passion for the pack and um we trust wholeheartedly in President Sandival, Stephanie Remp and the analysis that they've done in knowing that this is best for Nevada. Uh it's a world right now where uh conference realignment NIL um revenue share all these things are conversations that I'm having in my daily world and the Wolfpack's up against it. We've got Lawler, which is uh a bill that needs some love. And I don't think there's uh funding necessarily on the docket with state or university, and this provides an opportunity for that funding to happen. Uh it's a unique situation, a unique opportunity, and I think in our current situation, it's what's best for the pack. Um so, I just want to be here and give my support, uh speak nervously in front of all you all, and uh just let you know that, uh we are here and go pack. Yeah, Mark, you did a great job. Appreciate you. Jonathan Magcguire, followed by Art Rangel via Zoom, followed by Nathan Curio. Madame Mayor, as Mr. Magcguire comes forward, I'll tell President Sandival all this. Mr. Maguire is one of your number one fans at the University of Nevada, Reno. He and his wife, Colleen, and their son, uh, Caleb, uh, he's growing them the right way. So, listen to this man. Thank you, Deon. I appreciate that. Uh, council, I am uh, here I need to give a disclaimer. Uh, I'm an associate attorney at Simon Hall Johnson. We represent parties on every side of this particular project. I'm not here on behalf of any of them. The views that I describe are entirely my own. Uh, entirely uh, transparently to everyone. I'm a proud alumnest of the University of Nevada. Uh, go pack. The purpose of what I'm here to tell you about today is largely echuing things that have been said by others, but I think from a slightly different perspective. It has been said by President Sandoval that and others that athletics is the front porch of a university. What it has the capacity to do is greatly increase and elevate the image of the university in the eyes of prospective students of other communities etc. Uh the end goal I think of this eventual project would be in partnership with the University of Nevada would be to have more qualified graduates coming into our community. I find it very difficult to imagine how that could possibly be a bad thing. Uh this is a drastic increase in investment into the resources athletically of the university. Now is a crucial time for this project to proceed. I understand there are some options in front of all of you. I would encourage you very strongly not to delay this decision while you continue to weigh those options and instead pick one and move forward before this opportunity has the uh potential to pass us by. It is an incredibly tumultuous time in college athletics. Uh the the administrators over here, the coaches, the players, they're all here because they know how important this is that this project happen right now. Conference realignment, they won't tell you this, but I can cuz I'm an an interested third party. part of the reason the two Nevada universities were left out of the pack 12 was because of a lack of investment into our facilities. It's a it's a matter of fact. So it's unfortunate reality that we have to deal with. Mr. Mel has stepped forward with his private resources and said, "Hey, I would like to support this university." It doesn't stop at the arena itself. It expands all the way out to NIL resources, improving the status of the team, allowing us to be more competitive. It's absolutely crucial that now be the time that this sort of thing happens. Additionally, the investment into this also opens up new revenue sources. Uh the GSR project, what it effectively is is creating a symbiotic relationship between the university and the GSR. Yes, of course, we want people to go to minor league hockey games potentially. We want people to come to these concerts. We also want that arena packed for Nevada Wolfpack games. that increases revenue, which is going to be absolutely crucial as we enter a revenue sharing system moving forward, assuming the House settlement gets approved, which I think all of the administrators over here will tell you they're all watching their phones to see if this current uh compromised deal is going to go through or not. The if I might just briefly before my time goes up, uh I read the coalition's letters. I imagine you all saw them as well. If I might note, anyone that refers to the University of Nevada athletics program as the three-letter acronym and then says athletics, I'm incredibly skeptical that they truly have the best interests of the University of Thank you, Art Rangel via Zoom, followed by Nathan Curio, followed by Derek Bouvet. All right, Art, how you doing? The floor is yours, my friend. Can you hear us? Art, we can we can come back to him. All right, madam clerk, back at you. Nathan Curo, followed by Derek Bouvet, followed by Paul Mitchell. Good afternoon, uh, Reno City Council members. My name is Nathan Kario, a student soon to be graduate from UNR School of Social Work and a future social work grad. Um, I'm going to be going into graduate school next year. Uh, at UNR, of course, uh, and I've spoken to my constituents about this project and most of them are in support for this. they everybody would love to see uh you and our athletic dude do their thing, you know, and we had to put Reno back on the map and keep Reno's residents invested in the biggest little cities culture. That's why I love this city. I mean, I'm from here. I was born and raised in Sparks, Nevada, and I don't plan to leave anytime soon, and that's our goal as well. And as Reno City Council members, um this arena and this project will allow that to continue happening. Um, I mean I I love seeing the Martin brothers play and do their thing. Jordan Caroline now Roll, Coleman, Davidson, I mean we got some good players and with NIL uh coming uh that's a big factor and this arena will become an an attraction for these students to come and want to join the pack. Um and we got some great great coaches. Um, so and one of the biggest reasons why I support this project is due to the affordable housing units that um, I mean this is a big issue. Um, I know that Eddie House is doing their thing. Um, but I think this is incredibly encouraging for Neadans and I'm excited for this to be implemented in GSR's project and my hope only hope is that other casinos and industry leaders follow this blueprint to provide support for their workers. Um and my request is that the council mandates the affordable housing option the portion phase two to be completed by a certain date sooner rather than later because this is an urgent issue um as um because Neadans are urgently facing this day by day and personally I think this project would just be awesome for the Reno community. Uh yeah, I'm from here. Fingers crossed we has somebody like Mana if you guys are familiar or JCool. I mean that's that's high hopes but like somebody like that. I mean Kendrick I mean I'm all for it you know. Uh but I just want to say thank you for your time and consideration. I urge you to support this project and go pack. And you live in Reno, right? Sparks. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. We love, you know, I love Reno. That's my city, too. You know, Sparks is Reno. Yeah, Reno City. I would say we love our little brother. Yeah. Your sister city. I got to mess with Eden. Derek Bubet. East. We call it East Reno. Hello. Hello. Nice to see you. Good to see you, too. Uh, good afternoon, council members. My name is Derek Bet and I'm the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. I'm here to express our full and enthusiastic support for the Grand Sier Resort construction and redevelopment project, an initiative that represents bold, forwardthinking investment in the future of our city. The Grand Sier Resort and the Mel family has been more than a supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. They've been a true partner in our mission. Over the years, they've contributed over a million dollars to help us deliver transformative mentoring programs to children throughout Northern Nevada. Their support has directly changed lives, empowered youth, and strengthened families across our region. This that kind of commitment speaks volumes, and this project is a natural extension of that. What GSR is proposing is more than a construction project. It's a long-term investment in our community's prosperity. It promises to generate critical revenue for local education resources that will go directly to our schools without taking a single dollar from existing budgets. That's a rare opportunity. New funding paid for by growth. But the value of this project extends well beyond dollars. It will bring new energy and vitality to our city, create jobs, attract visitors, and expand economic opportunities that help lift our entire community. This is about building a stronger, more vibrant Reno for the next generation. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we've seen firsthand that GSR follows through on their promises. They are committed to this community, and we are confident they will deliver the same level of integrity, excellence, and impact through this project. We urge you to support this important initiative, not just for what it builds today, but for what it makes possible tomorrow. Stronger schools, stronger families, and a stronger Reno. Thank you for your time. All right. Thank you so much. Paul Mitchell, followed by Corey Hunt, followed by Jim Devold. There's a longtime friend of mine. Madame Mayor, nice to see you. Nice to see you as well. City Council members, the University of Nevada is currently in a unique position to take that next step to increase its regional and national visibility. President Brian Sandaval and his staff have raised the profile of the institution to tier one status. He's done it the right way, the Wolfpack way. The university's academic programs along with faculty, staff, and students are first rate. As a faculty member and journalis journalism professor at this institution, our mission is to recruit and retain the best and brightest undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff. I've seen the considerable work that the athletics director has done at this institution. Stephanie Rep has hired some of the best coaches and those coaches have hired first rate assistants as well as administrators and staff. She and the president understand the importance of athletics on the college campus as well as the entire community. As the faculty athletics representative, my main focus is on student athlete retention, metriculation, and graduation. The landscape of college athletics has changed drastically the last several years. Quite frankly, this project is critical to the university's goal of serving all of the various publics. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you so much, Corey Hunt followed by Jim Devold, followed by Chris Galley. Good afternoon, Madame Mayor. Hello, council members. I I thought we were supposed to wear Wolfpack gear. I'm a little underdressed. I feel like a hot dog in a steakhouse here. Sorry. Um Um for the record, I'm Corey Hunt, a nearly 40year resident of Northern Nevada, uh husband and father, partner at Tolls Development and a C commercial real estate development firm here in Reno. I'm also a Reno small business owner and restaurant owner. And this afternoon, I'm speaking both personally and on behalf of our company, Tolls Development. Um, in my prior capacity in public service, I've been fortunate to have had a front row seat to transformative projects such as the Tesla Gigafactory and Raider Stadium, initiatives that dramatically reshape Nevada's economic landscape. I believe the proposal before you today represents another critical inflection point for our community. At TLS, we've also proudly participated in local public partnerships, including the UNR indoor fieldhouse and developments like Eddie Houses's TLC 36. All this to say, public private part public private partnerships come in many shapes and forms. And of all those that I've seen or participated in, this project is among the most risk feat free to taxpayers. Um, applying the TIF to a purely private development might be a novel approach for Nevada, but that uniqueness is exactly its strength. Unlike traditional TIFF arrangements that involve public obligations, city back bonds, taxpayer obligations, this proposal places all financial responsibility squarely on the private developer. It's far from being something to avoid. This is this should be uh innovative and responsible use of tiff should be embraced as a model for future collaborations. Um regarding concerns about Nevada basketball events coming from their downtown location. 17 home events. Um I think you know I understand that those local businesses are going to be impacted by that but they still benefit from the other investments that have been made in Reno and the University District. They'll benefit from home football games, the event center, the bowling stadium, all of these things. Um I am a small business owner. We benefit from the convention center and I understand that you know events are inevitably going to happen at the new GSR Arena but all boats rise with the tide and I think this could be a title wave which would be fantastic. Finally I want to thank the companies like GSR Mr. Mel and resorts like the J Resort who are actively making significant investments in their properties and in Reno creating jobs attractions and economic opportunities that strengthen our community. Ensuring projects like this arena move forward are essential not just for economic development, but for maintaining Reno's competitiveness and attractiveness as a destination for tourism, entertainment, and for our quality of life. Supporting this tiff agreement is a strategic, risk-free step forward for Reno, promoting growth while safeguarding our public finances. And I urge you to vote in support of this proposal. Thank you very much. Okay. Thanks so much, Corey. Remind us what business. The village well. The village well. Okay. All right. Great pizza. Great pizza. Okay. Good. Good plug. All right. The village. Well, I like it. I did not know that. Okay. Jim Devold, followed by Chris Galley, followed by Carmina Aglabat, Mayor Shivi, and and City Council, Mayor. Um, thank you for everything that you do. I I know this is like a long, arduous process, and I really do appreciate what you all do uh for for the city here. Um, I'm a kind of a small business owner, too. I helped start uh First Independent Bank in 1999 from scratch. So, I kind of understand the the the concerns about uh uh growing, but I had a kind of a fun story I wanted to share with you about um when towns don't grow. I grew up in Yarington, and I bought my first house for $60,000. Wow. So, it was a three-bedroom, two-b twocar garage house. And I was lucky enough to uh get a job in Reno because there wasn't a lot of growth happening in Yurington at the time. And I sold it to the eye doctor that moved into town. 5 years later for $60,000. I sold it for the exact same amount. And he had no down payment. So, I carried the note and left town with basically no money and a note and sold that house for 60,000. And it taught me, you know, if you're not growing, you're dying. And I think that's kind of one of the things I wanted to kind of impart to you is that I I really hope that we would wrap our arms around people like Alex Moreno and um and the Jay Resort, Jeff Jacobs, because I think they are they are stepping out and making significant investments in our community. And I think, you know, when I think back, I want I want my kids to stay here. My my wife is fourth generation uh Reno. her her mother and her family grew up where the IGT uh facility sits right now. So, I've got a lot of history here and I just I want this town to be as spectacular as I hope and um I really would appreciate your support for this project because I think it's it's super important for all of us. So, thank you for your time again and everything that you do. I I do appreciate it. Thank you, Jim. And thank you for all that you do in our community. you have served on several boards and raised a lot of money in this community and we're really grateful. So, thank you and we're glad you're here and not in Yarington. No, no pun intended, but Chris Galley followed by Carmina Aglabat followed by Cheryl Swan. Hey everybody. Uh I am uh the broker of the Dixon Realy downtown office and I oversee the relocation department. Uh I also am a co-owner of a couple other businesses based in Midtown and downtown. Uh so I wear a lot of different hats in town. Uh one of the main things that we do at Dixon Realy is we try to sell Reno as a place where people want to land. Uh people are moving here for all kinds of reasons. We need to make them feel like Reno is a good place to make home. Uh the top three questions people always have are where am I going to work, where am I going to live, and what am I going to do here? Uh this project goes a long way to give us answers to all of those questions. It creates long and short-term uh job prospects uh highpaying career opportunities for people uh and it advances our athletics program that helps us recruit students and gives us the workforce base that we need for more and more companies to move here which creates more jobs. We have uh desperate need for housing as we all know and we uh need several hundred workforce housing units in that area desperately. Uh we also need something for people to do. Uh thriving arts and culture scene here makes a big difference in whether people decide to move or not. Uh more than where they live or where they work. People will only move somewhere if they have uh what they feel like is a high quality of life with a lot of things to do. Um so uh this addresses all of those. Separate from that, I uh can say that as a small business owner here, uh the GSR goes out of their way to partner very um uh very unnecessarily with people. Uh they they spend a lot of time, money, resources to uh to give smaller businesses here an opportunity and um a platform that we wouldn't have otherwise. So, they've been a great partner to us in every possible way. They have a great leadership team. Uh I think they're the right people to do it. Thank you. All right. Thanks so much. Carina Aglabat followed by Cheryl Swan followed by Zakakota 7. Right. Hello everyone. This time it actually is me. Um so good good evening members of the city council. My name is Karina Agaban. I have the honor of serving as student body president at the University of Nevada. Um much of my comment much of the commentary today has focused on the positive economic impacts associated with the proposed stadium. However, I would like to shift the lens slightly and speak on its profound impact on the student experience. When we talk about the student experience, we often think about things such as academic rigor, impactful resources, and career development. While all of those are undeniably critical and important, there is another pillar that defines a student's time at the University of Nevada. Um, which is a sense of community rooted deeply in school spirit and pack pride. Fostering this spirit is not merely a matter of tradition. It is a matter of identity and connection. As a Reno native, I have witnessed firsthand the unifying power of athletics. My father, Charles Ogbot, a proud first generation alumni of the University of Nevada, would take me to basketball games as a child. Those experiences were not just about the game. They were about a feeling to a feeling of connectedness and something larger than myself. It was about community. It was about pride and it was about belonging. That sense of belonging is what we strive to cultivate for every student. Athletics provides a platform for connection that extends far beyond the court or the field. It's the neighbor who asked if you caught the game last night. It's standing shoulder-to-shoulder with your classmates, cheering until your voice is gone. It's exhilaration of witnessing a last second shot and celebrating alongside your peers. These memories are the heartbeat of PAC Pride. Their proposed stadium represents more than just physical infrastructure. It represents an investment in our community, our students, and our collective spirit. Is an opportunity to elevate school pride, deepen community ties, and create lasting memories that define the university experience. We often don't realize when history is unfolding before us, but I firmly believe that this moment, the decision before you guys today, is one of those historic opportunities. I urge you to seize it, to invest not only in economic development, but also in the spirit and the pride of our community. Thank you and go Pack. All right, good job. Cheryl Swan, followed by Zakakota 7, followed by Amir Robinson. Madame Mayor and Council, thank you for your time. My name is Cheryl Swan. I moved here in March of 1977 with my husband. By the way, I'm here to support Mr. Mela proudly and his project. I moved here in 1977 with my husband in March. In December 1 of 1977, I began my job at MGM Grand under construction before we opened May 3rd of 78. So, I've seen it all. I've lived it all firsthand from the executive offices. I have a deep love for that property. I've always embraced our history and had hope for our future. And I call it looking back and into the future. Looking back, I remember the dark days of when we were owned by the bank and all of our employees would come to me and they were fearful of their jobs and their futures and their famil family's livelihoods. And I'd tell them, "Oh, just do your job and take care of the guest. Everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for the best and it'll all come out in the wash." I'd go upstairs to the executive office and it was our senior vice president and myself and it was surreal and it was scary to me as well but I couldn't tell him that and it was very sad because the property is so vital and has so much to offer our valley and then Mr. Alex Mel's name came in and he literally, I don't think y'all know, he saved us. He rescued and saved us. And he immediately started breathing life and hope and new excitement into that property and into every one of us that worked there. We quit being employees and we became team members. And when M. Mr. Mel showed up. We were his family. We are his family. He does not talk it. He walks the walk. I remember immediately everybody said, "Oh, he'll flip it. That's what he does. That's what we've read." I didn't know anything about all that. I just knew that. I sat in the meetings with this gentleman, heard his promises to us, and gave us hope. And I knew that we were on the right track. And I just want you to know that Reno's future is here that I've been looking into. Native American Chief Seattle once said, "What we do to ourselves, we do to the web." Our web is critical right now for this future. Alex Morel is the one that can do it. He is amazing. He is He is a man of vision. He knows our future is here and he knows what he can bring to us. Please. Thank you. All right. It's Cheryl, right? Yeah. Right. Right. Okay. Um that's a Nevada accent, correct? Absolutely. Uh almost almost. It is now. It is now. Zakakota 7 followed by Amir Robinson followed by Joanie Malarchuk. Hello, I'm Zakakota Savon. Uh, thank you for letting me speak today. Um, I've been a member of this community basically my whole life. Um, I went to high school here. I'm a UNR graduate. Um, I've worked for the GSR for 5 years. I volunteered at Renowned Hospital and I previously worked at the Peppermill as well. So, this community means a lot to me. And whenever I travel anywhere, what I've really noticed is when I say, "Oh, I'm from Reno." I get one of two responses. They say either, "Oh, Vegas. I love Vegas." And I say, "Oh, no, not really." Or I just spend a long time like explaining to them that we're not Vegas, that we're far away from Vegas. And what I've noticed is is they just don't understand why I'm proud to be here, why uh why this community is so important to me and why I've chosen to have my future children here and live here forever. Uh but they will because um with such a substantial investment from Alex and Mel into our community, uh we this this will impact us for generations. Uh, this will impact our children, our grandchildren, and this will put Reno on the map. When we go places, people will know what Reno is and what we stand for, and it'll be something we'll be proud of. Um, this will impact every member of our society in a positive way. And so, um, I'm I'm very very much in favor of it. And uh so for the sake of my neighbors and for the sake of my future children and my grandchildren um I I really hope that you all are for this and approve this. Thank you so much for letting me speak. Thank you so much. Amir Robinson followed by Joanie Malaruk followed by Colobby Thomas. Uh hello everybody. Uh my name is Air Robin. I'm with the men's basketball team and I'm 100% for the GSR uh project. Not only will it help our basketball team and like tremendously with recruiting and everything like that, it's really for the community. Uh Coach D offered and his wife always preached to us about community service, serve one another. And I think this will kind of be a really big thing for us to help the community and it will help the community as itself. So that's all I really have to say. So I really hope you guys jump on board. Not only for the basketball teams, just for the community itself, too. So thank you. All right. Great job. Were you nervous? Yeah. It's all good. You did great. Joanie Malaruk followed by Colobby Thomas followed by Thomas Kvette. Good afternoon. Thanks for having us. My name is Joanie Malaruk. I'm the figure skating director at the Reno Ice Rink and I work alongside Jackson Bowman and Kevin Sundee. Um, my main focus at the rink is to grow our learn to skate program and to grow our figure skating department. Um, since the rink opened, I've seen our learn to skate program grow from basically nothing to 3 to 500 to now we're over a thousand skaters that come in and out of our rink um, probably every month. Um, besides all the hockey programs that Jackson has already told you about, we've put in many programs to help our hockey players become better skaters and to develop our figure skating program to try to get some highlevel figure skaters at our rink. What we're now running into is ice time. We don't have enough ice time to offer programs for our growing skaters and to support them moving on and become national competitors. This project would help with that ice issue and solve it completely. Um, we're also attracting a lot of highle coaches being the area that we live in. We're in Tahoe. It's nice. It's not downtown Chicago or downtown LA. So, we've had quite a few coaches inquiring about coming and teaching at our facility, which be wonderful. This could become a national training center. I myself trained at a national training center. We have all the pieces in place. Everything's in line. The only thing we need is the ice time. So, we have the potential to have kids attending figure skaters, going to nationals, seeing them at world competitions, and possibly seeing them at an Olympic event. I'm also a huge mental health advocate along with my husband who is here in the back in support of this. Um we both speak professionally about mental health issues. Um my husband's a great example of this. He grew up with mental health issues his whole life, but he was also a hockey player and if it wasn't for the outlet of hockey and playing hockey, I don't think that he would have been able to manage his mental health issues growing up. And because it's a support of the ice rinks, he was able to later move on and he played in the NHL for 15 years, coached in the NHL for about 9 10 years, and now he travels around in different ranks, supports the veterans. We have a huge veterans team at the Reno Ice Rink. We have a sled team. We have a standup hockey team. We both participate in the teams. And right now, we just need more ice time to try to grow these programs. And this program would definitely help that. Yeah. Thank you. Great job, Joanie. And by the way, she is remarkable. I have seen what you have done with that program and it is outstanding. And you hit the nail on the head. Such a huge outlet for so many children. Um particularly in mental health. And I'm glad Clint is here. I don't know where he is, but thank you so much for being here. Um my friend, it's so nice to see you. But I just want you to know how grateful I am because as you know figure skating did not exist in this community at all. And so um you have just both of you have done a phenomenal job. We're really grateful. Thank you. Joanie, have you uh seen Madame Mayor's camel spin? Well, yes, she has. She I've seen her camel spin. We get to hang out together when I get time. Adult coming up. I've seen it, too. That's it. Colobby Thomas, followed by Thomas Kulvette, followed by Nancy Lopez. All right, council. I was brought here to hype you guys up. Let's go. Let's go. I ran the student section here at the University of Nevada coming out of CO. When you come out of CO, you got nothing, right? We had nothing. We had no fans. We were lucky to get students to go to games. They were scared to go to games, but guess what? They were fired up because that man brought the heat every night. We've brought the students to every game. The one thing that we can count on is that students are going to show up to this event. We need this help. If we want to stay at the top of collegiate athletics, this is our chance. I bleed silver and blue. I was born here. Stephanie has a picture of me. I was literally a baby. My dad gave me like a little jumpsuit. It's a Wolfpack gear. I bleed it. There's nothing more that I care more about than this university. We've got a chance. Let's go to the top. You've got people here willing to invest. Let's make a damn difference. You got a chance today. Let's make a difference. Come on. Like, if you were to ask any student on campus what they want, it's that this pack is going to win a national championship. San Diego State just 3 years ago was in a national championship game. Who's to say we aren't supposed to be there, too? We beat them that year. We beat them. We can be there, too. So, why not us? Why not? You got a chance with someone that's willing to invest. Let's take that investment. Let's run with it and let's go pack. Thank you, Castle. [Applause] Thomas Kulvette, uh, followed by Nancy Lopez, followed by Billy Cooper. Uh, good afternoon, council members. Uh, I was hoping to go after a little bit of a slower speech, but that's not the case. Uh, I am a uh, third generation Nevada student and also a six proud sixth generation uh, Northern Nevada community member. Uh, I would just like to point out I am the successor of uh, Colby and running the student section. I am uh fortunate enough to get to work with students every day and especially at games and get to watch them make memories that they won't ever forget. Uh every time I talk to a student about this project, they look at me and they say, "Why is this not happening sooner?" Uh because they're bummed that they're not going to be able to go see it if they're not from Reno. Uh, I'd just like to say that even though uh I might not be a student when this is happening and get to go to the games, uh, I will still be a proud community member to potentially go to this project and see and bring my future family because it was a great memory of mine that my grandfather and my father got to take me to the games. Uh, so everybody else kind of touched on everything else I had to say. So, thank you very much and I vote for you guys to vote in favor. Thank you. Nancy Lopez, followed by Billy Cooper, followed by Frederick Steinman. Good afternoon, Mayor Shivy and Council. My name is Nancy Lopez. I am currently a an employee at Grand Sierra. I've been there for 45 years. And I just want to give you a few advantages of what the Arena project would bring to Reno. The University of Nevada will benefit from the increase in enrollment to UNR as well as access to athletic opportunities that they're not currently available. The community will benefit from the increase in tourism as well as food and room revenues and increased job opportunities. We believe that the project will be a positive opportunity for the entire Reno community. Thank you. Billy Cooper, followed by Frederick Steinman, followed by Steve Alford. Hello everybody. Thank you for the privilege of your time today. Uh I'm a 20-year uh employee at GSR team member and I believe this is a Caros moment for Reno and Sparks. Meaning that right time, right place. When I heard that Mr. Sandival and Mr. Marillo were teaming up, what a better what a better team. You have Mr. Sandival who's governed our beautiful state and Mr. Marillo who's been in business successful business since his late teens early 20s and he just knows how to make business work. Since I've been at GSR and seen the changes there every part of that building has been renovated and there's over 2 million square feet there. That's a big place and space to renovate. We've had non-stop renovations since the Marilo family and Marillo Group took over. And I just believe that this region and territory is poised for a Reno Arena and a GSR expansion. I believe it's our time to shine. Those are my personal and private convictions. And I've believed this for a really long time. I I I'm as a Bellman, you get to see what goes on in front and and behind. And with Mr. Marillo, when he says he's going to do something, he gets the job done because I've seen it coming in and going out. And as far as guests that visit our resort, 100% feedback from all the guests that I've talked to coming in and out of the resort have said yes and amen to this project. every guest. I haven't had one negative comment from any guests that come from all over the United States and the world that aren't excited about what's happening at GSR. So, I say for the arena, the Reno Arena, seven yeses and a golden buzzer. And for GSR, let it be the shining star that needs to shine in this region and territory. Amen. [Applause] Frederick Steinman, followed by Steve Alford, followed by Gloria Navarez. Uh, thank you, members of the board. For the record, Frederick Steinman, director of the University Center for Economic Development as well as principal investigator of the Nevada Lithium Batteries and Other EV Materials Regional Technology and Innovation Hub at the University of Nevada, Reno. Uh and of course as a proud uh two-time UNR alum and Reno resident, uh very eager and excited to be here today to talk a little bit about the history of the Reno Redevelopment Agency and the utilization of tax increment financing. In 2005 and 2006, both this body, the redevelopment agency board in the Reno City Council, approved the establishment of Reno Redevelopment Project Area number two and its subsequent amendment to include several sub areas, including the then Reno Hilton, now GSR sub area by ordinance. The amended redevelopment plan for RDA2 identified four separate blighting conditions as outlined in Nevada Revised Statute Chapter 279 section 388 specifically for the Reno Hilton sub area. One, the existence of inadequate streets, open spaces, and utilities. And as part of the prevalence of depreciated values, impaired investments, and social and economic maladjustments to such an extent that the cap that the capacity to pay taxes is substantially reduced and tax receipts are inadequate for the cost of public services rendered. Two, depreciated property values. Three, stagnant and low levels of retail sales. and four high levels of emergency 911 calls for service. These findings again were made and approved via ordinance by both the Reno Redevelopment Agency Board and the Reno City Council as well as the Reno City Planning Commission and the then Reno Redevelopment Citizens Advisory Committee twice in 2005 through 2006 as required by NRS Chapter 279. The original and amended redevelopment plan for RDA2 and the accompanying owner participation rules note that tax increment financing or tiff will be used as the primary funding source to fund redevelopment, revitalization and rejuvenation efforts across RDA2 including this particular sub area. The owner participation rules also note that the agency and any property owner, small or large, public or private, within RDA2 have the right to pursue the use of TIFF to finance projects that comply with the objectives of the redevelopment plan. The item before you today, advanced by the Mela Group, meets the objectives of the currently approved redevelopment plan for RDA2 by addressing the inadequacy of streets, open spaces, and utilities, the continued depreciation of property values, ongoing stagnant and low levels of retail sales, and high levels of emergency 911 calls for service, and is consistent with the redevelopment agency's owner participation rules. Thank you. Steve Alford, followed by Gloria Navarez, Mayor Council. Uh, it's great to be here. I want I know this is live streaming live and I know at GSR there's a watch party going on. So, go GSR, go pack. Um really I I want to thank one President Sandival and Stephanie for um just supporting this and moving it forward with Alex and his team. I can't think of anything that's more transformational for uh our program. Me talking for basketball and Kobe, I I want you to talk to my team in October uh before the season. Uh you missed that, mayor. You got to rewind his his speech because I want that to my team when we get there. But, uh, we have an opportunity here to, uh, go from just being average, um, to being great. And you don't just get that opportunity. And Alex and his team is providing that opportunity. And it's not just for men's basketball. It's uh, Coach Knight, who I played for and been very, very blessed to be in college athletics for 38 years. Four as a player, 34 as a coach. And uh one of the things he always taught us that um didn't matter the size of the ship, when the water rises, all the ships rise. And we have a chance because of Alex and his team to do something that we haven't had an opportunity to do here in this community and to do that within an athletic department that has great leadership uh and really on the verge of a lot of special things. But this is the one thing that can transform us. It puts us uh the NIL world, the transfer portal world. Uh we're realignment with conference now. Uh a house settlement that's on the horizon that could happen any minute. Uh I've never in my 34 years seen as much change that's happened in um athletics at the collegiate level like I am right now. And we have to stay ahead of that. We cannot it's not something that can be four years in the future, eight years in the future. It's got to be now. We have to make that or we'll get left behind. And I've been a part of six different universities and I've been a part of both. One that stood still and got passed up and others that have uh on the forefront when they had this opportunity to move forward. And with Alex and his team, uh we've got a lottery pick. We've got something that uh is right in our backyard that has given us an opportunity um to transform what we're trying to do in athletics um at our university. And I couldn't be happier. uh Alex and his team have been instrumental in our NIL. It's kept us relevant uh just in the last couple of years. Uh and now a facility uh takes you from being relevant to something that can be very very special and we want to be a part of that. I know our staff's excited. Uh our players are are excited about it and hopefully uh this is something that you can get excited about. We a lot's been talked about the student um and I'm big with that. We've even come up with a a special area for the students to be dropped off at uh at this facility and Alex is his team thought of those things. So very very excited about this process. Thank you. Mr. Alfred, I did get to catch a little bit of your presentation. I think I need to hire you before every council meeting. We get people fired up. Actually, no, they are already fired up when they can't come here. So, very good. Love the energy in the room. Great job. Okay, Madam Clerk. Gloria Navarez. Mayor, council. Thank you. My name is Gloria Navarez and I am the commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, which is the NCAA. A big deal. Most days. Most days. Uh but for those of you who don't follow us closely, we're the conference that Nevada Reno plays in. And um I'm also a resident of Stateline Nevada. Oh, nice. Okay. So, of course, I'm here in support of the project and I think it's in addition to obviously the benefits to college athletics. Um, it can really be a gamecher in a community because if a venue like this not only brings in entertainment events, but through the collegiate games in that venue, you're going to see a different level and a segmentation of fan coming in for all of the individual games each year in that facility. In addition, those games will be broadcast on Fox, CBS, and the Mountain Mets network, bringing your brand as a city to national audiences. The reason athletics is the front porch to universities is because of that national exposure you get through the platforms that we provide. In addition, you've heard from a lot of students, people who have been going to games for years. That affinity around the college athletic experience for the athletes and the students creates such a deep attachment. You've heard that students are more likely to stay, live, work, and donate back to the community. And that is a true statement due to the affinity that a positive athletic experience for both the students and the student athletes can bring. Um I'm reminded of a re recentish project in a similar community. Marquette University opened their um fiserve forum in 2018 in an underused part of downtown. That project led to 500 million in downtown redevelopment and an entertainment district called the deer district that brings many many fans and uh people to the community providing year-round entertainment hub. and it's also enhanced the city's visibility through the 16 home games that Marquette plays there every year. Um, a special aspect about the value of this facility that hasn't been mentioned yet is it is contemplated as a 10,000 seat capacity arena. There aren't that many in the western region. There are many on the east coast. We have a lot of arenas that are 15K or higher, but this is a very special sweet spot, especially for college sports as you meet the minimum thresholds for NCAA events, gymnastics, volleyball, um, first and second round championships, and conference championships. We have a deep history in the Mountain West. It's important to be competitive. We send many basketball teams to the NCAA's every year and we do that through retention and attraction of student athlete and coaches and a facility like this greatly adds to that. Um, in closing, I'd like to say I think Reno deserves a venue like this deserves the national attention it brings and I hope you all find your way to support this great project. Thank you. Great, Gloria. Nice to meet you. Thanks for being here. And with that, we do not have any public comment um additional signed in. Okay. Did we ever get Art Rangel on the phone? Did you get You did get somebody on Zoom. No, he never replied. He put his hand up. We have No, but you do have someone on Zoom. Okay. Um looks like Bill Shrimp via Zoom. All right. Hi, Bill. Hello. Good afternoon. Can I be heard? We can hear you. Oh, wonderful. It's a long meeting today. So, um I remember I'm generally supportive of the MGM expanding. I remember getting my picture there with the lion back in those days when such things were appropriate. Mhm. Um, so I hope some questions that people smarter than me in the room will answer and address at some point is with the upcoming economic uncertainties, uh, how does that impact potentially the city of Reno and its ability to fund services? Are we going to issue any bonds against this tiff? I don't know the answer to that. I hope somebody smarter in the room asks. Uh I've read that in one instance in New York um during the Great Recession, uh they issued a tiff and the New York City taxpayers were on the hook for a couple hundred million dollars and and I don't know how structurally they're they're put together. Um and I hope that the really smart people in this room would help address some of those items of concern as we're heading into very uncertain economic times. But as a general statement, I think it's a great project. I'm glad GSR is doing this. Uh I don't mean to to be uh derogatory when I talk about it as the MGM because I have fond memories going to concerts and and all that stuff there. So, it's a great place. I hope it gets done, but I hope that we go into it with our eyes open and make sure that it doesn't impact our already strained uh city resources. Uh we're not able to hire HR managers and cops and run our NABS. So, I want to make sure that um this doesn't hurt us in any way. It is a positive impact. So, thank you everyone and have a great day. All right, Madame Clerk, do you have any more public comment? Now, we do not. No. Okay. No. Um but we did receive correspondence which has been distributed as 606 letters in support, 30 letters in opposition, and three letters of concern. Okay. Thank you so much. Um, I am at this time going to read my disclosure and if any other council members have any disclosures, I'm going to ask you to bring them forward to Madame Clerk at this time. Um, let's see. Fellow city council members and madame clerk, this item involves Josh Hicks, an attorney from McDonald Corano. In my private life, I have retained Adam Hosmer Henner, a partner at McDonald Coronado, to represent me on a civil matter unrelated to this item pertaining to a GPS tracker found on my car. I have sought guidance from the city attorney's office. As a client of McDonald Corano, I've been advised that I may have a commitment in a private capacity to the interest of McDonald Corano pursuant to NRS 281A.065. 065. For the record, any action that I may take on this item would not be reasonably affected by my client relationship with McDonald Corano. McDonald Corano is a large law firm. This item has nothing to do with my civil case. I have no facts, information, or reason to believe that any action I take today on this item will have any impact on me or McDonald Corano. Given that this is not a clear case where the independence of judgment of a reasonable person in my situation would be materially affected by my commitment in a private capacity to the interest of McDonald Corano, abstension is not required. The fact that I am represented by McDonald Corano in an unrelated civil matter will not impact my ability to impartially review and render a decision upon this item. Madame clerk, please accept this disclosure and put it on the record for this meeting pertaining to this agenda item. Thanks so much. All right, council members, any do any of you have any disclosures? Seeing that there are none, I'm going to ask for um at this time uh approval of the agenda. May I get a motion? You know, I think we've we're going to presentations for this item. Okay. Um, hold on. I have a different mayor. I apologize. I skipped over and we I did our approval of our agenda earlier. No, no, it's fine. I just have a different a different setup. I I skipped it. I'm sorry. It's It's all good. Okay, go right ahead. I believe we're just going into staff presentation, which is item. We're on B1. Okay. Thank you so much. Yes. All right. And by the way, you're doing a fantastic job. You're doing great. Mickey, our our regular clerk, she is out today very sick. And I think uh Lauren, you're just being a rock star. So, thank you so much. Okay, Brian, we're going to uh hand you the floor. Excellent. Good afternoon, Madame Mayor and council members. And in this setting, uh Madame Chair and Redevelopment Agency board members. My name is Brian McCardle. I'm the revitalization manager for the city of Reno and the Reno Redevelopment Agency. I'm going to kick things off today by summarizing the item in front of you. So today you'll be hearing a presentation on the Grand Sier Resorts expansion project uh their request for tax increment financing support. Uh you'll be hearing from our independent consultant Hunden Partners on their financial gap analysis that they did on this project and staff is seeking approval of the deal terms today that will go into the final participation agreement. That is the document that memorializes this uh arrangement, this tax increment financing, and seek the ability for our executive director, which is our city manager, uh Jackie Bryant, to execute that document so we can proceed to building an arena if that is the decision today. Just a run of show, I'm going to give my quick presentation. Uh the Grand Sier Resort is going to come up and give a brief presentation on their project uh with some comments by the University of Nevada Reno. And then lastly, we'll hear from our uh independent consultant HUD and partners on the gap analysis. So, how we got here today is uh late in fall uh we received a tax increment financing application from Powersports Development, which is an organization uh specifically created for the development of the Grand Sier Resort site uh but is affiliated with uh Mel Gaming and Alex Mel. And that application had the entire expansion project across multiple phases in that original application. And it was touted as a1 billion dollar expansion project which included an arena. It included an ice uh community ice facility. It included a a fan experience retail zone, a parking structure, a golf experience, and then in future phases a new hotel tower uh as well as 300 units of workforce housing. Those are in future phases. uh due to the timing of our redevelopment area too. Uh those future phases not are not part of the agreement today. We're solely focusing on phase one that I'll I'll summarize in a minute. But first, I want to get to what is tax increment financing, TIFF. A lot of people have said tiff tiff tiff. Uh it is a relatively simple but hard to explain financial tool. Uh it is tax increment financing and it is a tool that uses future increases in property tax generated by a new development to help support that development and help pay for present- day costs. Um that is the general summary of TIFF. Uh the way why it's such a great tool and 48 states in the nation have redevelopment laws that allow this tool to happen is it allows cities to do redevelopment and revitalization projects without having to raise taxes. Uh this borrows from future property tax in the future to help projects today. And so there are no new assessments, no new uh taxing schemes, etc. to help pay for these improvements whether they're public or private. Uh this chart sort of explains how tax increment works. Uh you have a baseline property value. Let's say you have an empty lot and it is currently paying not very much in property tax because it's potentially fully depreciated. When someone comes in and develops on that site, they create all this new property tax value. And with redevelopment agencies, we get to capture that property tax, set it aside, and continually use those funds to reinvest back into the area. And we do that over a number of years. And at the end of the redevelopment area, all that property tax created gets distributed out to all the taxing entities throughout the area. In the little chart to the right, um that shows you how traditionally property tax is broken up right now through through the region. The city of Reno gets 26 cents on every dollar of property tax paid. Uh county school districts gets 31 cents and county gets 38 cents. But while the redevelopment area is in effect, all that new property tax value created gets to be kept by the redevelopment agency for the purpose of redevelopment. Um, we get asked a lot, is tiff risky for the city? The way it's proposed today, the answer is no. Um, with the pay as you go strategy, we're not taking out any bonds. We're not giving out any loans. We're not doing any advanced payments to this developer. They build their project, uh, they pay their property tax, and we give them a reimbursement in future years. The other one is will tiff raise my taxes and the answer is also no. Uh in in reality the developer of this project is the only one who is going to pay more taxes in this deal. Uh they pay their taxes we pay them back a percentage over a certain period of time and on a long enough timeline future property tax revenue gets to the benefit of the region and the cities. And I know this is a somewhat complex financial tool. Um I'm impressed by all the public commenters today that we're able to uh to speak eloquently on tax increment financing. Uh this is a tool that's going to come up in the future many many times. I want us all in the community to really wrap their heads around this. And how do you explain taxing financing tool to normal people? You do it through a story. So if you'll indulge me for three slides, I'm going to tell a very short story and how tax financing works in practice. And I'm going to do that by telling the story of Danny developer in Dona Plaza. And you'll remember this one. And if it works, I'm going to use this for every TIFF application in the future because we have six TIFF applications coming in after this. Uh I know this one is the biggest one all of us will probably see in our tenure, a billion dollar project. Uh but there are others coming up in the pipeline. So it's important we all wrap our heads around this. And so Danny the developer and his his donut dreams of Donut Plaza. Danny wants to build a plaza in an infill area in Main Street and he's identified the perfect site. Uh, and he just knows that this is going to work. And the city itself wants to see this site developed. But this site is challenging. Um, it may be a brownfield site. It might have been something previously. It's old. It needs infrastructure brought to the site. It needs new sidewalks. It has drainage issues, etc. And as much as Danny has tried to finance this project, he just can't make it work. He can't get the lending. uh he's put as much of his personal money in as he possibly could and even if he could scrape up all that money to put into the project, even if he opened Dona Plaza, uh the debt on the project would be so insurmountable that he wouldn't be able to make money. And so the project is quote unquote financially infeasible. The business model doesn't work. So he walks down the street to the redevelopment agency and seeks some help. And that is where we address the treacherous gap. So there's a financing gap Danny has to get this project developed and he comes to the agency. We run him through a bit of tests and we say you know what we have found that a true financing gap does actually exist that this project cannot be built but for the redevelopment agency stepping in and getting you across that bridge to get you the money to build this project because we all want to see this project built or else that site will remain vacant and underutilized possibly forever. And so we give him or in this story they give him a pay as you go tiff. Meaning Danny, go build that project. We can't give you a dollar today, but we'll commit to you in the future that if you build this project, we will give you future payments back based on the property tax you yourself create. And so Danny finds the ability to go do this project. And he builds it. And as he builds it, he will get future property tax payments as a percentage um over time. And this is no risk to the city. He leaves that office that day without any future dollar new dollars in his pocket. Uh if it never gets built, city doesn't take on any risk whatsoever. But Danny does develop Donut Plaza. And not only is it donuts, there's a sock boutique, there's a gym, everyone's paying sales tax, the property tax increases, Danny gets his payments over time. And on a long enough timeline, all that future property tax revenue and the sales tax revenue, maybe the foodies come into town and start staying in hotels and that's hotel room tax revenue. All that revenue accumulates to the benefit of the cities in the region. And so I hope this will stick with you. That's my little story about Danny Developer in Dona Plaza. As much as a Dona Plaza seems small in scale and an arena seems very large in scale, the mechanics of tax increment financing are no different. whether it's a small shopping plaza or a billion-dollar arena project. And so the the city uh and the redevelopment agency had been dormant for about 15 years. And fortunately, last fall around August, uh we re-energized our redevelopment agency and we created a tools that developers can use to help facilitate development. And that's part of our participation program. And participation program is a uh tool with written in Nevada redevelopment law that says that private and public development can participate in their future development and use this tool called tax increment financing. So GSR was the first one to use this new tool that was created and they came in in August and because this was such a large project billion dollar project uh redevelopment agency direct board directed us to go do a market analysis on this project essentially go study the economic impact for our region see if we can support a new arena and can support a new uh hotel tower and so staff worked and found Hunden partners who is who are experts in the space and we brought the market analysis back before this body. Um, we also brought it to the redevelopment agency advisory board that has been brought back recently. They saw the market analysis and they recommended that this project proceed to do a financial gap analysis saying go find out what the financial gap truly is. We brought this that market analysis before this body, the redevelopment agency uh, board and you also directed us to go get that gap analysis done. That took about a month and a half and in April the gap analysis was completed. Uh the phase one um it was I will say that the project because the future phase extends so far out and the redevelopment agency timeline we can only look at phase one. Uh in phase one it was found that there is a gap a financial gap and that it does pass the but four test and we'll explain what that is. That gap analysis was also brought to the redevelopment agency advisory board. While they did not recommend any specific deal terms, they did recommend that this gap analysis and this tiff application proceed uh before this body today. And so phase one gap analysis uh phase one essentially consists of the arena ice rink, the parking structure, the aqua golf range, think Topgolf overwater, and all the infrastructure improvements and future costs of this project. Phase one cost is about $786 million and that is higher than what you've probably heard in the past. That's because costs have increased a little bit since we last met a few months ago. The verified financial gap is about $146 million and we'll our consultant Hunden Partners will explain how that financing gap was determined. Since the redevelopment agency area 2 ends in 2035, we only have about 10 years to use this tool to help this project out. And the maximum amount of property tax created between when this project is finished and when the redevelopment agency area 2 ends could generate about $68 million in future property tax. Uh and staff is recommending a 9010 split of that. And so on an annual basis, the property tax being paid on this project, uh, the applicant would get 90% of their property tax paid back to them annually. Uh, that is that is what staff and Hunden are recommending. But I want to recognize that long on a long enough timeline over the next 30 years, this project generates $294 million in property tax alone. Um, $294 million over the next 30 years in new property tax. If this arena does not get developed, that number goes to zero because you 100% of nothing is is nothing. So I want quickly want to address what this deal is and what this deal is not. This is a very structured tax increment financing reimbursement process. Uh it is performance-based and so if the arena is never built or other components are never built, uh we do not owe them anything in reimbursement on behalf of the redevelopment agency. This is just a tool to close that identified $145.8 million financial gap. And although it doesn't completely fill the financial financial gap, uh it does help uh help this project become financially feasible. And the proposed reimbursement to the applicant if under that 90% would be $61.3 million through 2035. So just to reiterate, the GSR would pay their property taxes in full. uh they will be reimbursed annually based on their property tax that they pay. This puts the city and the agency at no financial risk. Uh after 2035 the reimbursement ends and all that future property tax credit created gets distributed to the taxing entities. And if by chance RDA2 area 2 does get extended legislatively uh these terms do not carry over we'll have to revisit the agreement and see if we need to amend it or renegotiate uh it going forward. what this deal is not. So, it is not a loan. It is not a bond and the applicant is receiving in no way, shape or form advanced payments for this project. Uh we are not asking for any other revenue streams to help support this project. Other cities do rental car tax. So, they pass a special assessment or they do room tax or they do uh you know take from other areas or general funds to support arenas. uh because redevelopment agencies use property tax as a tool. The only thing that is being requested today is support through future property tax created that property tax increment and a pay as you go tiff structure means that they get paid back after they finish the project. So no debt, no obligations on the city uh in the short term. And so to quickly summarize the three deal options that were negotiated with staff, our consultant hunting partners and uh Grand Sier Resort and their affiliate powersports development. Three options uh and the first one at the top is because we have such a condensed timeline, it could be 100% annual increment reimbursement. And in that scenario, uh there is a there is a piece of property that the city of Reno leases for fire station 21. And so under that because we're we're a land lease lease on that property under the 100% tiff reimbursement uh the city would be deeded that land at no cost uh as part of this option two which is one staff supports is the 90% tiff reimbursement. Uh the gsr will continue to lease to the city of Reno the land for that fire station uh and then at the at market rate but the agency does reserve the right to purchase that land in the future. we have an option to purchase that. And then option three is somewhat similar 90% tiff reimbursement. Uh but the applicant is asking that the remaining 10% gets set aside specifically for investments along the river adjacent to the Grand Sierra Resort as well as setting aside those funds specifically for the purchase of the land. Why this is risky from the agency perspective is it sets the precedent that future applicants can dictate how the redevelopment agency spends their remaining funds. So um those are the three deal terms uh that is the basis to start the conversations today. Uh I will hand it off now to to GSR but I'm just going to throw back those numbers uh just so you can see them again. And at this time I will invite Grand Seir Resort to give their presentation on their expansion project. Okay. Thank you Mr. Mardall. I appreciate I'm actually going to ask council members to hold off on comments or questions. I want to go through the entire presentation before anyone weighs in. Uh at this time, uh I believe is it Mr. Mela. Would you like to come up? Good afternoon, madame mayor, city council. I'm not sure you can hear me here. Oh, here. Um use the You don't have to do anything actually if you just stand there. The the news 4 has got prime real estate there, but that's not really news. There's one in the sponsorship here. No, there's one down below. Good afternoon to all of you and thank you for affording me this few minutes to speak on behalf of myself and also on behalf of the GSR project. I would be remiss if I don't turn around and thank everybody out here for spending your time. You're you're giving everything you possibly can without getting paid for it on most case from the laborers to the teachers to the wolf pack to the students to the players everybody to GSR. I'm so humbled and privileged and lucky period. Now on this project, it's well a little bit of my history. I started here in 2011 when I approached the city of Reno and there's a project called GSR and it was in disarray, bankruptcy, foreclosure, two weeks from basically boarding it down. And I had to make a tough decision. Do I in am I in or am I out? And I spent several weeks speaking to people here. Couple of individuals told me that one, I could never turn it around and two, I wouldn't last 12 months. I'm here to say they were both wrong. But what I did take from the short period of time that I was here is I met with so many people here and I love the city. I found love the city and the people and the community. And that's why I'm here. During my term over the last 12, well now 14 years. So I'm no longer a newbie. I've been here 14 years. I've invested half a billion dollars in this great property for the team members, my family, and the community of Reno. I'm here again fighting like I've always fought for what I believe in and doubling down and putting a billion dollars of my hardearned money, what I call mom, my own money, as opposed to most people use OPM, other people's money. It's mine. This project is one that will transform. There's no question. Transform the city of Reno, the skyline of Reno in so many different ways. I know I probably regurgitating what has been said from so many people, but I will add to it to to have an opportunity to work with Brian Brian Sandaval and Stephanie and Steve Coach Dave Offford and everybody else to do something that's really unique, never been done for, never been done before the city of Reno. And this arena will be the nicest college facility in the United States of America. And I say that because on those built several years ago, it's called Moody's. And we all know Texas. And this will be far exceeds that project. And I'm very proud of that. And this cannot be done without the help of this council that I'm looking all seven of you that I'm looking at right now currently. I need your help to get this thing done. It will help the kids university. Brian will be ecstatic. I'm looking at him right now. It will also help GSR. There's no denying that. But it will also greatly help the other casino owners who are against me. They have their opinions. I don't agree. And most of all to the community of Reno, to the residents who I care so much about. It will give them a chance to get behind this project, to support it, to love it, and to also be part of it, which makes all the difference in the world. this is my legacy. It's what I want to give back to Reno. I could invest here or I can invest in Vegas. And I've been asked many times, why don't you put the money in Vegas where it would be a better investment. And that is a true statement because I love Reno and I want to be here. Period. So I ask for your support. I ask for your help and this is truly truly transformational. Thank you guys. Thank you. Any question? I'd be happy to answer. All right. Thank you so much. All right, Mr. D. Thank you, Madame Mayor and Council. For the record, my name is Andrew D, senior vice president, chief strategy officer of Morel Gaming. Um, I have spent a lot of my life sitting through public meetings, and I don't think I have ever seen something quite like what happened today. Um, it's it's pretty humbling to be able to sit next to Mr. Morello and listen to all the things that were said today. And I I have a lot of pride in what just happened over the last couple hours. Um I'm proud to be part of this community and part of be a part of this project. So let me get right into it. Uh you heard a lot about the history of our property. 1978 Kirk Aoran built the largest hotel and casino in the world right here in Reno. Little casino trivia for you. Mr. Cororean built the largest hotel casino in the world three different times and that second time was right right here in Reno. Um we listed all the dates of ownership here and the one that stands out is the one at the bottom when Alex Merllo bought the Grand Sierra back in 2011 up until today. 14 years is the longest period of consistent ownership in the history of this property. He is not new to this community. He has been here for over a decade. And he has made the investment to turn it into what it looks like today. And when my family first moved to Reno from Chicago back in the early '90s, it was BS. And I wasn't here for the MGM days, but I remember the Bal's days. And I've seen all the iterations in between. And I think it is safe to say that the way it looks today is the best the property has ever looked. Um, little bit of background for all of you that you might be interested in. um worked with our HR department and we pulled up all the addresses and put them into the different wards. Um so you can take a look and see where our team members reside. They are not just GSR team members, they are your constituents. Um the expansion of this project will directly impact them and they all have a voice in your wards. um the remainder that you see the difference um between the folks living in Reno and the county that the the rest of those folks are team members that live in Sparks. So no surprise we are in Ward 3. U the bulk of our team members reside in Ward 3. Uh but you can see the breakdown there. We have a history of strong labor relationships at the Grand Sierra. Uh we have over 1,000 union team members in 125 different specific positions spread across the property. Um we are the only property in town with this sizable labor footprint and we are very proud of that. Um our three major unions are listed right there. We have fresh union contracts with all of our bargaining groups as of last year. They are all less than a year old. Um, this is the part that Mr. Mela doesn't like to talk about. Um, him and his family are extremely generous and very discreet and they don't seek the limelight with the donations and the help that they give to this community. But we all know how these presentations go and this is something that you have to talk about. And over the years, GSR Cares is our charitable arm at the Grand Sierra. And these this is a list of just some of the organiz organizations that we have supported but it is to the tune of millions and millions of dollars over the last several years. So let's start with the history of RDA2. As Mr. Mardle said it was created in 2005 and at that time there was a legislative determination that the highlighted areas that you see qualify for redevelopment. um given the timing of the creation in 2005 and then the great recession hitting just a couple years later, it really inhibited um the growth and the ability to capture tiff within RDA2. So we essentially lost the first 20 years of it. Um we all know we have severe issues with our property tax system in Nevada, but that was a result of the recession. Um and history is important. And so what we did is we pulled the records from the formation of RDA2 and we comb through the minutes and I've put up a a few highlights here. Um the the key one is that back in 2005 when this district was created, it was supported by what was called the downtown Improvement Association which was made up of the Elorado Circus Circus Silver Legacy and Harris. They came out in strong support of doing this. um a year later at this time Caesars owned what was the Reno Hilton at the time and it was at their request that the Reno Hilton was specifically included within RDA2 and I I think there's been a lot of things said about that recently but I want to make sure that you all are aware of the specific history and how this property got included within RDA2. So that's the background and that sets the stage for where we are today and it was said earlier that we are setting a precedent and we are. We are setting a precedent for responsible development in this community. I hope that all the other projects that are going to come after us, Mr. Micardo said there's six more in the hopper. We want there to be more. I hope that they look at the model that we are proposing today because what this model does is it puts all of the risk on us as the developer. None of the taxes that you are paying, none of the taxes that I am paying, none of the taxes that any of your constituents are paying, none of the taxes that anybody in this room are paying are going to help build this project. The only money that goes into this project comes from the GSR and Alex Mel himself. And I I want to drive that point home because when I am out in this community and I I get I'm known as the GSR guy and and people come up to me and they say, "Hey, what's going on with this? Are are you guys trying to dip into our pockets to help pay for this?" And I say, "You're in luck." No, we're not. The way we are proposing to do this development is a new thing for Reno. And I know that's hard for people to get their head around when when it's a new thing and it it takes time, but there is not a single scent of anybody else's tax dollars that are going to go into this project except for the GSR itself. Um, Mr. Mardle went into some of the protections that are included in this, but I just I I had to make it part of my presentation. There are no bonds from the city. This is backed by us. any business, large or small, can utilize the RDA to expand their business, and we hope they do. And the enormous tax generation benefits that this project are going to bring, it applies to property tax, sales tax, live entertainment tax with all the concerts and shows we're going to be bringing, the payroll tax with all the people that we are going to put to work, and all the extra room taxes from the heads and beds that we are going to put into properties, not only ours, but everybody else all over town. This is truly going to give a lift to the entire region. Ultimately, what this project is going to do, it is going to grow the size of the pie. Um, we have a 10,000 seat venue that we are proposing to build. It is incomparable with anything else that currently exists in Reno. We're going to add the Aqua Golf. That is something new to our region. The only thing that is close to it is the Top Golf um outside of Sacramento, but you're not hitting overwater and it's going to be incredibly beautiful. You can see the image right there. Um I talked about the heads and beds. Uh but the thing that stands out, these are all non-gaming amenities. One of the things I also wanted to discuss was um recently at the redevelopment advisory board meeting uh a question about displacement came up and it's a it's a good question that we should all talk about. What does displacement mean? It's it's talking about whether an existing venue is going to lose events and in this case the Reno Event Center which is ultimately owned by all of you at the city of Reno. Um, but the truth is these two venues are incomparable and there are three events booked at the Reno Event Center for 2025 and there are three events that we just they would not be taking place at the new arena that we are going to build. So, there is not going to be any displacement and I I hope the Reno Event Center does a better job of booking events. Um, but this is what we're talking about. maybe three, but they're not they're not the type of events that our arena is going to bring. So, let's look closer at our proposal versus how things were paid for in the past. Um, we went through the city's caffer and when you look at what is being spent on debt service for the event center and the bowling stadium and the downtown ballroom, it's close to $9 million a year. That's $9 million that is not going to parks or to police or to fire or whatever the city's needs are. And you guys are still grappling with this debt service. And these are decisions that none of you made. You you inherited this and it it has not been easy to deal with the budgets and you guys are going through budget season right now. Ultimately, the city of Reno is sitting on $192 million in debt. This project is not adding to any debt. We assume all of the risk. And I it's extremely important that we highlight the difference between what we are proposing and what has been done in the past. And Mayor Shivy and Councilwoman Der, you you know this better than anybody. You have been on the council longer and it has really tied your hands and made for some difficult decisions for you guys over the years. and you guys have been adults and you have made tough tough decisions, but they were decisions that ultimately needed to be made and want to thank you for that and recognize that it has not been easy for you. Um, I mentioned earlier that our industry is continuing to shift and move more away from gaming specific amenities and this is why. Um, Mr. Satch mentioned it in his comments earlier, but the growth of tribal gaming in Northern California necessitates our move away to embrace amenities that are non-gaming related. If we don't change the way that our industry operates, we are going to fail to give our guests a reason to get in their car and drive over the hill and come to Reno and visit all of the properties here in town. And if you just do the simple math, we have 2,000 rooms of GSR. We are building a 10,000 seat venue. So that's 8,000 other people that have to go stay all across this city, spending money in restaurants, um gambling in other people's casinos, and providing the lift everywhere else that it does. And it is imperative that we evolve. Um just a few weeks ago uh the seinals who operate the Hard Rock Casino outside of Sacramento um they announced that they're going to do basically the same project that we are proposing. They must think that we are going to have a good idea. Um their project is going to include various features like dancing fountains, immersive outdoor concepts, live music, um and possibly a college or pro worthy sports stadium. So, we're ahead of the curve. Let's get this project built. Let's get it done because if we don't, it's going to start to happen in Northern California and people are going to not know that we are building something that rivals anything else that they have the ability to travel to and we want them to continue to come over here. Um, Mr. Mardo covered some of this earlier as well. Um, but there has never been a project that has gone through the level of vetting and transparenc the the public vetting process that this project has. And the transparency that has gone around it is something that should be applauded. I I think this council took a big step when you decided to put together a formal application process for tiff. That's something that didn't exist before. Projects would come before the council before and they were all treated as a one-off. you don't know if projects are being uh measured on the same standard versus one another and you all made that decision and we understand that by being the first applicant we're going to catch extra scrutiny and that's fine and and with the size of our project we should um but again we are here standing before you ready to answer any questions that come up because with the way we are proposing to do this this is responsible development these are the financial safeguards to all of you. I can't say it enough times. There is no financial risk to the city. There is no impact on other property owners. It is the tiff is only what the GSR generates on its own property. And the tax increment is based off of our investment. If our investment doesn't pan out to be as big as we are hoping that it does, then we receive less tiff. Um we assume all the risk. We have to pay all the impact fees. We have to go through the same processes that every other developer does. We have been working for months with NDOT and RTC. We went through the planning commission process. We received unanimous approval in front of that board because we checked all the boxes and we have done the work. So, best practices for tiff, we've talked a little bit about that. Um, the Hunden team is going to get a little bit deeper into it. Um but the second bullet point is where we are today. That is ultimately the decision that you all are making today. What is the right size of this public private partnership? Because that's where the city of Reno comes in. Um and I'll leave it I'll skip over this and let Hunden cover the butt for analysis and the gap tests, but that is important. So the red box is our gap. That's $145 million and the TIFF is estimated to generate $68 million. So the TIF doesn't even cover our gap. And what that does is it highlights the risk that Mr. Mel is taking on this project and that's why we're standing here before you and we want this partnership with the city of Reno because we want this to be able to pay off. But that is still over a $70 million gap that he is responsible for and adds to his risk. And I just wanted to highlight that for all of you here today. Um, some of the public commenters mentioned where we are economically and I think this project comes at at a really interesting time. Um, we we don't know where we're heading but we do know that last week the economic forum projected that our state budget is going to be $191 million short of what they were projecting. uh nationally GDP fell last quarter. So this is not just specific to Nevada. These economic conditions, we're seeing them all over. Um this is from the LVCVA. Their visitation numbers are down nearly 8% year-over-year. That is a concerning statistic particularly for our state budget because as goes the Las Vegas strip, so goes our state budget. and you're already starting to see it reflected in those economic foreign numbers that came below the original projections. Looking locally, um these are room nights. Room nights are basically flat here in Reno. Room tax collections are slightly down and average daily rate on rooms is down. So, this project is going to help with that. This project is going to help bring more visitation to the destination and it is going to offset any future economic downturn impacts that we are going to see and that that is our hope. Um but we talk about the future tax growth. Um and you know it's it's nice to think about what we're going to generate in 2035 but you all are grappling with budgets that need to be filled right here and now. Um, you heard from Martin Harris is one of the prospective biders on our job. This is going to create an immediate 600 construction jobs that will produce $14 million in sales tax just from the construction materials. You guys will start to see that immediately to help with your city needs. And so, let's look at the sales tax projection. Um, these are the different mill rates from the Department of Taxation. And so with that, I I love that dollar graphic that the city uses for the property tax. And what I did is I applied those different mill rates to the dollar for sales tax. And this is what Hunden is projecting in sales tax. $146 million over the next 30 years. We actually think that number is conservative. Um you know, Mr. Melo has high expectations of all of us that work for him and we are going to fill that arena with events as much as we can and we are going to boost that number and I feel confident in saying that it is going to be higher than $146 million. But out of that $55 million is going to go to the school. Um that's the LSST and that's through WC1 funds that were passed by the voters in 2016. What does that mean for you? Well, between the city and the county, that's another $40 million that we're looking at. And I think we can all agree the county school district is the most important civic institution that we have here locally. Shaping our children's future and making sure that they get a good education is something that we all want to support. I have three kids and I think it's important. It's probably the most important thing to every parent that lives here. And by supporting this project, you are supporting the school district as well. Um, on the property tax projections, Mr. Mardell also mentioned that we're looking at $294 million. Um, out of that, 186 million would go to the city and the county. The additional property tax revenue that this project will generate after the expiration in 2035 is going to be massive. I will say that again. $186 million would be going to the city of Reno and to Washo County. An additional $91 million will be going to schools. So, that is the gist of our presentation, Madame Mayor and Council. Um, and I I'll just leave you with this. Um, we we started with Kirk Aoran um and his belief in Reno and he built the largest hotel casino in the world. Just down the street from here, Bill Hera started his regional bingo parlor that Mr. Satch sitting right here later grew into the largest gaming company in the world. And what Alex Mela is proposing to do in front of you here today is the next step. And we want to help write the next chapter in Reno's future. And with that, I thank you all. All right. Thank you so much. Uh, okay. President Sandaval, would you like to come up or who do we Stephanie, come on up? Do you guys need to I don't know your order, so you guys need us to a break to see. Come on up. I'm going to move um the prime real estate. No problem. Channel 4. Well, good afternoon um the redevelopment agency board. Thank you for the opportunity to be here. Uh we are excited about this project and anxious to share our perspective. So, my name is Stephanie Remp and I serve as the athletic director at the University of Nevada. I have been in Northern Nevada for almost three years. And since I arrived, I have been working every day to move Wolfpath Wolfpack athletics forward. We're a division one athletics program. We have 17 sports and our budget is about $55 million. That $55 million puts us in the bottom third of the Mountain West Conference in terms of investment in athletics and our overall budget. We compete with schools that have budgets of $1500 to $200 million. Approximately half of our budget comes from the university. And the reason it comes from the university is because President Sandoval values what the what division one athletics brings to our campus and to our community. Athletics plays an important role in higher education. on the student experience, on rallying alumni, elevating our brand, and uniting our community. I have heard since I arrived here that this should be a college town. That we we need to be a college town. Well, we are Nevada's college town. And thanks to Mayor Shivi about two years ago, year and a half ago, we doubled down on that. Nothing brings a community together like a winning sports program. So, I'm going to talk about the importance of resources and what our fans want today. I'm going to talk about solving our biggest problems. I'm going to talk about our women's basketball program. I'm going to talk about the students. I'm going to talk about small businesses near the university. The ask, our partnership, and a vision. So, in order to have a successful athletics program, like so many other things, we need resources. Athletics has four basically four streams of revenue that we can control. Philanthropy, sponsorship, campus support, and ticket sales. In the world of C college athletics, to compete, resources are more important than ever. As you've heard today, we have to grow our streams of revenue. The GSR Arena project provides us with an opportunity to impact philanthropy, sponsorship, and ticket sales. And there is nothing in our future that will provide that level of growth. So first, the importance of resources and what today's fans want. So today in entertainment, not just athletics, but in any available entertainment, people want a premium experience. The days of people showing up to games, sitting in their seats, and going home are fleeting. People want to go from driveway to driveway with ease. They want an experience. They want to experience something that is unique and different. People want to do something that is memorable, something that the premium, something that is a premium experience and people are paying for that. In Lawler, we sell out the lower bowl. To significantly grow our men's basketball ticket revenue, we have to create a premium experience. The tickets that are available today are the least expensive tickets up in the nose blades, which proves which is proving my point. People will pay for the experience of being in the lower bowl, of sitting in the cushy seats, and being close to the action. So, we have seen this trend regardless of our record. We consistently sell out the premium spaces and hospitality in Mackie Stadium, and the data speaks for itself. Our fans want an elevated experience, and they are willing to invest in that. Expanding those premium options in a modern venue like what is what is being proposed is smart, and it's a proven strategy for success. to grow our ticket revenue by creating premium spaces in Lawler would we would have to invest hundreds of millions of dollars. The additional revenue that we would create through that renovation would have to go back to pay for the renovation. It would not move the needle for our overall athletics program. So yes, we do want to be on campus. We want the students to be able to walk from the dorms to Archie's to the arena. There's no question about that. But this day and age to be competitive, we cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again. And Alex Melo is giving us an opportunity to do something different to do something that will change the trajectory of our athletics program and the experience of our students and our fans. So the second thing is solving our biggest problems. We continue to work to build a sustainable, successful athletics program built on a solid foundation. This new arena solves so many of our biggest challenges. what we hear from our fans every day. Traffic and parking will be significantly improved because of the location and the layout. Food and beverage experience will be entirely different. Having a state-of-the-art venue means having state-of-the-art sound system and video boards. All things that our fans continually continue to remind us of. Another challenge that so many of our fans struggle with is the new era of college athletics, which is paying our student athletes. name, image, and likeness as well as revenue sharing is the new reality and we have we have had to we have we have to figure out how to play in that space and we have had to we have had to ask our fans and our supporters to step up in order to remain competitive and that has been difficult for people. Well, Alex Mel is the largest donor to our n to our NIL. Mr. Mel has given greatly to both our men's basketball program and our women's basketball program. This coming year, he is giving more than $1.1 million to our basketball program and is and is committed to continuing and growing his support. Our fans also let us know that they want us to be competitive, right? They want to win. Well, so do we. This arena changes the landscape in recruiting for us. For coach Alford to be able to recruit to the state-of-the-art venue and see the commitment to basketball that moves the needle. Growing our resources is significant challenge for us. So going back to the ways that we generate revenue, the four areas I mentioned, three of those are are helped with this arena. Philanthropy, winning grows philanthropy. The ability to have access to the premium space that grows philanthropy. People having the access to better seats in better locations are determined by priority points and points are given through philanthropy sponsorship. Working with the GSR to provide our partners with increased exposure, enhanced experiences, and better inventory grows revenue and ticket sales. We are currently average, we currently generate about $5 million in revenue from men's basketball. We averaged 8,300 tickets last year, 8,300 in attendance the past three years. The experience in the new arena will be first class. There will be suites, loge boxes, mini suites, hundreds of club seats, and floor seats. By simply having these seats available will generate millions of dollars in ticket revenue. We do not plan, this is important, we do not plan to significantly increase our ticket prices and we will still have a familypriced get-in cost uh to get to the arena. But to be able to sell suites and the hundreds of club seats, this will conservatively generate an additional three or four million to our bottom line. Nothing in our future for our athletics program can allow that kind of growth. And then our women's basketball program. I want to take the opportunity to talk about our commitment to that program and the GSR's commitment to women's basketball. Mr. Mela was the first person to step up and sign and provide NIL money for our women's team. And the GSR is more than willing to allow our women's team to play in the new arena. We fully expect they will have opportunities through multi-team events, games with significant attendance, and post-season opportunities should they arise. The experience of our student athletes and fans is critical to the growth of our women's program. With the current atmosphere and attendance at our women's agree uh women's games, we agreed that this doesn't create the kind of experience that we want for our women's team. Coach Leven and her staff are working their tails off to grow our program through sustainable success, both performance and support for the program. So, we are committed for that and we're excited for the future. The students, we understand there are questions about student support. It's important to be clear. Of the nearly 20,000 students on our campus, 5% come to our games. For the students who don't currently attend our games, this project does not negatively impact them. There are no fees, no costs, no change to their student experience. But for the nearly 1,000 students who do come to our games and bring the energy to Lawler, this project is transformational. And those students are supportive. As this project comes to fruition, we expect even more students will want to be a part of it. We've worked closely with ASUN, Wolves Den, and other student leaders to shape the game day environment that honors that spirit. We've also worked directly with the arena designers to have features like student only entrances, convenient dropoff zones, proximity to the court, and more. The outcome will be a premium student focused experience that is welcoming, energetic, and ours. We are also trying to bring the student energy back to the community. We envision the student transportation pickup and drop off locations near the Virginia Street businesses. Postgame promotions to drive students right back to the local shops and restaurants, small businesses near the the university. Another item I wanted to directly address. This is a subject we do not take lightly. I have spoken myself personally to multiple owners of that are being impacted by us moving off campus. We recognize the reality that several businesses, several small businesses make their living off the university constituents students faculty and Wolfpack fans. 16 men's basketball games will impact these businesses. As I shared with the businesses I spoke with, we want to work together. We want the student buses to pick up the students on Virginia Street next to the local businesses. We want to provide incentives to students and fans to return to the local businesses. I'm not sure if any of you remember Scruples Bar and Grill. It's on Plum. It was on Plum Street in South Virginia. And they promoted their restaurant as a place to go before games. Scruples would fill up with Wolfpack fans and then they would bust them to and from the games. Apparently, it was quite an experience for pregame. Yes. and the restaurants their chicken stick. The restaurants was the beneficiary. We want to be creative with the small businesses who have supported Nevada athletics. As one business owner said, I would rather have a strong basketball program at the GSR than a not very good one across the street. And the reality of NIL and the investment that Alex has made, we would take a significant step backwards without his support. A great basketball or a great football team impacts the entire community and lifts the energy and the spirit of a community. I have seen firsthand numerous college towns. Success in sports impacts the economy of a community. So the ask I want to point out that none of us want to be on the side of the argument that goes against businesses, people and families who have supported the university for decades. That doesn't feel good to any of us and we know this has impact on all of you. That is not lost on us. There are high stakes at play here and it's super unfortunate to be in a position as we all value the people who have built and supported this community for decades. That said, I think it is critical to recognize the ask here. And that ask is to do what's right. What was already determined as a legal opportunity for the GSR 20 years ago. And it's what this community deserves. An opportunity that one man brought to this community because he believes in Reno. someone willing to put his own money to advance our community. An opportunity that will bring hundreds of millions of dollars to this community, elevate our region, and create entertainment experiences that will rival any venue across the country. And the partnership, it is important to talk about the partnership with GSR and the Mel Group. I have experienced firsthand the experience with Alex Mel and the GSR staff for the last nearly two years. That's the perspective that I bring. Yes, there's risk in every bold decision. We all recognize that. What I want to share is that the Mel group and the staff at GSR have been absolutely unbelievable to work with throughout the entire process. Everything from the color of the tiles in the locker room to the walls, the doors, the spacing between the visiting team locker room and our locker room to the eating space and storage, the end venue experience, location of the seats and the team entrance. Everything from the bus drop offs and pickups to the band seating and student seating. We have had full input and full support. Trust is critical when developing a relationship, a long-term relationship, and it goes both ways. I do appreciate that so many of people I have heard from in this community, including many of you, that are concerned and worried about the university. We take that concern very appreciate that we are all trying to do what is best for the university. The relationship will go far beyond my time here, far beyond President Sandaval's time. We recognize this and understand the impact of this long-term partnership. I believe that Alex Mel and the GSR staff are committed to making this a win-win relationship. I believe they place tremendous value on the university. I believe they will work as hard as we are working to elevate the University of Nevada and work to celebrate Nevada's college town. We are going to sign a long-term agreement with them, 20 years plus 10 additional years as options. We're going to work through each section of the contract to ensure that we create a sustainable perform that will work to benefit both organizations and create an unbelievable experience for our students and our fans. We are in this all together and we're committed to creating a fair and transparent partnership that we can all be proud of. So the vision now I ask all of you to imagine a city, a community, a town, Nevada's college town where the university is central, where with division one athletics program is thriving, where we're winning championships like our softball team did last weekend and our first pace baseball team is trying to do in the next two weeks. One where our football team is going to bowl games. Macke Stadium is full because we're competing. a community where our basketball team is winning, hosting great games, going to the NCA tournament. We're hosting the men's basketball first and second round, which will transform our city into a remarkable weekend that helps everyone. Nothing brings a community together like a winning sports program. Nothing. And if our teams are winning, our community comes together and we are all elevated. The Nevada brand, the community awareness, and Northern Nevada is on the map. This this happens with an arena like this. It will literally transform our community. Thank you. Thank you so much, Stephanie. Okay. All right. We We have someone else, I believe, from your team. We have Hundenal. Oh, President Sandaval, come on up. Before you begin, I do want to um ask Jackie for some housekeeping notes because we have some staff around that we would like to send home because it's getting late in the day and we have still a very long council meeting. So, um city manager Bryant, will you please let everyone know? Yeah, thank you very much, Mayor. So item C1, joint fire presentation, C2, public engagement presentation, C4, benefits review external audit and items G1 financial advisory board appointment and G2 regional planning appointment will move to the next agenda in June. Okay. All right. Thank you very much in case anyone was waiting and particularly our staff. Thanks. Okay. President Sandival, go ahead. The floor is yours. Yeah. Good afternoon, Madame Mayor, Madame Vice Mayor, members of the city council. For the record, my name is Brian Sandival, president of the University of Nevada. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your patience in learning to learning or listening to all of these presentations. I've had the privilege and honor of growing up in this community, going to grade school, high school, and this university, and I've firsthand seen all the history that's been presented today. I've been a student who's attended these basketball games way back when it was the Centennial Coliseum before Lawler was built. Um, and then going to Lawler and which brings us here today. You know, I've also had the privilege of being part of a lot of economic development projects, and I've never seen one like this one, as as Mr. D uh presented, where it provides no risk to a community and an amazing upside to every member of this community. Now, I want to talk briefly about my relationship with Mr. Mel. And interestingly, um, I met him way back in 2010 while I was running for governor and we were at an event together and I was introduced for it to him for the first time and he asked me what I thought about a potential investment in a property in Reno called the Grand Sierra Resort. and being a a proud member of this community, having seen it from the MGM in all of its iterations, and to remind you this was a time when we were in the teeth of a recession. The state of Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in the country. We had the lowest high school graduation rate. We had the lowest amount of people who had health insurance. I remember the headline, um, Reno, the Detroit of the West. And really there wasn't wasn't a lot of hope at the time. And this individual uh Mr. Mel made the decision to invest in a time when nobody else would. And as somebody described soon um earlier, literally two weeks before they were going to shutter that. And what a um monument to failure that would have been. Now um when the idea of this resort or this arena came forward, we had a telephone conversation and we had meetings and I saw that saw this as the opportunity that it is but we had conditions and and I told him we have no money. We cannot we being the University of Nevada do not have $1 to contribute to this project. So that is a b um you have to be fair, you know, in terms of what it's going to cost us to to present and have events and have our basketball team um in there. And he said, "Absolutely. Um we want to work with you." And C, I explained to him, we can't feel like a visitor in our own community. This has to be the home of the Wolfpack. And as you can see it, not on this one because that gap analysis frame is in the way, but he committed from day one that this would be the home of the Wolfpack, that we would have branding, there would be signage, that we would have a quality locker room that felt like ours, that the court would be ours, that he would accommodate. And Stephanie um articulated it much better than I could, and we feel that way. and he has kept his word every step of the way. He is a man of honor. He's a man of his word and he's a man of commitment and I'm proud to be able to have work with him now as president of the university and again as I think it was Mr. um disc presented one of those sli slides we're in tumultuous times and we are in a time of change. So I'm not only am I uh the president of the university, I also sit as an executive board member for the American Association of Public Land Grant Universities and I also was recently appointed to the NCAA board of directors and there's been conversation a um with regard to N I should thank the commissioner for that appointment but uh in any event um you know this NIL a lot of you know it is a big change from what I grew grew up with and and what I have seen, but it is the new reality. And to be competitive in college sports, we have to have a venue and the ability to generate revenue and to have supporters like this so that we can not only just compete, cuz I'm not into competing, I'm into winning. And we and this gives us the ability not only for this men's basketball team to win, but all of our sports programs. and it goes throughout the entire athletic department. Now, similarly, as president of this university, I'm fiercely competitive and I do believe in my heart that we are one of the finest universities in the United States of America. And we have laid down a marker to do that. And we have invested over $400 million in our campus in the past 5 years. You see it just, you know, maybe a quarter of a mile uh north from here. our new business building that is a $ 160 million building and it the dean was here. It will be one of the finest buildings business buildings in the United States of America. We recently invested in what we call University Village which sits across the freeway which was a tired worn out needed a lot of help but as you heard um earlier affordable housing. We wanted to provide affordable housing for our graduate students, for early faculty, early staff. We are in the process of refurbishing some of those homes which were over 100 years old and I toured each and every one of them. They needed a lot of help and TLC. So, we have done that and we've we've made an investment there and I could go on and on with all the other investments that you've done and you're going to see more. You know, there was some discussion and I heard a little bit of chatter about, well, we can just in invest in Lawler and you know what, I would love that. We don't have the money for that. And we actually commissioned a study to do that three years ago. And just to get, you know, so that it isn't a, I guess, presentable arena, it would have cost over $100 million to do that. we can't, you know, we don't have the money. And as I said, we've made the investments in other parts of campus. And as Stephanie said and others have said, we love Lawler. We all have memories there. It's a wonderful place. But if we want to compete at the next level, if we want to have a facility that this community can be proud of and take us to that next level where we all want to be, we want to win. Again, I can't um repeat what every everyone else has said. This is the pathway forward. Now, again, as a lifetime resident of this community, you know, we've been really blessed through the years. We've had families and individuals that have stepped forward and have been willing to make generational investments in this community that have really made this a place that we can be proud of. And now we're at that next place. And again, I want to compliment um Alex Mel for his will willingness to take on that mom, my own money, um literally and in make a generational investment in this community that we likely can never say never, but very likely will never see again. So, I will tell you personally, I'm a little bit envious of all of you to have a project that's in front of you that can really change the trajectory of a community, of a university, of K through2 education, economic development, produce jobs. It checks every single box. So, with that, um, I appreciate your time and attention. you know, implore you and respectfully request that you give this matter your favorable consideration. Thank you and go Pack. All right. Thank you so much, President. [Applause] Hi, Madame Mayor. Ashley, Attorney, assistant, city manager. Just to bring the board back to your next steps, I'd like to introduce Mike Thson from Hunden Partners. They are the RDA agency's independent third-party analysts that were brought in to do the gap analysis. Uh Mike will do his presentation and then we'll turn it over to the board for questions at that time. Okay. Thank you so much. Well, hello. It's nice to see you actually in person. It's very nice to be here. We've been on a lot of Zooms. Yes. And it's much it's much better in person. And um thank you for having us. Um, I think before we want to get started in our formal event, I think it's really important that you know that as a firm that does a lot of work around the country and internationally, the professionalism that we've seen from your staff, the university and the Mel Group is top-notch. It was collaborative. It was professional and it was focused. We cannot say that about all the other projects that we've done. Okay? So you should be proud that if there is friction, it's not shown between the groups. I will say that much. There's clearly a vision of doing the right thing. Um and that's refreshing for us to work on projects like that. So thank you very much for that and I just want to make sure that everybody heard that. So you do have something special here in a lot of ways. A little bit about Hunden because we've never formally been in front of you. Um we've done over a thousand studies um across the country, almost $25 billion in different projects that are either built or in process. Um they range from convention centers, headquarter hotels, arenas, um youth sports complexes, college facilities. Um our firm's been in business about uh 20 years. Um I'm one of the projects execs. I have one of the best teams in Hunden to work with, and we'll get to that, but these are our clients every day that we work with. So, as you read from our memo, when people question our work product, we take offense to that. We take offense to our integrity. We take offense to our findings. So, when we do work either for two NFL stadiums that this team of three is working on right now that we had a conference call on today, we take great pride in working for the municipality or working for the city and knowing that we're protecting them and that we're helping them make good financial, good political, good economic decisions. So whether it's a hockey team in the southeast that's looking to build hotels adjacent to their arena to NFL facilities to college sports which we'll get to a few of those because the commissioner mentioned one of them being the deer district. We're also working in LSU in a couple issues here. So we're in this world either fortunately or unfortunately every single day but we love it. So we talked about the NFL stadium in Chicago. So, those of you that are Bears fans, we do represent the city of Arlington Heights. Um, we worked on the Philadelphia Phillies and Flyers Arena, which is now moving to South Philly, about 1.6 billion dollar arena. Did some work outside of Virginia in Virginia for the Washington Commander Stadium that obviously some works in Indianapolis. We mentioned the deer district. It's been spectacular. It's changed downtown Milwaukee. It's a thriving, awesome place to go, not only for Marquette and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, but also for the Bucks. Baton Rouge Arena, which is LSU, arguably one of the top five or six athletic programs in the country, is working on a TIFF project for a new arena off-campus with a private developer. We did a tiff and and starbond study in Lawrence, Kansas, which I know is important to you, Councilman Ree, as you keep saying, and Rock Jay-Hawk um now, but that was related to football. And then in Cleveland County, which is the home of the University of Oklahoma, they are moving off campus um at their center to go to a TIFF funded multiaceted redevelopment project as well. So the notion that tiff is not involved in college or private arenas or college arenas is not really founded. It's uh it's the new wave because of the nature of how to fund it. The halo is around the building. The building is the hero and the funding that's generated around that is where the tiff gets get generated or the increment that comes in. And quite frankly, and I say this with all respect, President, this is not something that you see small or midsize universities do. This is cutting edge stuff in the country. And I don't say that as a LSU or University of Oklahoma. I know they have a bigger endowment. I know their athletic budget and it is quite substantially bigger than the Wolfpack's athletic budget. I think football alone is about what your budget is in some of these some of these universities. So this is a cutting edge project that we know is involved in. Here's our introduction. We don't need to do this go through this. We were ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch challenged to go for a butt four test. The butt for test was is this project financially viable without help. We'll get to that answer, but that was our that was our charge and we took that seriously. Go ahead. Yeah. Hi everyone, Lexi Cuff. I'm a director at Hunden. Um led the analyst team with Mike's guidance and obviously this has been a long process, but we wanted to go over just kind of highle findings and really what's got us to this point here today. So obviously the estimated construction cost. I think Brian and Andrew both kind of went over how things have escalated and that's due obviously to external factors. But every day that this project is pushed, it is a considerable factor to understand that construction costs are increasing. So we started with uh construction cost for the phase 1 elements listed here at around 633 million. That number is now closer to 786 million. So the increase in costs largely due to the arena and materials needed to build such a substantial project um has increased about 150 million. In terms of our analysis, what we did was take a look at those demand and financial projections. So the type of events and overall the type of value and therefore incremental new tax that would be re that would be generated on site over the RDA2 period. So when that sun sets in 2035, but also looking at the larger 30-year period. And we worked with the tax assessors to understand how they value the current baseline property tax for this site here and also how they would treat an arena, stadium, um something that's substantial that would be hosting those events and not necessarily your traditional commercial asset, but how they would treat that in terms of valuing in terms of property tax. So here you have um that overall time period. So the total through 2035 is around 68 million and then in looking at the 30-year projected uh total incremental new tax revenue generated is around 294 million. And this number we wanted to note that this reflects the total incremental property tax revenue across all municipalities. So it's not necessarily just the city's share, but that would be what was what would be generated from the total perspective. We also wanted to put this in a graphic to understand kind of where we're at today or if this project does not happen, what happens to that property tax? Well, we have our gray outline here. That's the amount of property tax that's being received today or currently generated by this project by GSR. And when RDA2 ends 2035, what would be continue to be generated is that same number. When we look at this project and what it has the ability to generate, it has 68.1 million that would be generated up until the ending of RDA2 in 2035. So that's the incremental value that would be received by the RDA. Once that RDA2 period ends, that total property tax revenue will be received by all the municipalities that Andrew had laid out earlier um once that period ends. So that value is going to be realized um by the city of Reno when they begin to collect the share of 26% of that total GSR property tax. Um, I want to give Mike the ability to emphasize anything before we move on to our next slide here because we do think that this is a impactful graphic to really understand just the gravity of this incremental tax. Yeah. And if we could just go back to one slide. Um, one more. Just go back to where we were. No, not that far. Right here. You know, the really interesting thing is because Nevada has a property tax uh process that allows you to take depreciation on real estate over time. If we could do the mathematics, this really would be a downward sliding graph based on the investment that would happen at GSR, a warehouse, Danny's Donuts or whoever was doing that investment, a FedEx plant, a Tesla plant, anything else. So, if there's not a continued cap X, this graph would actually have a very slight downward trend. But it's tough to do that to figure out from a mathematical perspective what that would be. So, while this is a very fair representation, it might not be 100% accurate, which is why we wanted to point out what happens when the increment does come into play. Don't want to spend too much time on this, but we did highlight different case studies, not only across the country, but also looking at within the state of Nevada. So, how other venues of a similar caliber or function have been funded in the past is largely with some sort of public investment. Um the most recent being the lease family forum in Henderson built in 2022 which was about 50% public 50% private. In terms of our project assumptions, so as Mike mentioned, we've done this all across the country. So the methodology and the approach that we take is relatively similar, but each market is completely unique. So we have that uh completely siloed approach when looking at what this market can support in terms of the events and attendance. um but also what that would mean for stabilization. So not just the newness factor once a new arena opens but also four years into the project at stabilization what that looks like. So this is just to go over what those brief assumptions are for the arena. 95 events, 554,000 annual attendees, um as well as that men's basketball lease. Highlighting the Aqua Golf impact here, which would mainly be that local amenity, um but still a significant draw and driver to have again those non-gaming demand drivers. GSR incre incremental revenue would largely come from those incremental room nights, food and beverage revenue as well as the casino gaming revenue. going to let Mike talk about those projected returns here now. Thank you. So, one of the analysis related to the bot forecast for test was to take all of the money or the revenue that would come in and see if that could support the funding of the arena. Um, I think the very interesting thing that happened as we were going through this is that GSR was insistent that we use the incremental revenue that was going to be generated on property because they thought that was intellectually fair and in the era of transparency. So they shared with us what they thought their hotel motel room nights, what they thought their increase in their food and beverage sales were going to be and what they thought their increase was going to be on their gaming handle. That is not something that you would normally consider, but because they wanted the transparency, they told us that we need to show what the GSR would do because the arena would be in close proximity to the resort. So when you look at that, the current internal rate of return for this is approximately 3%. There's a few decimals either, right? If we all were to go out and buy a 10-year T- belt, it would be approximately 4.5%. I don't know what happened today when the Fed with their announcement if they raised rates or lowered them. But for our discussion today, we're going to assume and that's a risk-free governmentalbacked um funding. If we look at that and we back that out, that creates that $145.8 million gap in today's dollars. So the arena cost this much, there's a 3% return. If we balance that on to a risk-free rate of 4.5%, it creates the four $145.8 million. If I misspoke, I apologize. The gap is $145.8 million. So that creates the implication for the butt for test. If there's a shortfall and there's the ability to close it by utilizing tiff or other P3 subsidies, then it triggers the butt four. We are very confident that the butt four here because this arena would not generate enough money to justify an investment. There are probably a million other things that can be invested at a higher rate of return than an arena. So that clearly qualifies for the but for test. There was identified gap. We used it against a very risk-free rate. If you were to do this against traditional real estate or at risk real estate, that rate would be higher and that gap would be higher. But for this particular analysis, we thought it was fair to look at it from a risk-free rate. Overall impact. So understanding from the city of Reno's perspective, there is a greater impact than when we look at the region. And a lot of that is due to the capturable drive time that the city has access to. We analyzed a lot of the current events happening, whether that be the baseball stadium or different events at Reno Event Center, and people are willing to travel to Reno for these types of events. So the impact here that we have listed um from that 2028 to 2035 that's for that uh RDA period but also that 30-year projection where net new local tax revenue is roughly 74 million. And when we say net new these would either be dollars that would not be spent in the city of Reno or it's also recapturing that local spend. So we've heard people say that they go to Sacramento for concerts and music and events. They go to Vegas. So then having the opportunity to have that here, that money is then spent in the community, it stays here in the city. So it's recaptured. So this is all funneling through in terms of uh what we look at in terms of economic impact. We also did an analysis for the region just to understand the greater uh boundary and what that would generate in terms of tax revenue, which totals roughly 20 225 million over that 30-year time frame. Overall looking at that proposed share agreement for the 9010 split, we wanted to uh point out here how this process would necessarily work. The pay as you go model where GSR would be paying this new incremental property tax that 68.1 million over the next or over the seven years uh when RDA2 sunset happens and that would go to the city of Reno redevelopment agency. um the redevelopment agency would keep them that 10% or 6.8 million of that total and then the remainder would go back to GSR. So just wanted to show that graphic of how it would funnel through overall the benefit to the community over again that 30-year time frame. So when we look at that return on investment for the city of Reno, which includes Reno's property tax, it includes the sea tax and includes the hotel tax, roughly 121%. Um, but that's not taking into account also that net new spending, that economic impact, the jobs that would be supported, the construction that would happen on a one-time basis, which we outline here in the bottom graphics. We also do that for the region on the following slide where it is a more significant return on investment just because there is that larger tax that's being captured from the property tax, sea tax, and hotel tax. Uh so about 367% and again significant economic impact that would not be happening but for this project. Um so that's everything that we had for you here today. Just want to thank you again for your time and for everyone being here. Um yeah. Yeah. So I think um mayor you had said hold all questions to the end. So um I guess maybe we might be ready. I don't know. We we've gone a while so there's got to be a lot of pent up questions and uh I guess we're ready to take them on. Okay. Thank you. so much. Very much appreciated. Great job. Okay, we're going to bring it back to the body unless there are other presentations that I'm missing. There were a lot of presentations, so I want to make sure. No, madam mayor, there is one more that I that you're forgetting on me. Nope. No, I'm fine. Um, okay, Brian, I just wanted to double check. Thank you so much. Um, okay. I'm going to bring it back to the body. I am just going to remind my council members if your light is not on, I am not going to call on you because we also have um a much longer meeting ahead of us. So, I'm not going to waste time. We're going to go through exactly uh our council rules. So, I'm going to start uh with you, Councilwoman Der. Before I start, and I'm not on the clock, I need to make a disclosure. Go right ahead. Okay. Thank you. So, I have had a 50-year relationship with the university. Um, and since I have I have checked in with our attorneys to make sure I don't have a conflict. And just to go on record, um, I'm I am a two-time alumni. I serve on two two advisory boards for the university. Uh, one is for the Masters in Public Administration and one I'm chair of for the um, Mackie School of Earth Sciences and Engineering. Um, I also served on ASUN and the GSA. I also have been a guest lecturer. Um, I also have been a consistent donor and I have routinely and currently today in in my own office have hired UNR interns for the last 20 years. So given all that, I checked in with our attorneys and they said that in that UNR is a public institution and I take no money for any of what I've just said. I give money. Um, I do not have a commitment in a private capacity and therefore I can participate, but I wanted to go on record and explain that since many people know of these relationships. So, thank you. All right. Thank you so much, Councilwoman Door. All right. I'm going to head to you, Councilman Ree, with your disclosure. Thank you, Madame Mayor and fellow council members and madame clerk. In the interest of full transparency on this item, I must disclose that I am an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nevada Reno, sometimes teaching in the business school, although I have not taught for the last several semesters and have no current plans to teach in the future. On this matter, I have sought guidance from the city attorney's office and do not believe I have a commitment in a private capacity the interest of the University of Nevada Reno. Madame clerk, please accept this disclosure and lodge it on the record for this meeting. Right. Okay. Anyone else? No. I'm going to start with Councilwoman Eert. Uh three minutes. Okay. Great. Um so I have some questions. I'm not sure if it's for Brian or um Wondan Group. When we talk about the different options and paying the um you know the the different amounts that $68 million, is that just a projected amount of property tax that would come in just from the GSR project or is that from the RDA area as a whole? Thank you for the question, council member. Uh it is just from the GSR project. Okay. uh compared to what it is currently generating in property tax now to what it would generate uh after this project is completed. Okay. And do you know what we currently pay to lease the um land for the fire station? Fire station 21. What is it? 2250. 2250. 2250 a month. Yes. Okay. Um and what would be the sale price? Do we know or we we don't know? We have not done appraisals on what the fair market value so we don't have any kind of assessment on that at all. Um that might be some important information when we're making a decision like this. I I can probably a little bit on it. In fact, uh the city just recently took some of my land GSR and paid me a square footage. I'm not sure if you are not probably not aware of it. And we applied those same exact rates and you guys aren't just paying me just to pay me, right? And based on that, the valuation of the land itself is between $4 and $5 million. Okay. And there is correct. And the rent is 20 20. Yeah. 22,000. 22,000. 22,000. Okay. Um 2,200, right? Which is like 24,000 a year. Yeah. 14 years. All right. Again, that is um that rent is way below what the real market value is. Okay. All right. Um one sec here. for the butt four test. Can you kind of elaborate more on that? I know um it was kind of explained that they could financially afford it, but it wouldn't happen. Um, I guess I'm just not understanding like if you use that kind of guideline, I would say like every project could fall under that category, right? Like I could afford it, but I want to have this extra financing. Um, well, no, I don't I don't think I don't think that's entirely true. So, if we look at other investment opportunities or real estate opportunities, they may pencil out. Multifamily may pencil out because of the rents, the capital cost, the ongoing rent. Um, so you would not need a but for test or that it would be financable. An arena would not be financable with that gap of $145.8 million. So, but for the tiff increment, this project would not move forward. Okay. So, they have a gap forward. They have a gap. Okay. Yes. Okay. Thank you. All right. Council member Der. Sure. Um, I have a lot of thoughts and um, I have spent a lot of time trying to gather the data, get the questions answered. So, I'm going to go right to my thoughts rather than take this time to ask questions. Um, it would be great to sit in the audience and be a booster of the university as you already know that I am. Uh, it would be much more fun than sitting up in this seat um, trying to be a guardian of our community's resources. I just love the testimony that I heard today. But our job is not to be a booster. It's to ask the hard questions. It's to delve into the details. That but for test that was just mentioned, the community benefits, the deal, and our common sense. It's our job to be skeptical and to kind of be those show me people. Here's what I loved. I love the arena. I love the value of sports that's been identified here today. the construction impact, the diversification on our uh community, the jobs that would be internal and external, the spin-offs, the food, the beverage. We we heard it all and to continue supporting the GSR success and to continue supporting you and our success. What I'm concerned about is using public money for private business. We were given a few examples. Most of them are public uh examples. I'm worried about fairness. I'm worried about um shared prosperity, offsetting losses to other businesses and I really appreciated Stephanie identifying that, acknowledging it and identifying it. Protecting our public investments which we've made both downtown and over by the Atlantis in terms of the convention center and the event center. The long-term commitments we've done, protecting our firefighters, all of these things have to weigh into to my ultimate decision. Um, it's also that one of my challenges here is in some ways we're being asked to pick uh winners and losers in business. And I'm a business owner myself and I'm always looking do other people have unfair competition and and one of my hallmarks of uh public service has been to level the playing field as much as I can. It's I've won awards for it. It's what I think about. Um this has been posed as the biggest project, the biggest tiff. Um and if we move forward, we have to do the right deal. Um it was mentioned that a rising tide lifts all boats several times. And I say that is if all the boats are seaorthy, we don't want any drowning. We don't want any flooding. And I'm known as one to plug those holes, make things better, and look at deals to make sure that it is all fair. and that as a um the community as Reno we're covered. So in some ways I will share from a council perspective although as much time's been spent with with all the players it's been a little bit rushed for me because we have not been participants at council in doing those deals. When I do my second round I'd like to address some of the things that I think should be put into the deal. We've been offered three options. I don't know that any of them hit the right mark for me. So I that's what I'll address in my next round. Thank you, Madam Mayor. All right. Thank you so much, Council Member Reese. Go right ahead. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And for my part, I I have um not a lot of questions for the presenters. I may in the second round, but I want to uh sort of give some thoughts as Miss Der did and I greatly respect my colleague on the DAS. Uh first is sort of a a situational awareness for people who have never been in these chambers. Um this is heavy stuff, right? And it's nothing that any of us arrive at half-heartedly or willy-nilly. Uh for many of these things, we've been looking at elements of it for five, six, 10 years, right? And so I'm going to start with a moment of gratitude. And that's what the first place that I always start with in my decision-making process. And for that, I'll say first thank you to Alex Mel and to Lzette, also her here today. Uh I want to say thank you to President Sandival, uh Coach Alfred, uh Director Remp, uh Provos Thompson, and Dean Moser. Uh all of you have appeared here today and really shown your heart for this community. Uh and of course, I also want to talk to all of those of you who are here to speak today in support of uh folks who have called and written. It is people who have stopped me at the grocery store. That's the kind of town we are. People feel very free to do that and I thank them for it. Uh, one person in particular who's made a lot to me in this community, Rick Ravilio has been one of the biggest supporters of the University of Nevada Reno and also a business person. So, he's given me a lot of good perspective. I also want to say thanks to the people in opposition, right? Uh, old Reno families uh, in this community who have done a lot for it um, have really uh, borne their heart out on this uh, thing too. They might not be here today. It can be sometimes a very difficult thing to be in a room full of people who are supporting a thing but be against it. Uh but I do think families like the Kiranos, the Esquagas, the Shelters, the Paganetes and the Frais have done a lot for this community and that we find ourselves potentially at odds over a project. Does not mean that we can't break bread together later. It just means that people have different visions of the world. And so it is true that uh we may have visions that are different from one another on the DAS but still leave as friends. And so I want to say thank you to all them. And then the last person I'll thank is you, Madame Mayor. And I know you don't like that, but I will say that uh it takes a lot to lead a city. And there are challenging decisions that happen in any mayor's life uh that require um diligence and thoughtful reflection and uh meetings and phone calls late at night. Uh and I want to just say um I learn a lot from you and it is nothing easy to do the work that you do especially when something like today happens and you have people in front of you who find themselves being for and against a thing and and ultimately some of us are going to have to make a judgment call from the das about it. Again, I try to start with gratitude because um it shapes the attitude that I have later about some of the questions I have and so I've used my time to do that and I certainly have significantly more things I'd like to say. Uh and we'll try to do those in round two. All right. Well, thank you so much, Councilman Ree. Um I assume you want something. No. Do you want something for me? I I have a feeling it's my dinner back there. Nice comments. No. very very kind. Um, okay. Go ahead. Uh, Councilwoman Taylor. Uh, thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you for everyone who is here. Uh, Council Member Ree uh said a lot of things that I I felt too. Um, I have a couple specific questions and I always feel when I get up here, my job is to ask the questions of the people that aren't here and who haven't got their answers. So, I'm going to um ask a couple questions that I haven't heard the answers to. But, I I want to start with a couple comments, too. First of all, and I think Hunden talked about this a little bit, our team is phenomenal. Our team is phenomenal in this space and they have done a fantastic job. And for all the other applications that are coming in here, I don't want to hear that our team has any biases or that they didn't do a good job, I don't want to hear it. They did a great job. And when they did have when they didn't have the answers, they went out and they asked for expert opinions. Our legal team is experts in what they're doing. Our financial team is experts in what they're doing and they are not getting any kickbacks. They are not getting any bonuses. They are not getting anything from the city for doing their jobs. In my research, I called Tempe, Arizona. I talked to their economic development team. I said, "Tell me about Hunden. What can you say?" Nothing. They said nothing but the nicest, most professional things. and the way that some people have come and attacked the research that has been done is inex it's unexcusable for us. So those are my first couple of thoughts. My second thing is the city is protected in this deal. I feel like we have done our due diligence. I feel like there is zero risk to us and I feel confident in saying that. The two questions that I have, one, um, in the presentation, Brian, you said that the $68 million of TIFF was not necessarily $68 million. If the investment is lower, it's lower. If it's higher, it's higher. I need a little explanation on that. And then my second question is for our legal team. There's been some talk about a promisary note, and I need some I need that explained a little bit about what that means. Thank you. Thank you for the question, uh, Vice Mayor Taylor. Uh so when the project is completed, the county assessor will go and assess the property standard practice as they normally will at that time based on the cost of the project, they'll assess it. We'll start to see the new tax increment revenue coming out. Um if they think that the the quality of the project or the the they value engineered anything out, that number is going to come in possibly less. Number could come in possibly more. Um, but based on the construction estimates that Hunden completed as they see other arenas across the country, that is the best guess of what we think and after talking with the county assessor that it would generate in new property tax increment. And so that's kind of the guideline we're working now. We'll obviously see this in practice. If we're way off, we will have to to look at the numbers and and see what can be done. But right now, after consulting with the assessor and the costs, that's what we expect this project to generate. So, let's say costs go down in construction. Madame Mayor, if you don't mind, go right ahead. 30 seconds. Never happens. And the the stadium only costs $300 million. Will we still be on the hook for $68 million? Um, is that Yeah. Thanks. Ashley, attorney, assistant city manager. For the record, no. The question in front of you I believe is you are asking what is the city's exposure from a repayment obligation and so what is proposed in front of you today is a split of the percentage of that new increment that is brought in. It is not tied to an actual dollar figure because that will not be known until after the property is built, assessed, paid for and then the percentage of reimbursement would come. So in your scenario, if it comes in less, that means that we will be reimbursing less. Thank you. And I'll get to the promisary note, I guess, in my next round. Thank you. All right. Great. And it's only on what is spent. So therefore, the number is concrete. So it's sort of like no guessing. Yes. It has to do with the assessor's rate, right, and their math, but yes. All right, Councilman Martinez, go right ahead. Thanks so much, Madam Mayor. I also want to take some time to thank everybody for being here and showing sharing your opinions whether one way or another uh to this project. It obviously has stirred a lot of emotion and opinions for folks. So, thank you all for being engaged in the public process and making sure that we are listening to everybody. I think I have two specific questions to start off uh this section. The first one is for uh the hunting group. The one of the memos that is attached to our packet has to deal with some an opinion that was drafted by Mr. Wells and I'm wondering if you can sort of give us an overview. It sounds like from my understanding of it the majority of it was Mr. Wells is claiming that there was an over assumption that there this endeavor was going to be more successful than it actually is. is and obviously there's more details in the memo so folks can come in there and they have more questions they can read that but I'm just wondering if overall you can give us an overview of your response to his critiques. Um yes so I don't know um Councilman that we did issue a response memo on that that tried to address some of that. So just in a highlight um we believe and and Will can get into more detail about it because he's done a tremendous amount of research on this is that um Mr. Walls left out a few key pieces. Um some of them were length of stay. Um some of them were lower um uh numbers than we used and then there's some other items that could clearly cause a differentiation. Two economists will always have different opinions on what things will do. So he may be correct and we may be correct because we're trying to project the future. We're very comfortable in our economic model and our projections and I'm sure he would defend his as well. But our issue will can get you into a little bit more detail about what the difference of the inputs are. Right. Right. And there's multiple reasons for that. The first thing to kind of point out is he went after arguing that that big amount of spending, right, it's going to be a lot less. First things about the CPI index. He did not factor that. We did CPI index increase is exactly what you guys use for your budgets and your financial projections. Come up to the microphone. That's all right. We just um that news 4 is not our microphone. So just try to lean into the the bigger one. There you go. Perfect. Perfect. Go ahead. Yes. So, kind of to refresh, first thing is that big spending, that economic net new spending where he's saying it's a lot less than what we are projecting. And there's a few reasons for that. The first is we accounted for CPI index, which is the same thing that you all do when you're looking at budgets, financial reports. Another issue is we really consider off-site spending. Spending that's going to happen at that small business next door, at the doughnut shop, right? Yeah, and that's another thing that we factored. The other part is displacement and as uh Andrew just talked about, we don't really see that much displacement as that's being factored. We of course accounted for it. We know that every person coming to a UNR basketball game is not going to be net new. That's another aspect. The second point of the Mr. Well's argument was about, you know, finding that financial gap and we were a little puzzled on how he came up with a 2% cap rate on an arena. The article that he references talks about industry average cap rates for your normal real estate investment. So your hotels, retail, multifamily, and none of that comes even close to a 2%. And cap rates, I know it's kind of a big concept, is kind of factored by risk. And there's not m not not much that's more risky than an arena. You have your safest which is your multifamily. You have something that's more risky which is a hotel and we see around a eight cap for that. So to you know argue that arena would have a 2% cap rate is just a little puzzling. It looks like I'm over time so I'll just wait till my next session. Thank you so much Councilwoman Anderson. All right. Thank you. So, I just wanted to first um say that I I was born and raised in this community and um I remember every one of these projects that's been built. As a little girl, I actually think I gained a stepfather once from him traveling to the region and building the original um MGM Grand. So, just a little whack, you know, history on my background here. Um, I just I really I have some questions, but I want to focus on what some have called the generational investment in Reno that this project represents. And at this time with our economy, um, and being a proud and rabbid fan of Reno Tahoe, the fact that Mr. Mela, you're bringing 750 million of your own dollars to take a very significant bet on Northern Nevada and in Reno is very very um appreciated and recognized by me. Um I am very very interested in not only the basketball and all the other shows that are going to be coming to this arena. I will say that the last time I went to a concert at Lawler Event Center, it was to see Elton John, which was in the year 2000, I believe. So, we are long overdue for a Well, mine was Rod Stewart. An arena. Yeah. Well, I almost said Prince, so Miss Anderson, which was either right before or right after. Yes. Miss Anderson. Mine was Michael Bolton. Okay. Fantastic. And so what I'm trying to say is having a state-of-the-art um venue to see high-end talent. We're not going to have Taylor Swift in this arena, but we are going to have a worldclass um environment to watch high-end talent, and I'm very, very excited about that. Um I would like to explore a little bit more about your in community engagement with the Ice fans that have come through. Everybody's here for basketball. Big fan. I want to know about hockey. I want to know about your discussions with Reno Ice and what your vision and plans are to integrate that amazing hockey community into this arena. Thank you for the question, Councilwoman Anderson. Andrew just for the record, um, from the very get-go of this project, we brought in uh Mr. Grace and representatives from Reno Ice to start discussions about this because the last thing we wanted to do was compete with an existing um venue like Reno Ice that people have fallen in love with. We heard the stories from multiple people earlier today and we told them we want to build a community ice piece as part of this project, but if you guys feel like it's going to compete with you, we're not going to do that. And they said, no, it's it's actually the other way around. We need it. You heard it from them today saying the demand is so great that we could probably stand up four or five sheets of ice in this community and still have uh more demand that wants to use it. So um we are going to be sponsoring uh the Renal Ice Youth Leagues for this upcoming season and we are looking to grow that relationship as the facility is hopefully being built and then once it's opened we will um increase and strengthen that partnership as it goes on. All right, I'm going to send it back. Real quick, as you all know, I'm a huge hockey fan, so I should that should speak for itself and so is my daughter, the rest of my family. We're much into hockey and youth hockey. Right now, what I really focus is on youth hockey, and you will have my complete support on that. And I'm a huge again, I have a lot of respect for the hockey players back there. And uh I love the I love the sport. I mean, come on. It's the most amazing sport ever where you can knock each other out and you're on very thin ice. Right. All right. Go ahead, Councilwoman Eert. Yeah. Um, so I just am reading back through the report here and I'm I'm kind of circling back to the buttfor test and it says by analyzing the expected returns from phase one of the project which includes the arena and aqua golf and comparing them to benchmark investments such as the current risk uh free rate. Pudendon concludes that the development does not provide a sufficient return to justify the investment. So it doesn't say that there's a gap. It's just saying it doesn't justify the return for the investment. And I don't really need to get all into that, but I'm just saying that's this doesn't say that there's a gap. And there was something else in the presentation by um Mr. disc regarding um a new kind of similar um venue in Sacramento. And I was thinking about that when he was talking about it because California doesn't have this kind of um financing available anymore. They got rid of redevelopment. Um, so I looked up what's going on there and it says that they're [Music] um they're paying for it on their own. They're the casino's paying for it. The the district is paying for it. They're not getting public funding for private business. Um, so I'm just wondering like why why the city of Reno should use our public funds for private business when we have things like the placemaking study that outlined all the areas were deficient in downtown that we're not focusing on those areas where it's a a a community benefit that it's doesn't cost money for any citizens of Reno to go and instead focusing that money on an arena and a golf thing that is not going to be free to the citizens of Reno. We're going to have to pay to go there and it's been explained that this arena will be cash flow negative. So, there'll have to be sir charges to keep it, you know, operating because the operating cost. So, I'm just not exactly sure um why this particular investment should make sense to us knowing that our downtown is in the shape that it is. We want to be a college town. We have UNR and then we have the GSR all the way down, you know, down here, but we got nothing going on in between. Um, Councilwoman Eert Andrew, just for the record, the first part of your question, um, regarding the possible development outside of Sacramento, that's on tribal land. They do not pay taxes. They do not pay property tax. Um, the gaming taxes are, um, they have to enter into a compact with the state of California. Um it's it's fundamentally different than what we are facing in all the public taxes that we are responsible for with this development. Um and so I I think Miss Turney wanted to address the second part. Thank you. Ashley Attorney, assistant city manager for the record. Uh council member, one very bright line of distinction though it can feel kind of confusing because you serve in both roles. This is currently under the redevelopment agency. It is not the city of Reno. And so the increment that is in this space is dedicated specifically to the RDA agency which has very specific uses that you can use. Um this additionally is in RDA 2 which does not encompass your downtown. Uh that would be in RDA1 and we look forward to as we mentioned multiple other projects that will be coming in that will hopefully develop additional increment in the RDA1 area. Yeah, I understand that. I'm just comparing the types of projects and we have other gaming entities that we are not providing additional funding to haven't um and there's not a whole lot of other like restaurants or businesses right around the gsr. They're kind of um tucked in an industrial area. So um I don't know how like what other business is going to really benefit right around the gsr. People will probably be eating there, gaming there. Um people will likely maybe stay at other places, but um the lion share of the business is going to be going to this private business because there's not really a whole lot else right in that area. Um and also I was curious, is the GSR applying for any uh tax abatements through the GOED office? Councilwoman Eert, Andrew Dis, for the record, we have looked at every possible incentive program that is out here, and this is the only one that we qualify for. Okay. So, no abatements through the state. Councilwoman Eert, I'm going to cut you off. You're two minutes over. Um I'm going to go ahead, Councilwoman Dur. Yeah, thank you. I wanted to continue. So, um you know, assuming that we move forward, there's so much support. Um, it looks like it has tremendous benefits. What I want to make sure is that the community benefits are there as well. Not just it feels good, we think it'll do this, it probably does that. Numbers look like this. And I want to remind the council of uh a project that we did. Um, Stonegate came in and they wanted us to help with the SAD, a special assessment district, and they wanted to use our bond rating, not our money, but they wanted to issue bonds under our heading and get the benefit of that lower tax rate. And for doing so, we gave them no money, no tiff, no nothing. Um, they gave us millions in recreational fields that they committed to, uh, repositioned their schools, uh, offered to do and committed to do connections for electric cars in every single 5,000 homes and so on. When Walmart came in, they did a deal with our uh, with the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, and they had laid out many community benefits, and they don't pay uh, the same kind of taxes since they're a sovereign nation. And in that deal, Walmart committed to hire so many uh you know employees from RSIC and those kind of things. Just giving examples. Um I would like to make it simple and just do it and everyone go have a nice day and it's all going to be beautiful. And I already mentioned that we've got a a job to be uh focused and to be those critical thinkers. So, let's say Doug's doughnut shop um does actually pencil and they can do it on their own. Um the question is what would we have done with $68 million in this RDA area? Would we have addressed uh sewer? Not very sexy, but needed. Uh paving roads, many people have won and lost elections just due to potholes. Um would we have done two pools, one in W three and one another in another place? I mean, the list is endless. what we could do with those funds and maybe if the uh redevelopment area goes away at some point all of those funds come in we can do some of these things. So, I just want to list a few because there's not, you know, I have one minute. Um, potentially we have investments public facilities. Is it possible that we could talk about a $2 sir charge on tickets? Um, you've committed to workhouse for uh workforce housing. Um, could we put a commitment into the agreement about that so that the new employees actually have a place to live? Um, what about the potential losses to you and our adjacent businesses begun to be addressed, but could we pencil that? Could we put that in an agreement? Um, I'm worried about UNR's commitment. Actually, uh, academics goes right along with sports. Um, their long-term rates. I was really glad to hear that there's a longer term contract being envisioned, but what about all the poor students? We've heard about that. I was a poor student. I could barely make it through college. Um, just grants and loans. Um, grandmother sent me 50 bucks a month to live on. Wasn't a lot at the time. The women's basketball, and if I may just continue my list, Madame Mayor, 30 seconds. All right. The women's basketball. Some of that's been answered. Thank you, Stephanie. But I still am concerned about it. Um, the future of Lawler. Is that a stranded asset? What happens there? Does it just sit? Um, the How do we support the the increased travel with the roads, the maintenance, the police, the sewer to the GSR? How does that get paid for a labor agreement? I know that um you've offered to pay prevailing wage. Is there a project labor agreement? And then finally, and this is important to me, every agreement, you got to think in a terms of a prenup. Uh what if something goes south? Could we work out that we could settle any kind of disagreements through not through lawsuits, but through arbitration or some other method so that we remain positive partners? That's really important to me. um this is what we're supposed to do on these kind of things and I'm trying to live that dream, be a good council member, get to the bottom line. So, I want it to be a win-win and I think if we even spent the three hours that we did on public comment today in a room talking through these issues that we could put a fine pencil and some of them would make sense to lots of people. Right. Counciloman, you're okay. All right. Um Miss Tney, you want to come up and address some of those questions? Ashley, attorney, assistant city manager for the record. Um, some of those would need to be addressed directly by the applicant. One thing that I would caution this board is what's in front of you today is a financing tool. U, this is not a development agreement. It is a different agreement than what this body has seen in the past. I defer to our legal counsel if she feels that I'm in the wrong vein there. U, strictly what's in front of you today is the discussion on the tax increment financing and that split that's before you. Um, additional requests would need to be something that would have to be discussed with the applicant separate from this agreement. U, again, this is a financing instrument. This is not a development agreement where we can add in some of the things that you've asked for as you mentioned from a previous development. So, do we, if I may just follow up, what is what are we going to be asked to vote on then today? What will be in front of you today? There are three proposed options from the term sheet. Uh, these are the negotiated terms. Again, this body can choose as you please. Uh there is the tiff split is what's in front of you. So right 100% 9010 or 90 memorialized in an agreement. Correct. There is would that come back to council. What is proposed today is for that not to come back to this body um for you to have the chairwoman of the board your mayor to execute that. Uh that agreement is included in your packet today. Uh legal has reviewed it. There may be some very small changes. Nothing would be material. If there were material changes from the applicant or our legal site, it would come back before this. Can and is that different, Ashley, than we typically do? It's very similar from what you do in other ways in the sense that when the agreement is part of your packet, you've reviewed it as part of your supplemental documentation has been reviewed by legal. So, in that regard, it's very similar. You sign every document or you can also have the executive director, which is the city manager, execute that document as well. And I'd like to rem I I kind of want to point out that we don't have a lot of economic development tools. We really don't. As a city, I would say this is the only one you have. And the hard part is when I stepped into the seat, uh we were $600 million in debt. We did not have any room whatsoever uh to make any investments to. So really, in order to make things work, we have to do private and public partnerships. But what has to happen here with the TIFF project, someone has to be willing to make the investment. And I haven't seen a lot of that. There's, you know, a one other person, um, you know, downtown that's really making the commitment. Uh so you kind of have to have that in place really to make a project of any significance work. And that's just the bottom line. Um and so my point is I guess I want to point out because I think people are getting a little lost here is that that entity has to come in and say I'm making that investment. Um otherwise there really is there's nothing generated. There's nothing there. Nothing. That's correct, Madame Mayor. And um this body, you may recall, you re-energized your redevelopment agency back in August of last year by setting standard expectations, guidelines, applications for all the applications come in. Um so anyone is eligible to apply for those if they're in those areas and we would be happy, willing, and excited to take all those applications. U this is the first one in front of you. But to your point, you do need to have someone who is ready to make that investment. And I was going to say I would encourage um anyone that wants to in make those investments and bring them forward to the council. Um there just hasn't been anything of that significance. Correct. Um and you know and actually the people that have invested I have to say oftentimes you know they are are painted as villains or um just you know some of the things that you hear uh out there. I do think it's the minority. So, we have to be really careful of those things. But people that are doing really good things in the community, you know, from housing to entertainment projects and, you know, we have to recognize that. I think people really forget how important it is to show that your city city is innovative if you want people to invest um and you know call this place home to I think too the other thing is as a mayor I'm highly competitive I know you are president Sandival I don't like to lose at all whatsoever but I also have to really remind everyone I we all have to be rooting for Reno I cannot pick and choose my children. That's not how this works. And I want to send a message um you know to the outside world that Reno is doing something. We're relevant. We're creating jobs. We're creating innovation. We're creating a great university. We're creating um just an incredible um community for entertainment, innovation. And everyone knows how much I love sports and arts and culture. We have changed a lot in the last decade. And I think, you know, we need to continue to look forward. But I also want to say that I um I'm grateful for the people that make the investment that want to make the investment in Reno. It says that we matter. It says that our community is really relevant. The nice thing is we um we can all pick and choose where we get to live. And if that's not the vision for the the community you want to live in, that's okay, too, right? But I think um it's overwhelming that we have a lot of citizens here today. And I just want to reiterate as the mayor of the city, I want everyone to thrive cuz guess what? If you're not, they're going to California. They're going to other places. you people that are worried about oh no my backyard don't worry about your backyard cuz you should be lifting up your backyard cuz what you should be worrying about is that going to California or other places other cities that's the problem why no jobs no education no entertainment no great quality of life you have to have revenue and economic impact to build a great community and have significance and also have a great quality of life. Can you imagine? No jobs. I mean, what that looks like? No infrastructure, no education, no arts and culture. I mean, I'll never forget when I said I want to do Burning Man sculptures with inside the city of Reno. People thought I was crazy. And um and so I just think that we have come to a whole new playing field and saying that Reno matters. We've been on a lot of national top 10 national lists and there's a reason for it because visionaries see like Mr. Jacobs uh you know Mr. Mel um and you know in all of our gamers beautiful properties I had the conference of mayors over at the peppermill um all of them but we're all investing in Reno. I promise you I promise you we will win. We will win. So anyway um I think we are at our two rounds I believe. Uh, Councilwoman Eert, you've had two rounds. I have, but I don't know if everyone else has. Okay, I'm gonna go with Councilman Eert. Sorry, Councilman Ree. Thank you so much. Uh, look, I want to make sure everyone understands a few things. This is the most significant decision that many of us will make in our time on council. Um, as a result of that, I've spent the last five years studying tiff, uh, going to cities where tiffs have been done well and being done poorly, trying to figure out what other cities got right, because that's what we want. We want to get it right. Um, ultimately, it's okay to ask questions and many of the questions that have been asked at the dis um, I've already asked and answered those questions for myself. I've met um probably I I've probably had a hundred meetings on this topic uh with our staff, with um the applicants, with people opposed to the presentations. I don't have a lot more questions, but sometimes when I hear questions that be gets other thoughts and I I think Miss Turner, you said it very well that some of the questions suggest that um there are just differences of what type of vehicle we're using, right? So, what is TIFF? And here's what I conclude. One of the things that I did read in the run-up to this is Dr. Alicia Barber's book Reno's Big Gamble and she's an incredible historian of this community and she talks about the interplay of civic reputation and promoted image and a sense of place. She also warns against over reliance on tourism because as she says in the book, it's a double-edged sword. Sometimes we b gamble big and we fail. It also talked about Reno's ability to evolve and rebrand itself. And that's what I'm interested in. There is little to no risk to the city. Miss um Taylor already the vice mayor has already indicated that that's because we've had the questions with our legal team. We've had the questions for the finance team and this is a once-ina-lifetime generational partnership that I believe that does not make me a cheerleader. It tells you that I have done the homework to know the answers to the questions that are important to me. Um so the I bristle at the thought that if I don't ask questions or I haven't dug deep enough, I'm not doing my homework. I've done the homework. it's time to have some conversations about the why. Um, there is an element of faith that is certainly required in any partnership. And one of the things that was very impressive to me today was the number of people who showed up here and said, "I know Alex Mel. I've known him for this many years. He has proven himself to be who he says he's going to be." Um, I'll also tell you, I've known President Sandaval my entire legal career as a lawyer. Um, sometimes lawyers have just this way of communicating about one another, but this is a person who has also governed the great state of Nevada. And so when you have these two gentlemen who are putting their reputation and their faith in this community, far be it for me not to do the same thing and extend my hand in faith. Uh, Jim Devold also said something very true, which is that if we do not pursue growth opportunities, we are de DOA. Uh, and you know, I love Yarrington but don't want to live there, right? Eloy Har came and he said something that also resonated with me and madame mayor you'll give me a little bit of leeway to finish my thoughts but he said um you have to pursue smart growth opportunities. It's not growth at any cost. It's not growth not knowing the uh the realities of the road we face. It's saying hey I'm going to believe in Reno like Dean Moer said. It's saying things like new funding that's paid for exclusively by growth is a no-brainer. That's what Derek Beet said. Corey Hunt said it would be a title wave of things. And certainly it is true that sometimes you gamble. And I hope that most people gamble and win. I don't think they build these casinos by that mantra. Uh but maybe they gamble and win a lot at the GSR and we'll hope for that. And sometimes you gamble and fail, right? The question is what protections does the city have legally and financially so that the risk to us is that we're playing with house money right and in fact we're playing with Mr. Mela's money quite frankly uh because we are not going to increase taxes. We're going to have this new thing and at the end of that it is a financial deal right if you can't look at the financial information that Hunden has provided and even the Wells report provides a very incredible opportunity even if you took the lower of the two numbers and two economists can disagree on a thing you would still be an incredibly better place than where we are today which is no development there. this claim about well they can build it on their own they won't need us and we'll get the whole thing that is just a game of chicken I'm not willing to play when the University of Nevada Reno has a vision for this community's future and that vision is something we all ascribe to and again I'm not a cheerleader I'm a skeptic I am someone who publicly opposed the Raiders deal the Oakland A's deal they weren't here I didn't have to burn a lot of capital to oppose them but intellectually one has to wrap your head around the idea a that this is a different financial tool, the one that we have in the redevelopment agency. And as I sit here today and wear the hat of a redevelopment agent, these other questions, which I think at times can be used to uh tear down the vision, are ones that I'm not willing to gamble Reno's future on. I'm going to bet on us every time and I think I have a a track record of having done that and and made good decisions and I will live with the decisions that I make today and going forward because there's a lot more redevelopment deals to be had. Every one of them is going to have to come and stand on its own merits. Probably none of them will be as so exciting as to have, you know, Colby yelling from the rooftops about it. Um but each one of them will be an important part of Reno's future. a future which right now looks a little scary, right? And that someone who said, "I'm gonna bet on Reno today and bring nearly a billion dollars of investment into this community." I'm not going to look the gift horse in the malice. I I say thank you. I'm prepared to vote when the time comes. I will be supporting. All right. Thank you, Council Member. Um Go ahead, Council Member Taylor. Vice Mayor, go ahead. Thank you. Um you can probably sit down, Ashley. [Laughter] Um, she's being so good. I know she's being so good. I I would like to say, Mr. Marlo, thank you for investing in our community. You've done it in the past. I believe you will do it again and I I believe in you and I'm appreciative. I had a conversation with Mr. Sandaval, President Sandival. It was very candid and I let him know what my concerns were. Um, and I he he said, "Will you please keep an open mind?" And I said, "I absolutely will keep an open mind. I will keep an open mind and I will not make a decision until I've heard everything." And that's where I'm at right now. And um the athletic director, Stephanie, Shia, you said something and you said, "Recognize the ask. Recognize the ask." And I take that very seriously. You said, "The people, businesses, and families around the university might be hurt a little bit. Those are the people that I represent. Those are the people that elected me. Those are the people that I have to speak for in this space. I think this is a great project. I'm supportive of it. But I went to the people I go ahead and get your phone. I talked to businesses. I talked to families. I talked to students. I had one-on-one conversations. And people told me, "This is going to hurt me. This is going to hurt me financially." I talked to Hall of Fame athletes at the at that are in the Hall of Fame at university and they said, "We don't like this." So, while I think this is a great investment, I am absolutely supportive of that. I cannot I cannot go against the people of my board that have asked me to speak for them. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Um, Councilman Martinez. Yeah. Thanks so much, Mayor. I think uh I just had a quick question. I think that the other director spoke a little bit about the lease um and the approval there and just wanted to understand that a little bit more. I know it's outside of our processes and our jurisdiction, but uh I don't know if President Tendal would like to discuss what the process entails to look at the lease and maybe harp a little bit on the community benefits on that of that going through. I don't know if you have a sense of what the regents are thinking. I'm obviously not asking you to speak on their behalf, but if you can share with us what the process looks like on that end. Yeah, thank you. Uh, Madame Mayor, for the record, Brian Sandival, President of the University of Nevada, tuning through you to Councilman Martinez. Um, as was as the athletic director Remp mentioned, you know, we have these concepts. There is a commitment by Mr. Melo to sign a long-term lease agreement. We won't get, you know, once that is completed, we will go to the board of regents and present that to them and it's subject to their approval. I can't speak for the regents. There's 13 of them. But, um, I would have a high level of confidence that they would be supportive of this and I hope we get to that point. I truly do. Um, you know, and Councilwoman Der, you had mentioned about poor uh, college students. They go to our games for free. Yeah. And they will continue to go to our games for free. And then you also mentioned a um a wasting asset. I'm not sure if that's the terminology um you used um with regard to Lawler. Um you know with I think all the all of you have had your experiences in Lawler as have I. Pav Pavarati uh performed there. The Eagles performed there. Prince performed there. No one comes anymore. Nobody wants to come. We have gone to the RSCBA and said, "Please put us in your inventory. Make it available. No one is interested because no money has been put." And you sure did do that. Pardon me? You sure did do that. I can attest to that. I just called it a stranded asset, meaning it's over there maybe not being used as it could. And and I just wondered what its future might be. Yeah. No. And you would you would not meet anyone more than me that would love to monetize that more because that's direct revenue um to our athletic department and and to our university. So, um, with that, I hope that was responsive to your question. Councilman Martinez, thanks so much, President Sandival. I appreciate you sharing that. And I think having reviewed, uh, the sheet terms on a whole different side of the coin, uh, looking at the agency fee, prevailing wage, the maximum tax increment, reimbursement being set at a specific amount. Um, I feel comfortable with the protections that staff has negotiated um, with Mr. Morel and making sure that the city's money in public tax dollars are protected and there's still an ability to capitalize on the investment, the huge investment that the Morelo group is willing to make. Um, the only other thing I'll mention just because there were Girl Scouts here earlier and we've talked about youth sports, but I know for council member Ree and I, uh, you sports and recreation is a huge component. So golf and the ice rink and those other amenities are a huge portion of the benefits that come with this project. So thank you for that work and I'll leave it at that for now. Thank you so much, Council Member Anderson. Okay, so I'm just going to harp on this one more time. I'm going to keep asking you every single year that you're in town, what is happening with community engagement? How many of our kids are able to enjoy this stadium? how many, you know, I'm going to keep asking you that for your commitment and for your creativity and for our ability to continue to to grow the access to this arena and the ice and potentially the golf and anything else that gets built here. Um, just one thing I wanted to to circle back on. It's been it's been brought up a few times here that the city council here, we don't choose winners or losers, right, in town. We don't pick one business over another business. I want to ask everyone in the community that is listening and that wants to be a supporter of this project, I'm going to ask you sincerely to continue to support the businesses in and around the property of the university. Make sure that you've got all of your Nevada gear when you show up at this at the GSR. Make sure you get on those buses to make sure that you're at these at these games and you're buying tickets to all the different events that are here. And I just want to make the point that Mr. Marillo, you have chosen Reno as a winner. We're not choosing you as a winner or a loser compared to other businesses. You have chosen to invest in Reno and that makes us a winner. So, thank you for that. I am very grateful for that. One last question and this is for our legal team. I just want to make sure that in let's just say there has been talk about the RDA being potentially looked at to be extended for 10 20 years later at a different legislative session. If that does not happen, are we at any legal exposure at all? Is this a 10-year deal and a 10-year deal only? I know that this has been touched on. And I just want to make it sure or make it clear one more time on the record. Are we in any exposure to be sued if the city of Reno decides not to extend our RDA2? Thank you, Councilwoman. For the record, I'm Rory Robinson with Camford Croll and I've been the AY's outside counsel for this matter and the answer is no. the agency would not be on the hook for any um funds that are not actually received by the agency and payable to the terms and conditions of the owner participation agreement. And the note that's delivered in accordance with that agreement um it says and it's it's bold face um that anything owing um any amount that has been deemed in advance which would be any um amount that's payable on account of eligible improvements. So for even anything to be payable under the note, the improvements would have to be completed. Um and then the agency would have to be determined that determine that it was in accordance with the agreement and then that amount is payable under the promisory note but only to the extent that the tax increment is actually received by the agency and it has to be during the time period remaining on the current term of the redevelopment project. The note matures on the date of expiration of the current term of the redevelopment project and anything remaining that would potentially be payable otherwise is forgiven. And it states that um both in the owner participation agreement and the note. The note is not even um you know we call it a note just because it's an easy instrument to set forth you know what is owed what's your source what's the maturity date and that you know forgiveness term um but that's only issued if um all the conditions are met under the agreement madame mayor because we have our lawyer on the hot seat may I just go right ahead question um so I want to make sure I understood something I I don't think it's a note write a promisory note like what I have on my home has a certain set of obligations which require me to perform those obligations. So I'm just trying not to be level lawyer. I am not our lawyer. I play one on TV. Um but it it seems to me it more it's an obligation, right? That there is no debt that is created by it. If the assessor assesses and collects and it is paid out upon the split, that's all we're saying is we're going to pay the split according to the terms of our agreement. So that's why I don't think of it as a promisory note. Yeah. And I we've termed it a note and I know um you know other agencies use that term and it's um but I I do a lot of construction law and you know other types. So um you know notes are payable accordance with their terms. um they have maturity dates and it is perfectly legal to have forgiveness and we've provided very clearly you know this is a limited source note which is also legal. Um so everything um is set forth in the four corners of the document. Again we we use bold. Um so yeah there there would be there will be sophisticated people on both sides of this transaction. I I want to just make sure that I'm clear and so my colleagueu's question was it is not a promisory note. It may be a note and there are different kinds of notes but it's not the same kind of note that you have on a mortgage. It just is not different terms, right? It's um definitely not um and we also say that you know it's not supported by um any other source of income of the agency full faith and credit of the agency no taxing power all of those provisions are are within the four no water falling to the city's general fund bond absolutely solely yeah not the other RDA um the only source of payment under that note is the tax increment if we you know has been discussed and and put on the record. Um so yeah, it's it's an unfortunate term. um we can call it an instrument but yeah it um there there is no liability that's going to extend beyond what is received and um you know anything owed beyond the expiration date of the um redevelopment agency 2 um project area 2 and if it is extended by statute and I you know previously worked on an extension first of all it's something typically you have to opt into but the agreement provides very clearly that that's not an automatic extension um you know we we'd have to go through this process again um or something similar um to have you know any amendments. So it would be an open meeting to have that approved. Okay. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Um we have had two rounds so everyone has exhausted their two rounds. Um Councilwoman Iver will you please turn off your Oh, I wanted to know if we can have another round. Um one minute. Okay. So I have a lot of stuff. I'll try and talk quick. Um, so I I looked through some different college arenas um during some presentations and saw that this arena is significantly smaller than the average um college stadium. And I think that if we're really saying that this will be a way to bring in larger events, we're not going to get Beyonce here or Taylor Swift with a 10,000 seat arena. It's just it's not going to happen. and all the other arenas I looked at had men's and women's teams there. So, I since it's cash flow negative, um I don't know why we can't support the women there as well. And I've heard the comments about um you know, there's less women in attendance, but I don't I don't understand how it could work other places and not here. Um and to Council Member Taylor's point, um I I don't think that this can not pull business from other areas. I don't think that this is possible to exist without doing harm to other businesses where um the team will be leaving. So that's it. I guess that's all I have time for. Okay. Thank you so much. Okay. All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Doer. Yep. Um, so I just want to go on record as saying I think an important point here for all of us, which is that even when you're very excited about something and in fact especially when you're very excited about something, um, it's incredibly important, I think, and appropriate to ask hard questions and it makes the deal stronger. It makes us all do better and that that's my role. Um, I am planning to lean in and support this, but I'm very interested in what of the three options we've been presented, people are going to be interested. Or is there a fourth option? Um, and I've even heard you talk, Madame Mayor, about other thoughts as well than the three we've been presented. I don't know if you're leaning towards one, but you know, it's not wrong. I just want everybody to know it's good to be a critical thinker. It is not wrong to ask questions. It's not wrong to protect the public good. and that is my our role, all of our role and you can still be a booster at the same time. So, um I'm looking forward to seeing what we get to support. Okay. Thank you very much, Councilman Ree. Thank you so much. I want to lean into something Mr. Martinez said and also Miss Anderson about the community benefit, right? Because that's what I've had when I went out into the community and people asked me in what are you going to support this? What are you doing? And I said, well, I'm I'm collecting information. What do you think would be a community benefit? And of course the first benefit is the increased tax revenue that it generates by its own valition. But there's other things you know there's jobs, there's the construction jobs, there's post jobs. The university is an important piece to me. But the one that you have both highlighted for me is that sort of um component about uh recreational opportunities, youth athletics, and and I think it's it's aqua golf, it's um ice skating, of course, it's basketball. I mean, I want to see us having youth camps for uh children to go to play with our university men's and women's basketball teams. So, it's really about sports. So, the community benefit I'm hoping for and really want to lean into is that, right? There's a benefit also, of course, to the land underneath the fire station, which has a four or five million price tag. The fact that we're not going to pay rent anymore in on a facility, those are benefits, but I'm interested in the one that Mr. Martinez, you and Miss Anderson brought to light. Okay. Just um one thing I do want I always try to sort of do this with every project we look at because you know we do hear a lot of things and a lot of things that aren't true. So I do want these on the record. Talk a little bit about um I have heard that this is a tax in perpetuity that goes back to uh the developer. Madam Mayor Ashley attorney assistant city manager for the record. Thank you for the question. Uh there has been some I would call it misinformation out in the media. Uh this is not a benefit that goes back in perpetuity. The RDA sunsets in August of 2035. The agreement very clearly indicates that tax increment cannot and will not be refunded to the developer after that date of that sunset. Okay. So not in perpetuity. Okay. The other myth that um I would like to ask you about is that you get a bonus based on if this is approved. Well, I love to have it on the record. No, no, ma'am. That is um your honor, that is not correct. I don't know where that started. We are hired through a competitive bidding process from the city. We simply represent the city and complete independence. Correct. Completely independent. There is no bonus. No bonus. No bonus. Okay. Have I clear that there's no bonus? I appreciate that. Um and then the other thing is um I I want to reiterate and explain that this tax we do not um just hand them a check. It has to be um generated based on what they do, what they build. And so, um, because there is I think, uh, well, there are people out there that are saying that we're just going to give them our tax dollars in that, uh, respect and so there has to be something for a something. Yes. Can you explain that? Yes, absolutely. Madame Mayor, Ashley, Attorney, assistant city manager for the record, clarifying a few points. Uh, the first thing again is that this is not a loan to the developer. This is not a bond. the city nor the RDA agency are incurring debt. This is also no prepayment to the developer for this project. The order of operations is the development, excuse me, the participation agreement would be executed. They would go off construct. Uh once the first subsection of their item is constructed, they would request the reassessment from the assessor's office. The assessor would say your new tax bill is X. The developer would pay new tax bill and then once we received proof of those funds deposited into our bank account, we would then refund the percentage as was agreed to by this body at that date. So they are paying it first before we refund any dollars. Okay. Thank you. And then talk a little bit about the school district. Um so currently in the RDA2 area, this is different for RDA1 so I won't muddy the waters. RDA2. Uh, the school district is continuing to receive their percentage of the existing property tax base as was set during the original stage of the freeze when we instituted the RDA2 area. At the end of RDA2 in 2035, then in theory all boats rise in high tide and they will begin to take on the larger portion of the tax increment that's been created in the entire area. Okay. They are also they benefit from the sales tax that will come in the C tax. Uh that's something that that is not tied to the RDA agency and that amount goes to them in the normal amounts through this period. Thank you so much. And the other thing that I um want to address and I don't know Andrew who wants to address this from your team but also um there has been this narrative out there about uh the women playing versus the men playing. I think you should address that. I I'd be happy to and I'd ask director ReM to come stand beside me as we talk about this because um that has been part of our discussions since day one. Our message to the university was we absolutely want coach Leven and the women's team playing in this state. You can hear from 100%. I don't know where they hear these comments, but I am a huge sports fan for women and men and I like like they like governor said well exgovernor president now of our great university of Nevada and also Stephanie has also said I have given money I'm not sure if anybody else has but I have given NIL money to the women's basketball. Is that accurate? Correct. Um, and Coach Levens is here, so we've talked about this at at at length. Um, it is important that the experience of our student athletes be at the forefront. And when you go and you play in a cavernous environment, it's not a great experience. So, Coach Levens and her staff, as I said in my remarks, is totally focused on building up attendance, building a successful program, focused on the community, and when the opportunity arises, we will bring them there. And in the interim, when there's an opportunity for multi-team events, postseason events, maybe when we play UNLV, if we can get everybody that came and spoke today to come out to those games, we will have them at uh the GSR. And I would love nothing more. I've told Stephanie that I'd love to have women playing there and winning championships. So, I'm a strong supporter of both sexes playing basketball. Thank you for investing in the women and also uh we have you know big supporters from Mike Pagram all across the city and so it means a lot. So thank you for investing in the women. I also said that I had to also invest money in both sport both women and men because of course each coach wants you know how it is right everybody wants what's best for their both but they both agreed and we've had a great relationship with both coaches and I support them both. Okay thank you. Can I address one other thing that was brought up or sure yes please do. So, it was about the students and I I know you guys are all making your remarks. Um, there's 20,000 students at Nevada. There's about a thousand that come to our games. So, um, what I had mentioned is the 19,000 that don't come, um, none of this affects them, but the thousand that do come, you heard from several of them today, they are supportive of this. And I think the rub is oftentimes you're taking it off campus, which I also tried to address. Like, we know that, we don't like that. we all want to be on campus but the but we have to figure out a different way to be successful to support the you know he is continuing to support NIL which helps our team be successful so I think it's important to understand the entire picture when it comes to our students supporting this initiative and we feel like the ones that are that are all in on basketball are supportive they are going to come to the games it's going to be a great environment and the ones that are not that maybe that's who you talk to that aren't supportive they're not really um they're not really uh participants and they're not having to pay anything, they're not having to to do anything. It doesn't affect them negatively. Um, and so I think that's an important distinction when it comes to students. Yeah. Um, I would I just want to piggyback on that a little bit that I understand um, you know, the concern, but what I want to say is if your business is relying on just when these events are, you don't have a business. It's what's happening every single day in and out of your business. I know uh because I have two events a month and if I had to rely on just those two events, I would never make it. It's it's what happens day in and day out inside my front doors and what I I can't stress enough how critical it is to shop local. Please, I know it's so easy to want to get on your computer and do this and that and get Amazon right at your front door, but do us all a favor, everyone. support your local businesses. If you could do any one thing for this community, I cannot stress it enough. What and how much it gives back and the jobs it creates. And small business is the lifeblood of America. It really is. I just I cannot stress that enough. But I do want to say if your business is solely going to rely on events or uh the basketball season, you don't have a business. Um it's great to have the gravy. We all love the gravy, but we have to figure out how we make our small businesses um have sustainability for the long term, the long run, right? Or else you you don't have a business. So, all right. Thank you so much. Okay, here we go. We're going to wrap it up. We've still got Ranchera. We got a a whole bunch of other people that want to come in in um into chambers, so we got to get going. Um I had a question about the motions that we could make. Okay. I'm going to have uh Councilman Martinez make his motion and then you can question it cuz I I don't know what his motion might affect I don't know what his motion is yet. Okay. Okay. And then you can ask your question. Um All right. Okay. Before we do that, uh I would just like to ask Mr. Mel um are there any closing remarks that you would like to share with the council? Yes, Madame Mayor, and to all the council people who've been here for the last four or five hours, I I don't envy your job. I really do. You do you guys do an incredible job, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You do an absolutely incredible job servicing the public, and that should not go unnoticed. I've been to what I can do to make more of a difference. And and everything I've heard from every single one of you has impacted me in different ways. And so what I would suggest um that I've been considering moving forward on and it's going to affect me more personally because of what I have to give up but I think it's the right thing to do. My whole life I've given to education and sports. I've given a lot of money. I'll leave it at that. I would like to contribute something and I've always fought for the underdog and I think you hear from the team members and what they said about me. I would like to fight for W three which I happen to do business in W three and he's been a very good supporter and he's done a great job and that's you Mr. Martinez. I would like to give back 5% for youth sports hockey youth sports recreation facilities to make a difference in this district that has been underserved for many years. I think it's time to uh make a difference in that. So, youth recreational sports, not hockey. I You've got me into hockey so much, but it's nothing wrong with hockey. I I love hockey. Look, I put my money where my mouth is. I I bought a team for a lot of money, and so I I love hockey, but this is for W three, which I think has been underserved for many years. I like give 5% of the tiff money to that district. So, is that is that um 15 then? Is that what you're saying? Yes. I would uh I've already committed to giving 10%. Uh and as you see the proposals, I want to give an additional 5% more uh for my for my portion which I will have to work with. I've been texting back and forth with my attorneys how I would do it uh structurally wise taxes and all that, but I'm sure I can make it happen. And that would also include the fire station land. I thought you have a hello already. Thank you. Oh, Alex, what do you guys think? Should we give it to him? Yes. All right, mayor. Madame Mayor, you've got that, too. Thank you very much. Okay, that's for you. That's for you. Well, you know, uh my how much I love my fire department. I know you do. And you love sports, too. And so, I love sports. And so do you. And all of you. I haven't spent that much time, but I hope I would like to see everybody vote 70. I'm sure I won't get that, but I want you to understand that. I'm very grateful for just giving the time and I'm losing my voice because I've got a horrible cough that as the day wears on I lose more of my voice. But I am very lucky and privileged to be here. I love the city. I have fought for this city and I have put my money where my mouth is. I don't talk nonsense. I just act and I make things happen. And I and then I I I'm losing. I'm so grateful for you guys believing in me and what we want to accomplish because it truly is life-changing in many ways and it transcends this city and it really changes the skyline. So, thank you. Okay. Thank you, sir. All right. With that being said I um that being said, I'm going to send it to you, Councilman Martinez. It's your board. I would love for you to make a motion to see um where it goes. Thank you so much, Madame Mayor. And I just want to start off by saying thank you. That's incredible those two things that you just added. So, I'm going to try a motion and if the lawyers can correct me if I don't say this the right way, but let me give it my best shot. So, I motion to approve the tax increment finance agreement and deal terms to include 90% reimbursement, the transfer of the deed for the land of fire station 21 to the redevelopment agency, and acceptance of the generous donation of 5% from the Grand Sier Resort to the city of Reno to support youth sports and recreation. Okay. All right. So, I have a motion from Councilman Martinez. I have a second from Councilman Ree. discussion. That would be uh Councilwoman Eber. Yeah, I was And I'm sorry before we do that, can I just add one additional I believe um and the remainder of the sentence here to authorize the executive director of redevelopment agency to execute final participation grant based on the approval deal terms was also part of your motion, sir. Yes, I can state it for the record if you need me to. Thank you. I will make sure he includes that. Let let me go over here first. Okay, go ahead. Councilwoman Neighbor, what I wanted to ask is if it would be possible to designate an outside area as parks and open space as part of this so that there would be a benefit to the public that did not, you know, require a ticket to use or any kind of cost. I think it it sounds like to me what that additional add-on that's something the council could decide and carve out um in that capacity. We don't know what it looks like yet, but I assume Councilman Martinez because he is such a big proponent of open space and parks and recreation that you will identify something. Correct. Correct. Okay. Thank you very much. All right. Um, Councilwoman Yeah. Doer, go ahead. Thank you. I just want to um thank Mr. Moral. That was incredibly generous. Those are exactly the things that I brought up in terms of community benefit. I mentioned our fire uh you know, things to help our youth. This is exactly and I can't I can't tell you how grateful I am for those things. Uh the mayor and I have worked on youth sports in W three for the entire time we've been on council and we've been unable to get there. We tried to use um the ARPA money. We as you know madame mayor we've tried to use flood money. I mean we have tried just about everything. This will help us get there. Thank you so much. All right Councilman Ree. Thank you so much. I I suppose then I have an ask as well and this is an ask uh first I have a question and that is how many of the people in this room who've been here since 1:00 understand more now about TIFF than when we started. Can everybody say yes affirmatively? Probably more than you ever wanted to know. Well, look, however we end up on the motion, u when people say things that are not true about what's happened here today, please defend the decisions that we've reached here. Um, it can be uh at times very interesting and curious when people uh say they know everything about TIFF and they really don't or or they use these catchphrases like handouts to billionaires to describe a thing. They're great talking points. Trust me, they love It's great on Facebook and on social media. Stay off there if you're not on there. Um, but share with your friends uh what you now know about tax increment financing. Maybe you'll be the next person through the door with your own project. uh because we really um I think it it needs to be said that this community um has of course lots of questions uh but you now have answers. So my ask is that all of you become ambassadors for the project and endeavor. I I think Mr. Mela, you brought us into your heart and your universe. I'm sharing some of mine with you and now I'm challenging each of the people in this room to make that same commitment. U because I do think we've all been here learning today and it's been good. Okay. All right. Anyone else? No. Okay. Councilman Martinez, I need you to put that on the record. Do you need the whole thing again or just the last part of it? No. Okay. And authorize the executive director of the redevelopment agency to execute the final participation agreement based on the approved deal terms. And my second is the same. Okay. Thank you so much, Mad Mary. Um yes, Roy Robinson for the record, just if I could interject, this is in the backup, but I want to stress um because under statute before the OPA can be approved um the agency must determine that the facilities um pose a benefit to the redevelopment area or the immediate neighborhood and that no other reasonable means of financing those um facilities are available. So that would be encompass that finding would be part of your adoption of the resolution if you choose. Yes. Include that. That information on that is in the backup. Okay. Go ahead, Councilman Martinez. Madame Mayor, maybe I can help. Under NRS 279486, there are certain criteria and findings that we make as an agency board. And I will state for the record that in reaching my determination, all the buildings, facilities, and structures and other improvements would benefit the redevelopment area or the immediate neighborhood. I can make that finding successfully. Uh certainly I can also make findings that we can increase the levels of human activity in the redevelopment area and immediate neighborhood that the area possesses attributes which are unique and either the type or use of level of quality and design and finally that we can have a greater social financial benefit in the community than would a similar set of buildings or other improvements with not would were they not paid for by the agency. So having made those affirmative findings my second is the same. I don't think Mr. Martinez has to make the same findings. But for the record, those are the reasons why I've reached my decision. Okay. Thank you. So, now that that is on the record, um I am going to ask Madame Clerk for a roll call vote. Okay. Vice Mayor Taylor. No. Council member Der, yes. Council member Martinez, yes. Council member Eert, can I have any discussion at this time? Uh, we just did. Okay. Well, I wasn't clear if there's going to be any kind of park uh put into this and um I'm going to be a no. Okay. Um uh Okay. Sorry. Council Council Member Beast, I am an enthusiastic Wolfpack. Yes. Council member Anderson. Yes. Mayor Sheibi. Yes. [Applause] Um, congratulations. We look forward to the future and go pack. Uh, we I'm going to ask council to please um get up. I need you to get up for 15 minutes. Come back at 6:30 to be ready to hear Ranch Hera. All right, madame clerk. Um Lauren, I'm going to send it back to you. We need to close out the uh redevelopment agency. So, I apologize. So, um, may I get a motion to adjourn the redevelopment agency? Madam Mayor, I think we have item H. It's going to be item C1. Charlie. Yes. Okay. All right. Let me get some. All right. Can All right. Hello. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for being here. We we appreciate your your patience with us. We just had um another item on our agenda that took a long time and uh we're back and the good news is everyone is eaten and I think they're they have energy to go uh the rest of the the miles with all of us. All right. Um Madame Clerk, what item are we on? I know we need to close out the redevelopment agency. Yes, we are on C1 for board comments. Okay. Any board comments from council members? Seeing there are none, um any public comment in RDA? Uh we have no one registered to speak. Um after 4 p.m. yesterday, the final um comment though it was 209 letters of support, 11 letters in opposition, and three letters of concern. Okay. Thank you so much. At this time, I'm going to ask for a motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. I have a motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Okay, we're going to now head back to our regular regularly programming schedule. Madam Mayor, as a point of order, can I ask um what the order is again? I think you said we were starting with D1 fun. Um and then what happens after D1? We are going to head into D1. I'm going to hand that over to city manager Bryant so you can cuz we've moved some things around. So just give us some housekeeping notes. So, for tonight's festivities, we're going to do items D1 through three, open them all together. Then we're going to do um C3, building code update, followed by F1, F2, then J1 NK over under. Thank you. Yes. Thank you so much, Madam Mayor. Okay, that's great. Um Okay, so we're going to head into item D1. Madame clerk, um I will now open the public hearing. Um was proper notice given any correspondence received? U these items were properly noticed. Um and we did receive correspondence which has been distributed as three letters of support for the amendment, 63 letters in opposition, and three letters of concern. And then I did want to turn it over to the city attorney to read the ordinance. I am. I'm going to send it right over to John Shipman. Take it away. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And this is ordinance. Ordinance introduction bill number 7299. Uh, case number LDC 25-000037. Ranchera plan unit develop master plan amendment and handbook amendment ordinance to amend title 18 chapter 18.02 02 of the Reno Municipal Code entitled zoning to change the text in the Ranchera planned unit development design standard handbook to a change plus - 7.2 acre portion of the land uh use plan from equestrian center to single family in order to create village 8. B reduce the total number of units from 722 to 469 units. C modify the objectives of the PD by removing all references to equestrian and riding facilities. and D update the flexibility section to reflect current RMC processes and other miscellaneous updates to reflect current RMC references together with matters which are pertain to or connected there with war two. All right, thank you so much. Y thank you Leah. Hold on one second before we call you up. Any council members have any disclosures to make? No. Councilwoman I you have your light on. Do you need Sorry. No, I'm just going to make a disclosure. Okay, please do. Just that I have met with the developer a couple times. I've met with some of the individual um people that are here to speak. I put a lot of time into this project. Okay. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I guess I have the same disclosure. Okay. Madame Mayor, can I get a point of clarification from our legal team? So, I I've not seen us disclose meeting with parties before. I I know that's a planning commission thing. Do you wish for us to disclose that now? A new new thing. Uh for the record, John Schuman, just kind of as a quick background is uh when we're doing items that are like uh conditional use permits that you're acting in a quasi judicial fashion. You're acting as a judge. In those types of situations, we tend to see disclosures and you might want to do a disclosure. This is an adoption of a of a of a PUD, which is a legislative act. So, um it does the same rule doesn't apply here. I'll withdraw my disclosure. All right. Thank you very much. But I know we do it when we appeals. Okay. Right. Thank you so much. Um I guess I'm going to send it back to you, Madame Clerk. Any public comment? Jan McDole, followed by Barbara Beam, followed by Ron Beam. Okay. Um and then after public comment, I'm going to call you up. Okay, Leah. All right. Thanks so much. Jan is gone. Oh, is he gone? She is. It's a she. Oh, she I just met her in the lobby earlier. I think she had All right. Well, listen. We'll make sure if she comes back in the room, then we'll call on her. So, just remember the second um speaker, public commenter, just be ready so that we just move our flow. Okay. Um, okay, Madame Clerk. Barbara Beam followed by Ron Beam followed by Pamela Gray. Okay. Barbara Bean and then Ron Bean is going to be next. So, he's going to jump right up 10 seconds before you're done. Well, I wanted to follow someone, but anyway. Well, you're the leader. Well, Madame Mayor and Councilman, thank you for allowing me to to uh talk to you today. Um, it was very interesting. We were here at your last session and they were talking about the quality of life in Reno and how we can maintain that. And to me it's this is very fitting because um we purchased our custom home in Ranchera in 2022. We were very excited about the Rancher project because uh as sold by the agent that we bought it from, we loved the location, the clubhouse, um the equestrian center, and we thought it was a great investment and it was um sold to us as a very private elite neighborhood in South Reno. Fast forward to 2025, the equestion center is gone. There are plans for more and more smaller cookie cutter homes that will only reduce the volume of our custom homes. The ambiance of Ranchera is slowly deteriorating with building plans for the equestrian center those seven acres. Um building on the east lawn of the U clubhouse, the removal of the sales pavilion, more track homes, addition of those 59 track homes on the seven acres where the equestrian center was. I'm sorry, 29. There's not 59. But anyway, I just want you to please consider the residents of the custom homes that we bought into. Um, all I ask is that you put yourself in our shoes. Think about your parents, some of you, because most of us, a lot of us are retired. We've worked our whole life uh to have the kind of retirement home that we wanted. We've invested millions of dollars into our custom homes. And I think that look at your parents. If they had worked, you know, myself, 50 years to be able to afford the kind of living we want to do in our retirement. And now all of a sudden everything that we were sold is changing. the area behind the custom homes where they want to put the 29 homes. It's just going to be cookie cutter separating the the acreages and our custom homes that we've paid oh in excess of 500,000 for the lots. So, we have all those little homes going in between us. It's only going to reduce our value. So, please don't just look at the developers and the money, but as the neighborhood that we bought into and that we love. Thank you. All right. Barbara, thanks so much. My name is Ron Beam and obviously And you're related. Yes. Like 50 years related. Wow. Are you guys from Reno? No. Or no? Where are you from? I'm originally from Kansas City, Missouri. She's originally from Cortez, Colorado. Oh, okay. So, anyway, okay. I'm glad you love five different states uh through our marriage and work and travel and so forth. Anyway, want to want to thank you for the opportunity to talk to you. But you know there's a couple of things. I think as I have heard that the last traffic study was done in something like 019. The village was not even open to the public at the time. and they were still building the village. So all those stores in there were not even open. I may be I may be wrong, but I don't think they were. Now we've got a lot of stores open in there. They're planning on building a few more, I think. And uh traffic has become very uh a multitude of a problem in respect to getting out on Kitsky. any time of the day, people are coming into those restaurants, the bars, whatever the other stores that are there and to shop, eat, and there's nothing like having 15, 20 cars at a time sitting at that Kisky instruments and the exit, I should say. And 90% of the people in this town don't know how to use an a uh roundabout traffic lane properly to sit there and wait till that uh McCarron light releases and you got 500 cars coming down there and they sit there and wait rather than pull out there till and somebody let them in as it should be. But anyway, that's one problem that I see. The other problem that others are going to mention too are but have you thought about you know Hera obviously was a very interesting guy and made a lot of money. His intent and after he died and given that to these sons and daughters was not to make it into uh some small groups of of houses. He wanted to keep it at a certain thing and protect it. people have bought and sold those different properties and now you got everybody trying to make every kind of money they can off of all the that property and we're losing the ambiance of the whole whole situation. Secondly, have you really thought about okay, so there was supposed to be maybe seven houses for the accretest center. They're trying to build 25, 29, whatever. As you look at that, have we got the infrastructure? Have we got the sewage uh at the electricity and everything in there that will handle all this additional property that's that they're trying to to add? And it isn't a question of, you know, Thank you. All right. Good. Thank you so much, Ron. Pamela Gray, followed by Amy Horvath, followed by Glenn Gray. Hey, Pamela. Pamela Gray, take it away. I live at 7:30 Canerway and moved here from Chicago. And uh, thank you. We're a lot warmer than Chicago. Pardon me? Right, Brian? Brian's here. The weather from Chicago. Love it here. Love it here. We purchased our lot in Ranchera in 2018 when visiting Reno with our daughter. We had been looking all over the country for a place to retire and build. On our first meeting, we were so impressed with the vision of Van Ranchera that we put a deposit down on a lot at that time. Being thorough, we went beyond the salesman and met with Paris, excuse me if I mispronounced his last name, Fioni that and who was a partner in the development at the time no less than four times to go through the potential changes that could happen around us. We were told again and again that there was a possibility that the equestrian center directly behind our property would come down, but as stated in the PUD, only six to seven homes on 1acre lots would replace it. We were also told the path to Bartley Ranch would always remain. And at that time, we were even told that the road on the other side of the path was needed as an emergency exit. Over the next couple of years, we planned our home and invested an investment based upon that information and built our home in Ranchera. Ranchera was such a special place when we moved in in 2021. And over the past few years, we have all been surprised with the bait and switch changes by the developers. The PUD suggested many beautiful things in this community. And instead, over time, we're becoming just another overly built community in Reno. When voting on this proposal, please think of the fairness to the community of Ranchera. The homeowners invested there will live there and remain there long after the developer leaves. Please consider the maximum of 15 you units on the um exist from seven units on the equestrian center lots. Please provide a 100 foot open space buffered at the northern border of village 8 that includes the entire pathway to Bartley and the mature trees that are already existing on that property and deny housing of any kind at the sales center on village 7. Thank you very much for your time at these. Thank you. Amy Horvath followed by Glenn Gray followed by Penny Whitaker that up there. I can't tell. Okay. Hopefully you can see that. I can't. Yeah, they will um they'll make it so we can read it. There you go. A little bit on the bottom. So hopefully There we go. Okay. Um, good evening, mayor, council members, staff, and residents. My name is Amy Horvath, and I thank you for your time tonight. I want to begin by saying that the residents here tonight, those are that are here in person and online, and those who aren't, are not here to stir up trouble. We're not angry for the sake of being angry. We are constituents who chose Reno as our home. We're residents who love our community and want to see it thrive. We are families and individuals who invested in the ranchera vision who were told and sold one thing and are now faced with something very different. While it might be easy to label us as privileged in residents, I ask you to consider this. The developers and corporate interest shaping projects in Reno are far wealthier and more powerful than the families who now call this place home. I don't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself. I'm a level-headed, highly educated woman. I'm a small business owner, an educator, a mother of twins, a community fundraiser, a former HOA president, and a tireless child and school advocate. I clearly have a hard time saying no. I care deeply about this community. I've met with many of you city officials, um the applicant and the developer rep, HOE leaders, um neighbors and residents across W 2 to try and understand and resolve the issues facing Risk Ranchera. And I believe this. There is a path forward. There's a balance between the developer's right to build, the city's desire to meet housing demands, and the resident's right to trust in what we were promised and to protect our investments in neighborhood. A home is often the single largest investment a person will make. But more than that, it's our community. And it's not just for ourselves, but for all of Reno. Ranchera is visible. It's historic. It's a cornerstone of the city. It's seen from Windy Hill, airplanes, nearby neighborhoods. It's visited by thousands of people by through the village and the club at Ranchera. Tonight, I echo many of my neighbors in asking you to adopt these three proposals. I'm sorry, these three proposed modifications. They are not obstacles. They are compromises. They show respect for both the property rights of the developer and the vision of the residents. Developers and residents are bar both shareholders in Reno's future. And at this stage, resident ownership within Ranchera exceeds that of the applicant. It's time for our voices. Sorry, I just stepped away. It's time for our voices as residents to have equal weight. So, I ask, can a compromise be found here tonight, in this room, within these walls? I believe it can, and I implore you, please approve the P MPA and the PUB amendment with the three modifications that are before you. Thank you for your time and your consideration. and thank you for all you do for our city. Okay. Thank you so much, Amy. I feel like I know you. Have we met before? Why? Why do I know you? Yes. I Did we go to high school together and get in a lot of trouble? Um, no. I went to school down in SoCal. Oh, okay. Um, I was at one at the appeal for Village 7. Okay. And I was the really annoying resident who stood up here and waited until I had everybody's attention. Well, you can't you couldn't have been that annoying because I don't remember that. Okay. Well, I remember your your face. I feel like we've worked together or maybe a Midtown initiative. No, ever since I moved to Truckucky 8 years ago or actually no, nine 10 12 years ago. Um, I know your face because I would see your video playing at the Reno. So, I made him take it down. Did you really? I thought it was a great introduction and then once I moved, I was like, "Oh, I know who the mayor is." You're very sweet. Well, thank you all for listening. Thank you for being here. Okay. Hello. Hello. Oops. Which way? There you go. Oh, sorry about that. Perfect. Right. There we go. Okay. Honorable Mayor Shivi and Honorable City Councilman, my name is Glenn Gray. I live at 7:30 Caner Way in Rancher. I was given this map by the developer in 2023. Please note the date of this rendering. It's dated 1423. Notice on the north side of the walkway, the buffer zone already exists. You can see it on the top right in the top there. Kindly see the note that 20 homes were to be one story and notice that there are 24 homes proposed. Also try and notice if there's any green space, but I don't want you to strain yourself and hurt your eyes while you're trying to find it. Mr. Grace sent a letter dated May 5th stating, "We have conducted over 16 meetings, including a neighborhood advisory board session, two neighborhood meetings, planning concession hearings, and several stakeholder meetings with Ranchera owners. These efforts have shaped the amendment." End of quote. And my answer is really, how we still have 24 homes in the amendment. We still have only 50-ft barrier to the north. We now have only five homes restricted to one story when originally you can see 20tory homes. We have no more green space and we have saved no trees. No meaningful changes or concessions were made as a result of the 16 meetings because the suggested changes by the developer were already in this document. They were here all the time the community has spent at those 16 meetings and we have absolutely nothing to show for it. The citizens of Ranchera have expressed that all they want is for their community to be a better place and simply I want the same. In the spirit of cooperation we have suggested a compromised plan that the residents have supported and the compromised plan respects Mr. Grace's investment and desire to sell the equestrian property quickly. Our compromised proposal helps Ranchera be a better place to live for all its residents. We are just caring moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas of Rancher. We have failed to achieve anything for all our efforts. We have been outmaneuvered by a professional developer, Mr. Grace, with far more resources and experience in this arena. As you can plainly see, we actually are farther back than we started two years ago with this map. But this is your arena and you your area of expertise, not ours. Honorable Mayor Shivi, honorable city councilman, as Rancher, as citizens of Ranchera, we call on your leadership. We call on your wisdom. We call on your fairness to help us make Ranchera a better place for all its residents and the entire Reno community. Most important, we call on your vote for the compromise to the proposed amendment. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you so much. I respect your decision. Thank you very much. Penny Whitaker, followed by Nancy Pawil's Baba, followed by Christine Speed. Hi, thank you very much for accepting me here. Um, my my name is Penny Whitaker and I lived in Ranchera for five years, previously in Colin Ranch. I moved to the ranch because it's because of its beautiful grounds and equestrian center and the trails all within. It broke my heart when the um equestrian center was taken down. The investors seemed only to be interested in reszoning and making money, forgetting all the things that we were promised, and the overcrowding is way too much for this area. Anyway, enough of that. I I I would hope that the council would approve the uh compromises and let the investors put up 15 homes. Right. Right now they have the right to put up five. They are trying to have it reszoned to put in 29 homes. I also number two would increase um would increase the buffer on the north end of the equestrian property uh village 8 from 50 to 100 ft. And I do I do do not permit the sales center in village 7 to become a residential housing. And thank you for your time. All right. Thank you very much. Nancy Pawil's Baba followed by Christine Speed followed by Caitlyn Matthew. Uh good evening um Mayor Shivi and council members. My name is Nancy Pawba. I live at 6116 South Pleasant Oak Trail in Ranchera. Um I moved to Reno in 1986 and my husband and I moved into Ranchera in 2020. Uh we own two homes in Ranchera, one that we live in and one that we uh use as a rental. We bought into this development because we loved the open spaces and the feel of being in the country while also being close to doctors, shopping, and cultural events. We were sad when the equestrian center was abandoned. We're not riders. We're not horse owners, but the the feel of of being in the that that space was important. Uh we were especially upset with the proposed dense housing uh where again we thought there would be continued open space. We understood that more houses might be built, but we do not need hundreds of new homes uh in in the current open space. We need to maintain the quality of life that we were promised when we bought into this development. Um, so we strongly support the amendments to limit the planned unit development to a maximum of 15 units to have the walkway continue to be wide enough for both the walking uh path and for the shrubs and trees and to not turn the uh sales pavilion and the uh land around it into more and more homes. Um I'm concerned that if the developer uh succeeds in uh pre you know prevails with uh the his propo their proposal our quality of life and our property values will be significantly diminished. Thank you for considering my concerns. Thank you very much. Christine Speed followed by Caitlyn Matthew followed by Audrey Keller. Is this going to work? Do I have to do anything else? It's upside down. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Shy and council members. Um, I did write you all an email. Uh, but before I start, I just wanted to say walking around Reno, I would admire these sculptures from Burning Man. And I thought to myself, who ever had the good idea of getting these here? Well, now I know. Okay. Um, I don't oppose changing the PGOS to single family zoning in Village 8. However, while others maintain that the PGOS designation was a mistake, I would like to point out just how PGOsy the old equestrian center grounds were. So, the feeling that open space is being taken away and not replaced is real. That's what it looked like. Compromise. Although the PUD handbook only grants seven houses to this area for consistency with the spaciousness of adjacent residential areas, I am sympathetic to the developers need to find a builder. 15 houses could still be a good fit for this land. Regarding the pavilion, please don't approve a zone's change to permit five more houses on this site at at as the events center and kitsky gate are the architectural anchors for the community at the entrance there. The pavilion and Talbot gate. This pavilion and Talbot gate are the architectural anchors for the community at the Talbot Gate. These four structures represent our cultural identity. On a recent field trip visit, the chairperson of the planning commission commented that it would really be something if this building were destroyed. I took that to mean that it would really be a cultural loss to Reno if this building were destroyed. Meanwhile, the community has become used to using its grounds for outdoor summer parties on the lawn, under its patio lights, and using the indoor space for our HOA meetings. We've become not only emotionally attached to the building, but realized we actually need a space like this to gather and hope to purchase it in the future. In the words of RMC18.02.60, 602D. We value the pavilion as a way to promote community engagement and foster a sense of belonging among residents. Thanks very much. Thank you so much, Caitlyn Matthew, followed by Audrey Keller, followed by Warner Keller. Hello, my name is Caitlyn Matthew. Thank you all for taking the time to listen to Residents like me this evening. I would like to talk to you about the three things that brought my family to Ranchera. Low density, open spaces, and heritage. Starting with low density. The original 2018 PUD promises to remain sensitive to and maintain the low density and rural residential character of the area to the south of the ranch on Delonte Lane. Well, Delonte Lane averages 2.65 acres per home. the existing zoning for seven houses and village 8 averages 1 acre per home. The developer's proposal for 29 houses would take it further to an average of less than a quarter acre per home. That's over 10 times more dense than Delonte and is significantly out of character with the surrounding area in Rancher. Number two, open space. The current PUD lists 13.2 acres of open space within our community. Over four and a half of those acres are unusable spaces like ditches, drainage channels or pond areas. The other eight something acres are paved walkways that are substantially adjacent to busy roads. Not the type of communical communal or recreational open space envisioned in the PUD or marketed to homeowners like me. If I leave the neighborhood entirely, I can go to Bartley Ranch or Wheatland Park nearby, but those are busy public spaces not within our community. Rancher's main clubhouse is still owned by the developer also with no guarantee that it will stay a club at this point. And third, heritage. There are only two meaningful open spaces left in our community and that's the former equestrian center which was taken away and turned into village 8 and the historic sales pavilion that Christine just showed us a picture of which the developers asking to tear down and build homes instead there. Even though the very first bullet point of the original PUD says that the development would utilize existing structures to establish unique equestrian and special events venues. I'm not here to fight development altogether. But the developer has demonstrated a willingness to take a foot when we give them an inch. I believe compromise is possible, though. The developer must be held accountable to the vision that they use to gain this city's approval and our community's trust. At a minimum, any amendment should increase housing in village 8 to 15 homes from the current seven, not 29. Carve out 20% of that village 8 area for recreational open space. If that's for a 100 foot buffer, then so be it. Preserve the historic sales pavilion as a community asset, not more housing. Those three things, those three compromises. Without them, I oppose the developers proposal, and I respectfully ask this council to deny the amendment as is. Thank you so much. All right. Good job. Aren't you cold? No. No. Well, yeah. They're looking. moved here from Chicago and while it is warm, my Midwestern parents ridicule me for having West Coast blood. Now my chief of staff says he says we moved here for the weather and he says that all the time. I I complain I'm so cold and he said then you have no idea. I did bring a jacket but I forgot from Chicago. So okay. No, he says he's from Chicago cuz I'm always complaining that I'm cold and I'm like aren't you cold? He's like I'm from Chicago. You guys are all wimps here. So anyway, that goes away if you live here long. Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Audrey Keller followed by Warner Keller followed by Stephanie Rundon. Good evening council and mayor. Hi everybody. So my name is Audrey Keller. I'm here today representing a group of concerned homeowners and I think there were 63 uh letters in your email boxes. Sorry about that, but not sorry because we really, really, really want to encourage you to hear what's happening with our homeowners from our point of view. While we're not opposed to development in principle, we do have serious concerns about the developer's current proposal. The developer, Mr. Grace, has a troubling track record when it comes to keeping promises to homeowners. For example, the equestrian center was promised to be rebuilt in another county. Not happening. uh sold and gone. Not happening. More recently, the Laker Swim and Tennis Center was demolished and now is being replaced with hundreds of high rent apartments. A development that ignores again the needs and the desires of the community. These actions raise serious doubts about the developer commitment to longterm community well-being. And we are concerned that promises made in this proposal when they come before you may not have substance and they may not last. Sadly, as an example, in village 7, they are proposing an enhanced detention basin. That is not a good thing. What that means is an essentially a hole in the ground meant to control flood water. And they want to suggest that we should use it as a park. It's also where they dump snow in the winter. This could this idea could easily be abandoned and left as an isore providing no real value to future residents. I'd like you to vote to support our compromise and their fair compromises. We have listened to the developer very much. We want to ask to keep the housing at 15 homes. That's our compromise and we believe it will help preserve the rural character of our community and ensures that it remains in harmony with the surrounding properties. You've heard from property owners that are close by. My home is not close by, but I think harmony inside a community is very important. We'd like you to expand the buffer in the northern boundary of village 8 from 50 feet to 100 ft. Why? Because 50 feet is a big lie. It only covers a bunch of rocks on a hill and it doesn't cover the existing walkway at all and it won't take us to Bartley Ranch Park and it won't take us to Wheatland Park which is part of our open space. And then finally, I want you to keep the sales center in Village 7 a center and not uh redesated or repurposed for additional homes. It's a fair compromise. And finally, after everybody talks, my experience is is that you get to ask a lot of questions. Please consider asking the homeowners follow-up questions. We've been here and we will tell you and answer them truthfully. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Warner Keller followed by Stephanie Rundon followed by Kyle Foresight. Good evening. Good evening. I'll try to be brief uh on accustomed as I am. Um many of the arguments put forward by the developers and their investors uh especially ones that came recently in the letter from uh Councilman Dur uh or what I would call um fine print technical. Basically, the position uh in in that letter was, well, these these uh homeowners that are complaining about our change in plans, uh they were warned that we might do this and with citations. Well, uh we we have lots of fine print uh situations in our lives. We buy a car, there's fine print, and of course, the ultimate fine print is real estate. And the presumption in America is not gotcha with the fine print. The presumption in America is if you execute the fine print and there's something unusual, you get to revisit that issue. If the car didn't have tires, you get to revisit that no matter what you signed. I will say for sure that everybody in Ranchera did not read all of their documents. There were 500 of them. 500 pages of them. You mean you didn't read every page? I did not. Even though I get it. I got 500 pages right here, too. Really? So, uh I think uh we deserve what what the system what America really gives to people that sign all these uh docu signs. I mean g give them a bit of reasonable doubt and says maybe you didn't read it even though it meant millions of dollars to you. Maybe you didn't read it all the way through and maybe you need a little leeway and not strict interpretation on the part of the developer. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. No, my problem is when I start to read I fall asleep, right? That's the problem. Reading 500 page council book. That was the one of the key things you took away from UCLA Business School was read all the documents. Hey, I had I had a high school teacher one time and it was don't sign anything and it was finals and guess what he did? He just said all I ask is everyone read it all the way through. Well, then you see everyone taking the test for about 2 hours. And at the very end of the test, it said if you read this all the way through, you are excused and you get an A and you can get up and leave. I there was one kid that did that out of 20 of us. And of course, I will never I learned my lesson. And of course, why is all that stuff in there? It's to protect uh us against them. It's protect the them from sign. So when we sign a release at a merrygoround, it's to protect the merry goound operator. But in America, I don't think you can sign away your rights. That's what my law professors. All right. Thank you, sir. Stephanie Rundon, followed by Kyle Forsythe, followed by John Scow. Hi, good evening, Mayor She and Council members. Many of you heard from me yesterday via email. So, a lot of what I'm going to be saying uh is is just um reiterating the points that I already made to you in email yesterday, but I thought it'd be nice if you could actually hear from me in person. So, my name is Stephanie Rundon. I live at 725 Mayorwood Trail uh in the Ranchair community. You have before you the opportunity to vote on a proposed amendment to the Ranchera plan unit development master plan amendment and handbook amendment. Note that this is the third time uh that the petitioner has requested a change to the master plan for our community. When my husband and I purchased our home in 2021, we relied on good faith that we were buying into a you a unique community designed to honor the rich legacy of Bill Hara, particularly those aspects that had to do with the ranch lifestyle and cutting horses for which he was so well known uh and the promise of open space. We've been disappointed with the events that have led to these changes, including the buildings of condominiums at a height that completely obstructed our once stately views of Mount Rosenlide Mountain and the demolition of our beautiful equestrian center. It's been quite honestly uh a huge bait and switch and we've been really disappointed. And yet, you know, here we are again, third time. Uh the current proposal for 29 homes on the equestrian center site and other amendments will simply further erode the unique nature of our community. Rancher will simply become another subdivision of tightly compressed homes. Therefore, I'm asking you to support a compromised motion for changing the PUD and ranchera as follows. First increase the allowable housing on the equestrian property which is village 8 from seven homes um to maximum of 15. Now the petitioner is asking for 24. We're asking for a maximum of 15 and I know that the developers came to sell this property. So you know again by um you know still providing a reasonable number of homes uh they they have more likelihood to sell the properties quickly. Um further this number so 15 um fits with the surrounding 125 homes adjacent to the equestrian center property and will be of similar size and value to the homes that are surrounding it. Uh second, increase the buffer on the north end of the equestrian property, village 8, from 50 ft to 100 ft to preserve that existing walking path. And again, we're just asking to preserve what's, you know, what we already have there. Oh, shoot. Did I already go over my time? Okay. And then f and then just finally, real quick, um you know, please don't permit the the sales center village 7 to become residential housing. It truly is a jewel and we'd like to keep it that way. The only other thing I'm going to say is as I was standing up here earlier, I'd never seen this sign before. Creating a community that people are proud to call home. That's all we want to do. That's all we're trying to do in Ranchera. Thank you so much for your consideration. Thank you so much. Kyle Forsythe followed by John Scal followed by George Fipitus via Zoom. Uh good evening. I need to disclose I'm here as an adviser um not for the villas at rancher where I'm involved in that development but for on the estate lots 6320 follow the court. Um that owner has asked me to come here and speak on their behalf. That's in the estate lots. Um we can let 7 29 14 15 we're and this client is selling their estate lot. values are going to go down if you add 29 24 I would say 14 as an independent adviser seven was in the documents that everyone that we're selling to knew if they read the fine print as everyone should because in real estate it's caveat mour buyer beware however in this case I do find and I was at the planning commission meeting I was very concerned with the disclosures there I found that the signage that was put up was not very clear, did not mention the 29 lots. I found that many of the homeowners were unaware. I went to one of those meetings and um never saw the 24 map that I saw tonight. It's the first time I've seen that. So, on that notice, whether someone's spending a lot of money or not, this is about tax revenues. You want tax revenues. Higherend homes produce tax revenues which support this city. Your EMS systems, which I understand through speaking with law enforcement agents and the fire department, are about to go through cuts. And if I'm wrong, I'm sorry to say that, but I've heard that. Yeah. No. And I've heard it though through some reputable sources outside. I'd love to meet with you about that because it is a concern. uh as many of our buyers for the other development I'm involved with, they want to feel safe and they're moving here because Reno is becoming a very safe community. So on that note, uh the owner of 6320 Falabella Court would like to see no more than seven, but they would be willing to go to 14. Thank you. Thank you, John Scow followed by George Fipitus via Zoom. Good evening, mayor, council members. I've been told to take my glasses off. Good evening. You don't have to. I'm not going to. I if I can still read. Uh for the record, my name is John Scow, and I thank you for giving me the chance to speak to this proposal. I'm a resident of Rancherero. uh living at 728 Caner Way in the Larat section of the neighborhood on the northern boundary of what is will now be called village 8 next to the possible the area there. I'm in opposition to the proposal as it currently stands. Seven is too few and 29 is too many. I said um I look at it I understand that the developer needs to sell their property but what's the best for all the parties? the applicant, the city and the residents is a compromise I believe of as proposed of 15 homes which will allow for nicer homes that create value and additional tax revenues to the city and also be to the value of the existing homes around that and the tax revenue as it goes up because if you do 24 to 29 homes you will hurt the value of these existing homes and may lower your tax revenue. I said I'm also in favor of the 100 foot buffer. I live on that fence line. So therefore I would appreciate that and the fact that there is a lot of existing trees of mature trees that would be covered by that 100 foot rather than a 50-foot and I said I at this point I would thank you very much for your time and uh for letting me speak. Thank you very much. George Fipitus via Zoom. Good evening. Can you hear me? Okay, we can. Greateorge and city council members. My name is George Fipitus and I've been living in the Ranch Hera area for the last three years. Well, actually in the community. I've lived in eight new home developments over the last 40 years. And I have to say that Ranch Hera is one of the most unique and beautiful communities I've ever seen and lived in. If you've not been there to see the community, you should. Uh my fiance and I selected Rancher because of its historical background and the beauty of the mansion, the equestrian center, sales pavilion, and surrounding grounds. The property here has a unique ranch style feel, which was rare to find in the middle of a city. There's a lot of history and nostalgia that is associated with this property that is very unique to Reno. Just because the buildings aren't 50 or 100 years old does not mean they're they're not historic. I'd like to begin with village 8. Um Mr. Derer has mentioned numerous times in committee uh community meetings and city council presentations that the current zoning of seven 1acre par parcels was a mistake and maybe it was a mistake but maybe it was not. Maybe somebody was trying to preserve that parcel from highdensity building and instead maintain a ranch style of larger lots in the ranchera field by keeping those to seven. Either way, we've had discussions about minimizing the house count to half of the 29 homes that the developer wants to build, but to no avail. When you have two parties that are bilaterally opposed to what each wants, you have a standoff. And if a decision by the city council favors either side on this amendment, you end up with a win-lose scenario. A compromise means that both parties are willing to give something to get something to meet in the middle, which is what we've put forth here today for your consideration, which is 15 homes versus 29. Second, the open space quarter at the north side of village 8 was proposed to be 50 ft. And while the developers intentions were good, in reality, does this not appear to be enough when you see the real impact of a 50 foot of 50 ft and how tight that access way is? We asked uh we're asking to increase that to 100 ft for two reasons. One, as a wider buffer between the village 8 tract and the existing track to the north, but also as additional open space. We've requested by the developer numerous times and meetings for more open space to be considered in and around villages 7 and 8. They have not offered anything in on more open space. Their solution was to have us leave Ranch Hera and go into Bartley Ranch. A 50-ft buffer approval would be a win for the developers and a loss for the homeowners. Lastly, the sales pavilion. We've been told numerous times that the pavilion would not be financial uh by be financable or sellable unless it came with an underlying approval to build five homes on it. We were also told there was not current intent to raise that building. There may not be current intent, but I believe there is future intent. And that future intent is to sell that parcel so that five homes can be built on it. If you approve the parcel for five residential homes to be built, the current or future developer can buy that property with those development rights and raise the building and build tomorrow. Without a vote to not allow the five homes on that parcel, we can preserve this last iconic rancher structure for future needs of this community. If you approve the developer's request, we will lose and the developer will win. On a positive note, we do appreciate the developer's request to reduce the total numbers of housing from 72 722 to 629. Um, if they do reduce this, we'll have a better uh chance of becoming uh homeowner management there. Um, if you could please, council members and madame mayor consider the following three uh considerations for a compromise, it would be greatly appreciated. One, increase the allowable housing on the property on the equestrian property of village 8 from seven homes to a maximum 15. Two, increase the buffer on the north end of the equestrian property village 8 from 50 to 100 ft. And please do not permit the sales center in village 7 to become residential housing. In summary, I am hoping you can support our request for a compromised middle ground and win-win decision. Thank you. Thank you. There's no one else signed in to speak. Okay. Thank you so much. Um, okay. Let's see. Okay. I'm going to bring it um to the body. Actually, no, I'm actually going to give it to you, Leah. So, the floor is yours for um staff presentation. What? What happened to you? I hope it was good. I hope it was really good. Well, I'm I'm working on coming up with a better story, but but usually that's the way it is. It was a run in with some furniture. I lost. Okay. Well, I'm so sorry. Thank you for being here, though. Yeah, no problem. Of course. So, uh, good evening. Um, Madame Mayor, members of the council. This evening I for the record Leah Picotti, associate planner with City of Reno Development Services and this evening I am presenting the application for the Ranchera planned unit development. There are two requests here. One is a master plan amendment and one is a handbook amendment. So, excuse me. I'm going to go through each request kind of by itself here, but overall the site is 140 acres. For anyone who doesn't know where it's located, it's south of McCarron and west of Kitsky. The first request that we're looking at is to amend the handbook to do four things. And this is high level, right? We're going to eliminate the equestrian center to create village 8. Reduce the total number of units from 722 units to 469 units. modify the objectives of the PUD by removing all references to equestrian and riding facilities and update the flexibility section. Uh basically that's a conformance issue to bring outdated zoning and references to old RMC code up to date. The second request before you tonight is for a 6 acre parcel for a master plan amendment. The request before you is from parks, greenways, and open space to a single family neighborhood. It is the site of the current equestrian center land use designation, and you can see it on your map there with a big red arrow pointing at it. So on the map on the board here is the existing land use plan, and I wanted to show you guys this because it shows exactly where that equestrian center is. The key issues that staff analyzed were the total number of units, the density of the equestrian center or proposed village 8, um conformance of the handbook with Reno municipal code, and the master plan amendment. So, I'm going to go through each one of those things individually, kind of talk about what the request is, what the background on that is, and what the result of approval would be. So, first of all, we're looking at the total number of units, and this is a request to reduce the total number of units from 722 to 469. To give you a little bit of background, when the PUB was originally approved in 1995, it was approved for 188 total units. In 2015, there was an amendment that came before the council where it was amended to 620 722 units. And just for reference, that's 691 units plus 31 were allowed on the equestrian center site at that time. So um the total number of units now now that we've moved on since 2015 and the majority of Ranchera has been developed. You can see all the parts of it that have been subdivided there. There's not a lot left. Uh village 7 is coming up for subdivision proposed village 8 and there can be some uh I think up to 12 units on the event center parcel. But now that we're really close to buildout, I asked the applicant to take a look at this and tell me what are the realistic numbers here. What do we what do we have that's existing and what can we really build on the remaining parcels? And they came back and said 469. And I said, "Great." Because in all the time that I've been here working on rancher cases for the past four years, one thing that I hear from the residents over and over and over is that they want control of the HOA board. Now, that is completely outside the purview of a zoning document. Uh city does not enforce HOAs. We don't look at it. We don't review it. We don't have anything to do with it. But I think in the context of the PUD amendment, it is important to talk about it because reducing the total number of units gives the residents majority control over the homeowners association board or at least gets them one step closer. So my understanding here is that it's a three member board and when 25% of the total homes are sold, they get one member. When 50% are sold, they get two members. And when 75 are sold, 75% are sold, they get three members and that gives them full control. But at 50% they would have majority control. So if you look at your screen, you can see that middle column right there and that shows how many units was 722 are required for each of the thresholds. So at 50% with 722 units, they need to sell 361 units in order to meet that 50%. As of right, well, as of March of 2025, they had sold 292 units. With the proposed amendment to 469 units, that puts that 50% threshold at 234 units. Being that they've sold 292, it should in theory give the residents control of the HOA board. And and I can let the applicant come up and talk a little more about that. But even though that's totally outside of the purview of the zoning document, I think it's important to talk about it here. So the result of that overall reduction is that the overall density of Ranchera is reduced from 5.1 dwelling units per acre to 3.3 dwelling units per acre. And in theory, residents will gain majority control of that HOA board. The next thing that staff looked at here was the density of that equestrian center and village 8. And I know we've we've heard a lot about it tonight and and I understand the concerns of the residents, but I just want to show it to you from a zoning perspective and what the surrounding densities are. So, the request is to increase the total number of units from 7 to 29 units. That goes from one dwelling unit per acre to 4.5 dwelling units per acre. To give you a little bit of background, single family residential has always been allowed here. I went all the way back to the 1995 document and at that time the equestrian center was 16.5 acres and allowed for two dwelling units per acre. It was changed in 2015 to one dwelling unit per acre. In 2018, it was amended again to reduce the total size of the equestrian center to the 7.2 acres it is now and allow for one dwelling unit per acre. So, when we're looking at this density, um, I just want to be clear that at 4.5 dwelling units per acre, we're looking at about 10,000 square foot lots. It's a it's not a it's not a super small lot at 10,000 square ft. To the north, we have six dwelling units per acre. To the northeast, we have 6.5 dwelling units per acre. To the east, we have 34 dwelling units per acre. So, in context, it's less dense than those developments. And then to the south is part of that old equestrian center. So it allowed for one dwelling unit per acre, but it also allowed for cluster development. So when they came in with the tenative map, they actually reduced that lot size in exchange for providing the 2.4 acres of open space that's going to buffer the estates residential from the equestrian center development. So that actual development down below they range right around about a half an acre in size but again within that approval you have that 2.4 acres of open space buffer between the equestrian center and that. So uh should this uh total number of units increase from 7 to 29, the overall density will be increased from 1 to 4.5 dwelling units per acre for specifically that site and village 8 will replace the equestrian center designation. The next thing that we're looking at here is conformance with Reno municipal code. So the request is to update the flexibility section to reflect current RMC processes and other miscellaneous updates to reflect current code basically. So to give you a little bit of background, the current iteration of the handbook was approved in 2018. In 202021, we did a whole overhaul of Reno Municipal Code Title 18. So all the references within the handbook that reference different codes or reference different zoning uh all those code references don't exist anymore and some of the zoning districts don't exist anymore. So what we did there was we just looked at our equivalent chart that we have in current reno municipal code and we said okay if it was SF9 it's now this and we went in and changed those things. So this particular part of the application is really just a cleanup. The other thing about the updates to the flexibility section is that uh the 2018 iteration only allows for minor deviations and variances. Well, when we updated everything in 2021, we we allow more options for flexibility. So, we allow major deviations. We allow alternative equivalent compliances. You can still apply for the minor deviation. So, basically all this is doing is just giving the residents the option to apply for those other methods. Um, we do have one right now that's going to come before the planning commission here in a couple of weeks where somebody wants to use the major deviation to increase the height of their fence by 9 in. So things like that. So if this is approved tonight, uh, the handbook uh, the result is that the handbook will conform to current RMC. All right. The master plan amendment. So the request is for a master plan amendment from PGOS to from parks, greenways, and open space to a single family neighborhood. To give you a little bit of background, prior to 2017, the master plan land use designation for all PUDs and SPDs within Reno was just special plan area. It didn't have anything specific. So when we updated the master plan in 2017, staff went in and looked at the specific uses of those sites and gave them master plan designations in accordance with it. So if whoever that staff member was in 2017 didn't look at that tiny little fine print underneath the equestrian center designation that says it can be developed as single family, they would have assumed that this was PGOS. and staff's analysis is that that's what happened. Um, under no circumstances should anything that allows for single family residential development be have a master plan amendment of PGOS. Really, PGOS is for lands that have been preserved through conservation easements or other mechanisms. Nothing ever preserved this as open space. It was a commercial establishment. So, without a doubt, it should have been SF. It probably was an oversight. So if this gets approved, the master plan will conform to the approved uses. One thing I want to mention here is that the master plan is a guiding policy document. It doesn't actually restrict development. So even if this doesn't get changed to SF and it stays PGOS, they can still develop it with single family residential uses because the zoning allows for that. So this is really just a cleanup item to make it SF so that those approved uses that are already approved will conform to the master plan. On the board here are the planned unit development PUB recommended review findings. Um I'll kind of go through these. So is it consistent with the objectives of AEUD? And I've been I've been questioned about this a couple of times because that's exactly what our code says consistent with the objectives of APU, but we don't necessarily define exactly what the objectives of APU are. So, um, that's why in the legal ad I included that section that said that they were updating the objectives because I wanted to be really clear that however you look at that, the objectives, the overall objectives for this PUB are being modified. So, is the amendment consistent with the modified objectives? Yes, it sure is. Are the changes in the public interest? Well, um, if the reduced number of units gives the residents control of the HOA board, I think that finding can be met. Is there a compatible ratio of residential to non-residential? Uh, essentially there's no change in that. There's also no change in open space. Even though the equestrian center has the PGOS designation, the actual 13.2 acres of established open space within Ranchera is not changing. Uh, provides public services. There's no change in that. Is it compatible with the surrounding neighborhood? Um I I think when we looked at that density chart, it does show that it's somewhere in between the densities of the adjacent properties. Does it address a unique situation? Yes. Uh the amendment addresses the changes over the past 7 years and really the buildout of 400 units in Ranchera. Is it compatible with the master plan? uh will the master plan amendment is going to bring the site into conformance with the master plan and does it provide a public public benefit? Again, that reduction in the total number of units should benefit the residents by giving them control of that HOA board. On the board now are the master plan amendment recommended findings. These are much simpler. Substantial conformance with the master plan priorities and policies. Yes, again the SF designation brings the site into conformance. activities and development are compatible with the surrounding while the master plan amendment doesn't change the allowed development in this case. It was always allowed a single family and the availability of public services. No change in that. So staff is able to make all of those findings as well. There are two motions needed for this. Uh those two motions are on the board. I am available for questions and the applicant also has a presentation for you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you so much, Leah. Mr. Derling, come on up. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor, council. For the record, Andy Derling with Wood Rogers representing the applicant. Um, uh, some of my presentation is redundant with what, uh, Leah went over, so I may, you know, kind of gloss over a few slides, but if we need to get back to those for any detail, I'm happy to do that. Uh, as mentioned, this is a master plan amendment and a PUD amendment. Uh, specifically for originally specifically for just the equestrian center. We have now incorporated additional changes based on the input that we've had with the with the neighbors. Uh the PGOS uh going to single family. Uh as Leah mentioned, I won't spend too much time on this. You know, it was never intended to be an open space amenity. It was a commercial stable uh and a writing arena. Um John Harris's original uh vision for that in 2011 when I worked for him for the kind of that version, the second amendment to the POD was that it would be kind of like a livestock event center. So it was always intended to be a you know kind of a harder working events facility and and commercial stable. Unfortunately you know the economics of that did not work uh and and that's why the the that use was uh was ceased. Um one thing here you know with the equestrian center uh as I mentioned it was never intended for open space. Um and actually at the time in 2015 when when what when I would call the modern PUD was approved uh it was council me council uh member Breas actually um that brought up you know this this concept that we had this event center which is what is now the club and we had this equestrian center uh about 32 acres um that we were intending to be these event type facilities. um she brought up and I think you know wisely to say hey you know that's a great idea and I hope it works but if it doesn't you need to have something on the books now uh as a basis for um you know making modifications in the future and so she threw out hey what about one unit per acre for this we all agreed and that's um kind of why we're here today it was always uh intended to have some sort of backup plan uh and council actually stipul stipulated that it should have a residential density at that time so we're here um you know Things have obviously evolved with the PUD over time. Uh it's gotten quite a bit less dense actually than what it was originally um planned for. So this is the fourth amendment what I uh which is kind of the current PUD that we're working off of right now. Uh the equestrian center located there about seven just over 7 acres. Um and in my previous statement there that you know the the MA the Ranchera PUD has developed in a much much less dense fashion um than we originally envisioned back in 2015. you know, this is at, you know, essentially the crossroads of McCarron and Kitsky, two very busy arterial streets in our community. Um, and we really proposed that as infill development. It was uh when you look around it, there's a lot of commercial uh a lot of higher density residential. And so the 722 units that we proposed was intended to be kind of an urban a more urban infill type uh development. Fast forward as things evolved um you know, they went with a small uh custom lot program in villages three and five. Um and then you know essentially some of the other ones where you know village six uh for example we thought would be more like town homes and it ended up being more kind of smaller lot single family homes. So everything kind of tended a little less dense uh and ultimately to the point where now you know it looks like you know it's just going to develop a little bit over 400 units. So what we have proposed is changing that equestrian center uh to this new village 8. And then this is the open space plan. Um the only modification here is on that north side of village 8 there there was an open space corridor that went through there in the last plan but it wasn't defined. It was basically just to say that there needed to be a trail connection um from Silver Charm Way which is um next to Village 4 in the event center there uh to make the connection to Bartley Ranch. And so what we were doing here is defining it and saying hey let's let's let's make that defined. It's 50 ft. Um, I can show you another slide kind of I have in the can if you would like to get more detailed on that that that 50 feet does allow for that existing pathway that was built to be in there. It also aligns essentially with the ride ofway the northern rideway line of Silver Charm Way. So, it kind of makes sense that and and and there's an area I can show you at the end if you'd like. Um, so we defined that. This is all the open space that was anticipated. It's really trail corridors. Um, on the left side of your screen, that's the Lake Ditch Trail Corridor. It's a public trail corridor. Um we've got the Evans Creek corridor kind of between the estate lots and village 8. The the uh trail corridor coming from uh through village 8 down to you know essentially the event center and then a trail corridor along uh Ranchera Parkway that in the middle there. And then on the south side there's the open space buffer along Delmonte which was really important to the residents in Delmani to have to maintain the the tree buffer that was that was already there. So what we proposed uh and again this was um you know incorporated in in into you know kind of some initial meetings with the adjacent neighbors and then and more I'll get into more uh modifications we made uh but we proposed that 50 foot open space buffer. Um we originally had one tree for every 50 ft because that was the standard on the lake ditch trail. Uh we increased that to one tree for every 30 lineal feet. Uh and it uh and then the trail corridor connection to to you know connects to that lake ditch trail. um we uh put in 29 allowable units and how we came up with that. So we have single family zoning essentially here in the in the ranch here. Um that single family zoning is the same as villages 1 and 2, three and five. Uh in the handbook, right, it's a zoning document. And so the um the the different lot sizes or densities, if you will, we have essentially you can have 6,000 foot lots or 9,000t lots. most of it is allowed to have 6,000t lots uh which uh it was on more Leah's slide to to speaking to the allowable densities there and so village 8 we opted for a 9,000 ft lot minimum which when you do the math results in 29 allowable units so we use the lowest uh allowable density that we have in the single family designation in in the ranchera PUB as our baseline. Um, we then further restricted that adjacent to that open space buffer on the north side as well as the open space Evans Creek buffer on the south side that any homes adjacent to that would have to be one story. In in um having our neighborhood meetings and things like that, what came up multiple times was the desire to reduce the overall number of units because as I mentioned, Ranchera has developed in a much less dense fashion. We went through the math on that. um took essentially everything that's been approved um and put that in, you know, in the ledger. Um uh we looked at village 7 uh on the north side there that is the urban residential in the handbook. It was originally intended to be kind of condos, higher density condos, 310 units there. Uh it has an approved tenative map for 59 units. So we took that approved tenative map which is about five units per acre is how that density works out. And if you look the little box that is on the the lower left corner of village 7 there in the orange that's the sales center that was mentioned. That sales center has always had a residential density underneath of it. Um and so what we did in this reduction is we said okay well the bulk of village 7 is 5 units per acre. That sales center parcel is about an acre. So that's five units. So that added to our tally. Um we obviously added up the the 29 units we're proposing. Then we added a 10% contingency because um not everything's approved and and built out there. Uh and we applied that contingency to the urban residential. So that's where you see in the urban residential there where it says it's going from 310 to 107. Even though it has an approved tenant map for 59 units, um it's it hasn't been recorded or built. So we don't know, you know, that that those plans may fall through. Um it still needs to have that flexibility for uh to realize some of those units there. So I know it's a lot of um kind of rationale there but there was a logic behind it. So the neighbors have brought up um a compromise and um we have um been you know obviously trying to work with them throughout this process. Uh as I mentioned you know we've established the 50oot buffer. Um we have uh limited the one-story buildings. Um we've reduced the overall number of units from 722 to 469. Um, furthermore, we, you know, we keep getting feedback from them. Um, and so what they had was a reduction in village 8 from 29 units to 15. Um, the applicant considered that and is willing to reduce that to 24 units. Uh, as a good faith gesture, they they um asked that a open space amenity be provided in village 7. Not a part of this request. Um, we worked with the the buyer um that they haven't closed on it, but the buyer village 7 and they actually incorporated a dog park into a detention basin. The detention basin's already constructed. Um, but when they build that village, they were saying, "Yeah, we'll we'll put a we'll fence it. We'll put some turf at the bottom, some steps down, some benches around it to have a dog park there." The feedback came back that that's not guaranteed. Um, so our request to you is that if you approve this that you would approve it with additional language in the PUB that would require an open space amenity like a dog park or flat turf fair or something like that be constructed in in that drainage basin. Um, they had asked for an emergency evacuation plan, not really a part of the PUD, but we worked with the HOA because it's an operational aspect. Um, we worked with the HOA and they've adopted now um an emergency evacuation plan. I believe they consulted with Reno Fire on that. Um they asked to increase the buffer from 50 to 100 ft. We just can't accept that. The 50ft buffer contains that existing trail. Uh it's commensurate also with the other buffers that we have within um Ranchera. So the Lake Ditch trail is about 35 ft. Evans Creek corridor is 55 ft and the Dmani buffer is 45 ft. So 50 ft seems reasonable uh within the context of the Ranchera PUD. Uh they asked to retain the sales center. We can't accept that. The sales center parcel has always had underlying highdensity residential allowed there and the PED actually states in there that the reuse of the sales center is an option and is not required by the developer. So right on time. Um that concludes my presentation and I would be happy to provide any additional detail. Okay. Thank you so much. All right. Anything else? Nope. Okay. Um, first of all, I want to start off by saying, um, I have been doing this for over a decade now. Holy cow, that's gone fast. Um, and it is a very, very rare to see compromises. It's usually all or nothing. Um, so I want to commend all of you for at least, you know, trying to get to the table. Um, and I also I have a lot of um I guess compassion. Um, because I I just want to remind everyone, you guys were not there, but we had a lot of people in these um chambers screaming at us saying, "How dare you turn this beautiful property into houses?" Naomi, were you there? Um, I was here in 2014 and 15. When did we approve that project? Well, as they said, back in '95, but my time here, we took a amendment in 2015, I want to say, and that amendment, I mean, David Bobin was here. We walked the property extensively. We eliminated the uh So, my point is, do you remember it was incredibly controversial and you know, we heard? Oh, those council members, they're on the take of the developers because we approved that. and you guys are all um the ones who get to benefit from us approving that. So, it's nice to see you all here because when we do that, we usually don't get to see you again and you're sort of ghosts. Um and it's a beautiful, beautiful property and I um have been pretty vocal about this. I think honestly like you know I could see how these residents would be very unhappy. Feels like a bait and switch. um you know um and I wonder Joel like how what was the thinking like behind this? I also feel like at the time we had a council member that I trying to understand why she did what she did, but I think at the same time it's just really hard to understand what what you were thinking. So kind of bring it back. Yeah, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, again, the Andy Derling for the record. Um, so I feel like I'm the ranch era historian, right? Because I've been here since. Remind us cuz I see a lot of projects. You see a lot of projects, but I just I I have to tell you I hear their stories and I would be pissed. Understood. So what what's kind of I mean this has evolved, right? And PUDs, it's not uncommon, right, that they kind of evolve and take shape over time. as you know we have a vision at the beginning but ultimately there are home builders that come in and and they want to build a product that they can sell right it's the economics of it and so that's essentially the reason why we're have this request now the the seven lots um that we could build right seven lots are allowed to be built right now um they would essentially be more custom lots just given the nature of them um looking at the market where it stands now versus where it did you know u you know 10 years ago the custom lot market is a lot more saturated uh and we don't feel that that's a viable um use right now. So we needed to look at alternatives that would be attractive to builders to come in and there would be enough meat on the bone for them to you know be able to have a building program and you know 24 homes is is not a lot of homes. No it's not. So that's, you know, for one for a single builder to come in. And so that's what we're trying to I guess my point is you guys to be honest with you, I think you're really lucky that they're all sitting here and saying we're willing to make a compromise and coming to the table. How often do we see that? It never ever happens. Ever happens. So when you see it, I hope um this council understands how much that is whenever you truly come to the table and give up because it doesn't happen. I think I've seen it one other time. It was in Verdi with Councilwoman Jordan. Maybe you were maybe I think you were on this one. I don't remember but and it was pretty miraculous to be honest with you. So I want to commend all the residents for coming to the table. I really really hope and pray that this council um you know gives everyone including the developer but also the residents some grace and mercy for coming together and actually coming to a compromise. Like I said, it never ever ever happens. And you know this. How many times does this happen? Not often. Not often. See? Okay. Well, I appreciate you um working with them there. I want to go through one of these uh one by one because some of these things I don't quite understand about the 50 versus the 100. I want to make sure that they don't lose any walking trails. Um does that happen at 50? Do they lose walking trails at 50? No. No. Okay. How come they're saying yes and you're telling me no? If I can get my presentation back up. I I I had a slide canned for this. So this is that trail. Um those are the homes the the former equestrian obviously it's an older photo um there. And so just taking a quick measurement right that's almost 50 ft. And you'll see uh if you were to draw a straight line right across it on the right side of your screen, you see kind of the bump out of the ride of way 50 ft essentially kind of ties into that. So the sidewalk then on um I think that's Falabella uh would then tie into the trail. The trail can stay kind of in its current stat, you know, state right there. Doesn't get modified. Nope. Okay. Nope. All right. I may what does get modified is now we have a higher tree standard, right? So now they have to go in and plant one tree for more trees. Correct. Yes. Which is good. We want more trees. Okay. Council, in anticipation of this and I'd heard um what the residents said and I heard what well Mr. Grace said. Um I actually went out there yesterday and I thought I'm tired of talking about 50 and 100. So I actually went out there with my uh surveying tape measure because that's one of the things we do. And uh when I measured from that corner of the fence, 50 ft does not cover that. Um it stops short of the path. Uh you would have to move the path to get within I I promise you, Andy. Okay. Well, I'm I'm see a measurement, too. Like I I'm looking at an area. I took pictures. You're just going to have to trust me on this because this is what we do for a living. Um that's what I do for a living, too. Okay. Well, maybe we'll have to get your tape measure out there. But the point of it is is if you go from the fence to the path that is over 50 ft. So the first part of the path by Falabella is outside the 50 ft. That's all I'm saying. Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, it is. Right. I mean where I'm measuring. Yes. And so the the 50 ft if you draw a line straight across. Yes. They will have to make a small trail connection there. Likely it's going to remain as is. Why would you rebuild? So what I did was I also measured the residents 100 uh feet recommendation. And as you can see, just south of your orange line, there's a line uh where there's a I think an expression of a lateral for the lake ditch. Maybe it's a rock. Um it has trees there. It's along the edge of the green. Do you see it that there? And and what is that? Uh I think it's a drainage ditch. Right. So um the 100 ft stops just short of the drainage ditch. It includes a lot of um trees that are there already. Now, if you want to modify that, I'm sure the residents it's something to talk to them about. I don't know that they're stuck on 100 ft, but I think they want to retain their path and retain the trees. And so, I think there's some room for compromise there myself, but I'm just sharing that if you just take strictly 50 ft, part of the path is outside that dimension from it's close from the corner. Yes. I mean, yes. So, you have Yeah. Well, the first third I guess it's hard because I don't have a pointer, but um but no, but it's close. So at least I appreciate that. And if you I mean the 50 ft essentially like we said matches up with the ride ofway, right? So that from a planning perspective now you're going to have a ride ofway and a larger buffer. There's you know there's an opportunity to expand extend that silver charm up into this new village. Now you've got a larger buffer there with open space 50oot open space buffer and a roadway. That's I'm not sure that's going to happen, but that's that's a logical extension to my in my mind. All right. Um, Councilwoman Der, you still have uh a minute and 38 left. Oh, I Okay, I didn't know I was speaking. Uh, I was trying to answer a question for for you. Um, I I have a few things to to say, I guess. Uh, let me start at the beginning. Okay. I just want to say that um I have read all the letters that all the residents sent that the developer sent. Um, and I read a lot of heartbreaking stories. uh many of these people move to this place specifically because of the equestrian nature of the property, the rural nature of the property and and I would uh do an analogy. What if somebody moved to a place because it had an Olympic swimming pool and and they were all swimmers and then the pool was filled in or you know an ice rink. They were all into icing, you know, maybe hockey or ice skating or whatever. But then I'd move into that development. you would move into that and then that was gone. Um the the challenge is is they moved there because they believed how it was marketed and it was marketed the objectives in the PD um actually say that it is to maintain the ranch aesthetic of the property including treeline lanes, open space and single family architectural style complimentary with existing buildings. So, what I'm worried about is by removing those objectives that you said we want to take out horse references and all that. Well, the only thing left about horses to my knowledge is the names of the streets, which really doesn't do a lot. Um, I mean, it's still a beautiful place, no doubt, but I I understand I didn't use the term bait and switch. I think you did, mayor, but I think several residents did. They feel betrayed. And the difference about this PUB, and remember this could have been straight zoning and we wouldn't have any of these conditions. The applicant chose to have a PUD and it laid out a whole bunch of conditions. What's happened since then is a lot of people have moved in and now they are co-owners with you. You own some property, they own a lot of property. 292 I heard earlier uh just earlier today. So 292 people have invested in this community. And it's not just a simple thing of, oh, the developer thought this. They they are about to apparently take over their HOA. Um, they are co-owners. And I think it's really to your point, Madame Mayor, what they said about leaning in and working with you and making a compromise. You are absolutely right. We very rarely see that. And it is a compromise. I was prepared seriously to come here and talk about seven lots because that is how it was zoned. That's how it's true. You You said no way. No way. No. in 77. I was devastated when the equestrian center and you and I mayor worked so hard for years with Mr. Grace who also wanted to keep it um only to have it go away. So I'm back at seven lots frankly I'm just sharing um and I'm I'm cognizant of the role of the PD which specifies the fence type the housing stock the use of the existing buildings and to take it all away I think it really does a disservice to the people that have moved in. So, I I am very interested in this compromise. I think it's very um forwardlooking. I It's probably more than I probably would have done. If I lived there, I would have been, "No, it's seven and let's stick to that. At least they can develop." But I hear you residents, you're saying you want to lean in and work with the developer. And I think that's very, very important. Um, I'll have more to say on a second round, but uh, I I just think what everyone's been through, it has been wrenching for you, for me, for you, and for you, and I really think it's time to sort of come to a peaceful compromise if it's possible. So, thank you. Okay. Thank you so much. Um, just really quickly, I do want to ask, do you have a representative here from the HOA? Like a do you have a we don't have any control? We have no control. Okay. Yes, is it? But don't they have anyone that represents them? No, that's our problem. He is the HOA. Okay, come come because I can't hear you. Okay. My understanding is there's one resident member on the HOA board currently. And they were elected or appointed or Yeah. How did they get there? They were elected. Appointed? I don't know. Joel elected to appointees. Elected. He's elected. Who is he? Very interesting. I'm not I don't know. Oh, okay. John Matt. Okay. All right. I don't I don't believe there was actual That's so weird. We You elect someone that no one voted for. Okay. Um it's fine. We I'll We'll bring him up later. Um or we won't bring him up because he's not here. My point is we'll talk about him later anyway. Okay. Moving along. Um Vice Mayor. Oh, go ahead. Thank you. Uh, couple questions for you guys. Um, I was able to watch the planning commission meeting and I believe the vote was it a unanimous vote, Leah? 54 right? 51 with one absent. Okay. The question I had was I guess it's not the question I had is when you bring up that green screen where you have the residents and wants and the compromise. Yes. One of the things that the planning commissioners had said was they wanted you to go back and work with the residents. So, is this what has happened in the compromising space since then? Throughout this, it's been an evolution. Um, we did go back uh we had a conversation with one of the representatives and heard, you know, really it was important for this emergency evacuation plan and also they wanted to see some sort of replacement uh open space amenity. Right. That was kind of you guys are you have just in the last I don't know 2 hours or whatever said you you're you're interested in going from 29 to 24 units. So we're further. Yes, we're still we're still at the table. We keep coming back and and trying to, you know, thing do things that we feel are um we understand where their perspective is, right? But a compromise is not that we just agree to everything they want, right? Well, I guess on that next question is I understand where my colleagues are coming from of you look in a handbook and it says if it is developed, there'll be 1acre lots. I I understand that. I understand the life of a PUD over um economic turns and changes things have to change. How did you and I think you might have said it but I need you to just make it very very simple for me. How did you come up with the designation of 29 to 24 houses? Because you have some single family, you have some 1acre, you have some custom lots and then you have the city's designation of what you can do with single family. Yes. So simply please. So yes, so the single family zoning designation, right, in the PUB is essentially the yellow, right? So it's villages 1 2 3 5 and this new village 8. So it's most of the west side. Um in that zoning designation, there's two lot standards. You can do 6,000 ft. And there was a mandate that village one, which is in the far northwest corner, far top left corner, had to be 9,000t lots. Okay. So, we took those lot standards when we were looking at this village 8 and said, "Okay, well, we'll take the lesser of it and we will take 9,000 ft² and make that the the lot standard." So, let me ask you, could you have come in and said, "We want the 6,000 ft lot and it would have increased the amount." We could have. Okay. And I'm just trying to figure out where the compromises are coming from on both sides. Most of most of the single family is 6,000 foot zone, right? Some of it's developed less than that obviously, but the 9,000 requirement was specific to the upper uh uh northwest corner. Where does the 15 come in? I don't know. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Any questions, comments? Madam Chair, um I'm going to send it to Councilman Ree. Go ahead. Thank you so much. Um Miss Picotti, I have a couple of questions and then I might need something for Mr. Nerling, but I I want to first understand uh as I understood it um in 1995, this was originally divided into 188 somethings of some size units, right? That was the original handbook. Is that right? Yes, correct. Uh Leah Picotti, for the record, yes, it was allowed to be subdivided into 188 lots. And so in 2015, the handbook was changed to allow for 722. Correct. Right. And this body uh apparently as Miss or as Madame Mayor says was vilified from going from 188 to 722. Right. Correct. And the beneficiaries of that increase in density were all the people now here in this audience. Is that accurate? No. No. That and so we're going to have a a conversation here too. This is not an iterative process. We don't yell from the audience. We at the council are asking questions of our staff and then we will ask the clerk to read the admonitions. I I we've had a very long day and being yelled at by people in the audience who I can't hear your questions. It's not going to work for me. So Miss Picotti, I want to ask the same question in a different way now. So the were there any people living here in 2015? Were there any homes built there? I don't believe there was. Yeah. So, everyone who now lives there benefited from a change in the PUB handbook from 1995 when Bill Hara had the idea to have 188 units. So, then it went to 722. Is that correct? That is correct. Okay. And and now those same people who are benefiting from that increase or change that everyone apparently got vilified for here when um the prior council voted on it now is objecting to going from 722 down to 469. Is that correct? Um I I'm not sure what the public is asking for in terms of numbers, but the applicant has reduced the number to 469. Right. And so one of the arguments I heard was something along the lines like the increase in density would ruin our property values. Is that what I heard in the planning commission and also here? I I heard the same thing. Okay. And so um I want to understand now the um I I think that's what I have for you Miss Picotti. U Mr. Derling can I understand something from your perspective? So there were three items identified as the compromise. I I'm not sure I agree that that terminology represents a compromise, but let's go through each one of them. What is the first one? Um maybe it's the neighbor's proposal, maybe a better terminology um to go to 15 units on on this village. And so what we have said is it's 29 is the proposal. Now we are willing to come down to 24 and and is it possible that it goes lower than that when you sell it to the next buyer or the developer? Yes, that's the max. 24 would be the maximum and and then depending on what builder comes in, it could be 22, you know. I don't know. Yes. Do you have a buyer lined up for it? We do not. Okay. That's my first round, Madam Mayor. Good questions. I like those. All right. Um, Councilwoman Der. Okay. Anyone else? Well, I'm only going to call on if your lights on. Oh, I'm sorry. So, go ahead. Sure. Um, so I I was a little struck by the graphic that was shown earlier. Andy, maybe you can address this, but um they showed that back in 2023, 24 homes was proposed for this area. And I think the reason that the uh people in the audience moaned was that that's where it was 2 years ago and the data is wrong. Is that what you're saying? No. Go ahead. Oh, okay. Um and so when they said you you said we compromised and we did this and we did that. I just have a few questions. Is are is the one story which is on the edges of this thing um supposed is that put somewhere in the handbook? Um to that question yes. So we do have a standard design standard in the handbook specific to village 8 that any lots adjacent to the northern or the southern open space buffers have to be one story. Okay. And then um another question I had is when were the five lots put under the sales center? It's not being proposed now. No. So again right that the five lots right are hypothetical and that's my trying to reduce the number of units in a logical manner. So not sure village 7 just what just when was it added? That's all I was really asking. Well there's 310 units that are currently allowed in village 7. So on that one acre there might be I don't know 50 that could be allowed. Like that's what I'm saying. We have drastically reduced the the density. Is it the intent right now of of you or you to sell these five lots or I mean the the reason I'm asking is within the language of the PUD I just read I mean one of the goals was to preserve the existing buildings to add to the amenity and the flavor of this place. I mean you take out the the clubhouse and you take out this building you're not left with a lot of buildings or a lot of I mean I saw a lot of buildings torn down on the property before. So, there's only a couple buildings left, right? It's uh and the sales center was, you know, it's it's funny that it's this glorified building now, but um when I started on the property in 2011, it was a photo studio and a garage and it had a bunch of lawnmowers outside. Um so, you know, it's it's been spruced up a lot um by by the master developer. And really, the intent that we talked to in the handbook, it's it's the mansion, right? it. That mansion has a very iconic architectural style to it. That's what we're talking about. Well, you're talking about selling it to a third party. So, that could be someone could be continue to be operated as a I have a question for Joel, too, if you don't mind. I'm running out of time. Well, I just wanted to maybe clarify your question on on the 24 lot. Yeah, I didn't get to that. Sorry. Um, and then you I can you can ask Joel, but um the 24 lots it you know in 2023 um the club or the not the club the equestrian center was shut down and we were starting to explore what can we do with this? Uh and so we had a lot of different options that we kind of threw on the drawing table. Um that was the one that kind of rose to the top and and we thought okay well this one might be viable. uh it's a product type that we think, you know, would be, you know, um desirable both, you know, for sales as well as for a builder. Um and so that was the one we kind of okay, this may be the inspiration, but again, this is zoning, right? So we're we're establishing zoning standards and maximum densities and things and design standards right now. I mean, if it was zoning, could be something totally different than that. It could be small lots or smaller lots or something like that. All right. Just for Joel, um you made a comment earlier about um moving to the HOA or sorry, Miss Picotti did. Is that your intent, Joel, to move forth with into handing over the HOA, whatever that looks like? I grace for the record. Um yes, we want to we would like the to be able to turn the HOA over. The issue right now is that there is ongoing litigation. So, our council is saying we can't do anything with the HOA until that is resolved. Okay. But but assuming it's resolved because I don't see it going for years. I mean, you've told me it's your intent to Mhm. So, so when would um given this re this redistribution of homes and numbers, when would the residents have two people on their HOA? When would that happen? Like I don't have that number with me. We've actually we've hand you said you have nothing to do with HOA. I have nothing to do with the HOA. So, that's a conversation for the HOA, folks. Okay. I do have a proposed compromise that maybe is more an akin to Mr. Reese's thought of compromise, but I don't know if anyone else has some thoughts. Um, hold on a second. Councilman Eert, do you have any? No. Okay. Go ahead, Councilman Ree. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I I am not sure I've yet had the questions answered for me for the three items that have been presented by the um folks here here tonight. So the first one is about um the distance or the buffering the 100 versus the 50 ft. So first is going to 15 units. The second item I I I'm still not resolved on that. Let me understand something. You've said you do not have a seller for it yet. You've also said a a buyer for it. You've also said that um it's possible that be less than 24 units. And that's what I'm not understanding because there's an interplay between that position and the buffering that it it matters to me about why we're digging in on one thing, but maybe there is a compromise to be had on it. What what is the inter relationship between the 24 number and the buffering? There is no inter relationship. No, they're different. They're different. Right. The buffer is is is a is a is an open. So, you know where the lots are laid out with 24? We do not. Well, then that tells me you don't know where the buffering has to be. That's what I'm trying to say. So the buffering is specific just to that northern boundary, right? So it's to provide additional protection and separation for the existing lots that are in village 3. And so our proposal is 50 ft. And like I said, that's commensurate with a lot of the other buffers um that are around the ranch. Uh and it does incorporate the trail. And so the 100 ft is why does it matter to you whether it is the existing topography or something else? Because that's all flat land. There could be lots there. So 100 ft would would would further um reduce the developability of the property possibly but not necessarily. Correct. Well, it takes away develop to develop it yet. You don't know. True, but on a gross basis it takes away developable land. Okay. Okay. Oh, sorry. Go ahead, Deon. Council Ree, go ahead. As to the third item, which is this question about the sales center. phantom lots or not phantom lots under the sales center. Are are you do you have a present intention to tear the sales center down and put homes on it? There's no present plan for it. So it was your intention to do that? Not to my knowledge. No, it was not sold with the rest of village 7. Uh it's its own parcel. It was separate, you know, was separated out and they're trying to figure out what, you know, could happen to it. But without having a plan, we need to have some flexibility still in there. And like I said, um, you know, to maybe to reiterate my presentation, right, it it's always had residential density underneath of it. It's always been if no one's intending to knock it down and someone will someday buy it, why does it matter to you if we don't allow you to change the phantom parcels underneath it? This is what I'm not understanding. I guess I'm not understanding your question then. Why do they need to stay? Well, if there's no residential density underneath of it and it doesn't survive as a as a viable use, it's no longer a sales center, it's no longer, you know, some offices, things like that, then what is it? And and it needs to have a a you know, an economic benefit and to the to the master developer that they would have the ability to do something with it. And if we take away all of its rights that it has now, then it has very little value. But the right I'm trying to understand whether you care one way or the other whether it's taken away is the right to build housing on that parcel. It's that and if if it were sold say to the HOA, right, as an amenity, then the underwriting of a loan for that would want to have some sort of plan B, huh? A designation would have it would want to have some sort of value under we've we've had this um you know, Kylie Ranch, I did a lot of work in Kylie Ranch years ago. I understand it's in a different city. Um but it you know there were multif family zone parcels and things like that that were part of an open space cons conservation area because they needed to establish a value for it right so that's not uncommon that you would have an underlying value and and density regardless of what it ultimately becomes and after you change the density and the homeowners become the majority and therefore take over the HOA do they get to determine what happens to the building at that point? No, they do not. No, it's privately held. I see. Okay. Madam Mayor, can I ask a quick question? While Andy was up there I on the village 7, that's where the thing is, the sales center or whatever. I thought I read in the handbook that that is zoned or it was always supposed to be single family. It's uh urban residential. It was urban rep urban residential. And what is the designation for that? So urban residential was our madeup um designation for that to say to basically communicate it was meant to be high density. It was high density res and I thought in the handbook it said urban residential had some sort of amount of density associated with it. 310 units. Okay. So village 7 has always been 310 units. 310 units. Yes. Okay. Does that include the sales center? Okay. Thank you. Um going back Andy, stay up here. I have a feeling we're going to keep you up here for a little bit. Um, going back to the community center, I'm I'm trying to think here. It's not on the market. Um, I understand, this is what I've heard from your representatives, is that you are willing to sell it to the HOA for a reduced price. Is that true? I don't know. Okay. No, I'm I'm dealing in land use here. Mr. Grace, would you know? We haven't had any conversations except two people had one offer and we get two people nothing to do with residential and right now it's not it's not on the market the HOA to buy it the HOA here come up here I can't hear you um okay it's you would love for the HOA to buy it is that what you said yeah I mean both of those assets will be for sale at some point and there is an exploratory group going on right now with some of the my understanding I'm not part of the HOA. Yeah. But with certain members, they are exploring the financing options and taking a look at it to see if the homeowners can purchase both these assets. That would be a win-win situation. We'd be open to that. We'd love to see it happen. Okay. Um are you guys aware of this possible HOA getting involved? Yes. Okay. I just want to make sure um that we're all talking about the same thing here. And apologies, Joel. Grace, for the record. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Okay. Um, go ahead, Councilman Dur. Well, I just I think it's good to try to bring this to a close. Um, what don't they say the art of compromise or good good resolutions when pretty much everybody's unhappy with you? Hope. Yeah, that's true. I don't want everybody to be unhappy with me, but I I am trying to um come up with some kind of compromise that leans in between these things. And on these three points, I guess what I might recommend and for the council to consider and the applicant to consider, residents to consider is that perhaps, you know, there's about six acres there is I understand. I mean, um, is that correct? Yes. So, my suggestion is perhaps, um, you could go to 1/3 uh, lots per acre. That's about 18. It's not 15, but it's not 24. Uh, perhaps you could go to a 75 foot. That's not 50. that's not 100, but it's 75. It would incorporate the current path and those existing trees. And on the um sales center, which is already has the five lots, that's not in discussion here today, but I think what's important is we've heard judges say this recently that that you enter into good faith discussions or negotiations on the sales center to get it done. Um you've said you want to move out. Um and um and then move forth with to get this HOA, whatever you can do, help it help it get wrapped up and get get the um if we vote today and change these numbers, that's the basics. I mean, even though Leah says it has nothing to do with HOA, it really does because how it's plotted in the QD and how many residents have moved in, that is the basis for the HOA elections. So I think once this is done here, they can move quickly uh forward on changing the representation in the HOA. So I'm suggesting just to recap that um we go to 18 homes in that spot which is one a third acre lots that you go to a 75 foot buffer. I'd rather see a 100 because there's actually a electrical station substation or whatever there. There's a uh ditch there. I don't really think you want to move all that. That's expensive. So if you can go to 100 but at least do 75 and then be engage in a good faith effort to move the discussion along on the sales center and on um the which we I want to make it clear we don't really and I wish we did have some way to hold um people accountable to those things. Um so but I want to make it clear it's just a good faith a good faith which um Joel tells us that it's underway already. Yeah. You said that. Yeah. Okay. We keep trying to think you're the HOA. I don't you know. Yeah. And you know that's the hard part. We've been there where you're just sort of the delivery and someone else is behind it. And to be honest with you, you know, when this property when it all started from the beginning, there were a lot of different uh developers, investors, it's changed dramatically. And um I know you actually are like in the hardest position because you're the front-facing person like I am the mayor. Everything is my fault. Just so you know, everything. So when the weather's good, I'm taking credit for it. My fault. Um so I I totally uh sympathize with you as well. You know, perhaps Miss Horvath could come up. I mean, I I you can't all come back up and speak, but I do want someone to speak. I mean, I don't even know if this is acceptable to the residents to have 18 units instead of 24 and to have 75 ft if that if that gets you where you want to be. You know, can you can come on up. Yeah. Um if you want. I also want to ask Joel one more thing. Is there any um has there been any discussion to put in a little bit more heritage because I think that's the hard part like you know horse sculptures or you know I mean the ranchera I'm telling you is the best I mean oh I shouldn't say this cuz then I'm like picking and choosing um areas but it's oh my god it's beautiful. You guys live in such an incredible development. I am telling you, if I could move there, um, I would do it in a heartbeat. In a heartbeat. It's just it's just unbelievably gorgeous. Matter of fact, I I brought all the mayors there to show them Ranch Hera because I was so impressed and proud of it. So, I brought um couple hundred mayors there to show it off. But, is there anything that you guys are thinking about? So the only thing that I control in that regard is really the um the paintings and the artwork and the stuff that is resi resides in my office. Okay. So So that's not helpful. I'd like to see plaques. Well, there there has been discussions about using some of that and then um I believe that they they could do it in the community center. You guys all buy it and then you could do it in the community center and also like that would be a great way for presto historic preservation. Sure. I know that the HOA has made I don't know necessarily in the heritage side of things, but there was a um if I remember correctly, it was a brick or a plaque of some sort that was at the equestrian center. That has been moved. I don't know where that's been moved to, but that was that as far as John Hair goes. That portion has gone with him, but again, the the original intent for our office building was actually being torn down. What had happened was was Chip uh Bulby had fallen in love with the floor when we when he took up the floor and they reused it into it because as you know we took down like six or seven and this is all pre but I can tell you that just with being in that building it was originally a photo studio and a u maintenance equipment shop for John. So Chip that's Chip's vision remodeled it. It worked pretty well for a sales center. Um but that's kind of the history of that building. Okay. Yeah. I was just curious. No, thanks so much. Well, okay. Go ahead. Let me just ask I mean is anybody from the residence I mean Glenn someone could Could Could someone speak to this? I mean Amy Audrey we're ready to Okay. Yeah. What's the question? Um the question is what if we made a motion to um approve this equestrian lot which I'm back at seven. Okay. But I'm looking at 18 homes per that's a third acre lots or however they're going to lay them out. 75 ft setback or trail corridor, whatever you want to call it. Can you address each one? What's that? Is it okay if we address each? Please start with 18. So I would say on the 18 that the language would read a maximum of 18. Correct. Not. Yes. The way it's written maximum of a maximum of 18. Yeah. Mhm. Residents could agree on that. Okay. um an 80 foot buffer. 80. Okay. I residents could agree to that. Okay. Hey, I want to speak to the the 18 homes. If you uh 18 is an interesting number. If you take the 29 and add seven to it, Mr. Grace wanted Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Grace wanted 29, it's currently zoned for seven. That's 36. You cut that in half, it's 18. If you look at the seven lots and you add 11 to it, you get 18. If you take the 29 and you take away 11 lots, you get 18. 18 actually cuts right in the middle. And and I believe that when you look at that six acres and you have 18 homes and you divide that and put the infrastructure in, which you're going to lose some of that acreage, let's say you lose an acre. I'm not too worried about that part. Yeah. you're going to have quarter to third acre lots and those lots will be commensurate with the surrounding homes that are existing. So it works. So in our mind and it's a transition from the one the 1acre lots to the south to the quarter acre lots to the north or whatever it is. So in our minds it can work and we would be willing to to do that accept. Okay. All right. So then 80 ft that works too. I mean, I picked 75 out of the hat, but the the comment that I wanted to make on the 80 ft is that it um maintains. So, this was the 50 ft. Yeah. I just Oh, you're showing a picture. Could you put up the overhead? Okay. I'm not a surveyor, right? I've learned a lot about how lots of things in the city work. Yeah. Uh but I am not a surveyor. So, what I did is I just took a ruler and used whatever this measurement was and then applied it off the fence line along here. Um, so this got if we I don't know where 75 or 80 ft would be, but let's just call it 80 or 75, whatever. You know, it 80 ft would um incorporate all of these existing trees. It would incorporate the existing path, which is less expensive to move. Y um which I know conforms with RMC standards. The other thing is it also 80 ft would be consistent with um 80 ft would actually give us something more. Again, this path is already there, right? So it, you know, this 50 ft is already this is the edge. So 80 ft gives us actual more open space. So that feels like a win. And it includes the major trees that are on that on that that like you just showed us a big tree and it um is also consistent with the um uh pathways that are to the south. Okay. Um and then the I I wanted to make a comment if that's Oh, sure. Okay. The 469 units, this this came up a lot as a a compromise for the residents. I was the one who asked a lot for this, but it was not a I don't know that I should say I don't know that it was a compromise for the residents. I know that city staff can ask the applicant to do that. Yes. Um well to go to what's really plotted, not an imaginary number. Right. And I appreciate the applicant and the developer having had open conversations um and being willing Yeah. to talk to residents and you know and and meet us. Yeah, this is the one of the first times. This is actually the second development that's come up since residents have moved in. So, I do really thank you both for that and really appreciate it. And I will tell you, we work with a lot of developers. I have to be really honest with you. And um these guys um are pretty nice guys. Yeah. Compared to us. So, okay. So, that was the two. And then then the last one was this five lot drawing underneath the sales center. So I just wanted to comment on what Mr. Derling said and again there's a document up here if you can do that. So um I looking at the green. Yeah. So this is blow that up a little. This is taken right out of the PUD page 48. Um there is a lot sorry a little too close there. There are you can just move it over. Okay, there you go. There are a lot of permitted uses that are available in um urban residential. It's not just single family. Um I this was all part of documents that I sent to you all. Um so what you're saying even with the five lots it already and can you um well what I'm saying is if you were to remove the underlying zoning of five lots Mr. Durling was saying well then what can we do with this building? It could stay it. What I would love to see happen, and this is just wishful thinking, but I would love to see the items that are redlined to be removed just from the sales pavilion parcel. The the applicant asked to have those that was all one village. The applicant asked to have those become separate parcels. So, I think that they need to be treated as separate parcels. you had underlining zoning there and then you parcled it off and you made it separate. So I think those should need to be looked at as two very separate parcels. And so for proposed village 7, yes, single family, small lot, cluster development, zero lot lines for where the current sales pavilion is, which is and is it labeled? Let me ask you this. It's not village 7, right? Oh, well it's a separate parcel. It's separate. But it's zoning. Okay. which is something you made up. It's not a city zoning, right? Right. Okay. So why so you'd like parcel called out these things deleted so that it's more clear what its future might be. Is that what you're And so it's currently zoned as well. It's currently permitted to be used as an office. Allow it to be continue to be used as an office. Why does it have to stay residential? Why not continue to why not preserve the historic nature of that building and to preserve the one of two buildings there are two buildings left that make ranchera ranchera this building and the event center okay so let me ask is that something for the I'm sorry Mr. Grace, you want to come on up? Did you leave that up? You guys are coming up. Do you think we can get some legal help on this? Are we Are we negotiating here? Is this what we're What are we doing? It's fine. Everyone, guess what? I'm running the meeting. So, I'm going to continue to run the meeting. Go ahead. Okay. So, first off, it's it looks really nice now. It's not a historic building. John turned this into his maintenance uh and photo studio. So, the its current configuration is completely different. Okay. Okay. So, there was garage doors where our offices are. There was no bathrooms. So, we remodeled that whole thing in 2016, I guess. So, that property is is a separate parcel. It was cut out because of the fact that we were talking about uh about either making it our permanent office at the time um which we decided not to do. Uh this this discussion with the homeowners started probably u I think with Amy and u Karen Schwob had shown up at my office. We had a meeting. They really were interested in the HOA purchasing our building and I said great make the ownership an offer. That's perfectly fine. Okay. Um so that was kind of the start of it. So this has now turned into the club being looked at the or the club being looked at as well as our office building. But that but that building was always just there as a temp because that was supposed to be demoed along with the other three or four that we demoed. Okay. All right. So that's part of the confusion. I would just say then we need to stick to the community center. Yeah. And I guess just to shorten the conversation because I appreciate uh Councilwoman Der's information. I only have authorization from the investment group to what Andy has presented tonight. So I can't say yes, we'll do that. No, we'll do that. Um so I would rather that just the application gets voted on. Yeah. Either we vote up or down. That's how that I'm correct. I'm I'm understanding what you're saying. Correct. Okay. Thank you. All right. Then we're going to go we're going to go that route. I appreciate Councilman Dur um for always trying to work with both sides. I um appreciate the residents and I appreciate you guys. Um Wow. So that's uh Go ahead. Well, I I guess I'm at a loss. I mean, I know you don't have authorization. They don't they're not representing voting members of the HOA or the residents are just a subset also. I think we're just trying to move this along and they can go back to the residents. You can go back to your owner. I mean I would love to vote on this with with these changes and if it's not acceptable then you know let's have another conversation. I mean, I think that's what we have to do unless you want I mean, the only other thing I can think of right now to give you time to present is to do some kind of twoe continuence so you can talk to them. What? No. Okay. All right. Oh, you don't think that? No. Oh, I I guess this is just a confusing process for me. Um, it's not typical that we would have a negotiation at the podium like this. Um, we have an application in front of you for 29 units and PUD changes. Um, we have tried to concede on a number of issues we feel that are totally fair, reasonable, and based in um, planning and engineering judgment. Um, what we're kind of doing here feels very arbitrary to me that, oh, well, maybe 80 ft or 75 ft. We've tried to Let me just stop you right there because here's what I don't want to have happen. When you say that, it does matter and I'll tell you why. I want people to have access, right? You're a good planner. Am I right? You're a very talented planner. So, I don't want you coming in here and ruining your reputation because you're taking out half the walkway and that that isn't cool. It's not conducive to the environment there, right? And when you hear both sides, you're like, okay, well, what what is really happening? And I'm not saying I mean, you know, there have been times where, you know, we have asked people to save trees and they take tear them down or, you know, those kinds of things. So, um, not it's just sort of I think past PTSD. So, it does matter. So, that that's all we're asking is like what is it? What is it really? Is 50 ft going to remove some of that trail per the image that I showed as well as what Amy How that Horvath showed. The majority of the trail is in that 50ft buffer. It's on the end where we're making the connection to the existing sidewalk. And it, you know, there's ADA requirements and other requirements of code that are going to kind of mandate how we make that connection. And so if it's not in an open space buffer, it doesn't mean that it still can't be connected. Okay. All right. And listen, I think anytime there that you can get to a compromise, you should. I know you might not like it up here. Um I get it. It's uncomfortable. But you know what? It was really uncomfortable for all of us at the time. Well, whoever was here at the time when we voted on Ranchera, it was uncomfortable. It was controversial. people um you know like I said you know you're in the pockets of developers and you know so then it's hard to come back and revisit and how many times are we going to come back and do that and I hate that I'm looking at you Joel and whenever you're just like I said you're just the front face um and you know we dealt with someone else at the time but when you keep coming back I mean at some point you know I can see why people are here and they're outraged and speaking out, you know, and that's where if we can get to a compromise in the community, that's whenever you win. And sometimes if you both walk away with a little bit less, then it's better than nothing. And I never see I never see compromises like this. And so I think on both sides, you came to the table today with a compromise. You guys came with a compromise. So I really have to credit both of you. I really, really do cuz it does, it's so rare. Never happens. Madame Mayor, do you want to I mean Go ahead. You give me a um give me a motion. Okay, let's see if we can get there. I, you know, I don't know where the council's at, but let's try and then we'll go from there. Gosh. Okay. Well, I hope this passes. If it doesn't, then we'll try another motion. Um, all right. I guess I would recommend that we uh reduce the lot size on the equestrian parcel to a maximum of 18 the path to a 80 foot um span as measured from the fence and um uh ask the since you own the building engage in good faith discussions on possible sale to the HOA and um I'll leave it at that. Okay. Um, and again I would say you probably can't include that in the I just said good faith. Okay. All right. So I have a motion. You want me to delete it? No. I have a motion from Councilwoman Dur. I will second that motion. Any discussion? Go ahead, Councilman Ree. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'm not going to be just supporting the motion for a couple of reasons. One is I find the whole process that we've engaged in tonight rather unique for my seven years on this body. Um I think we sit in a legal space. We are not the planning commission. We are looking at just the change in the PUB handbook. Um and in that regard there are certain findings that we have to make and and I can make the findings on the basis the same basis that the planning commission made them. Now I am also someone who believes as a lawyer that compromise is a good word. Um I'm not sure what I've seen here tonight represents compromise. I I'm not I've never seen compromise quite like tonight. I also think that um it's um clear that um each of the council members, Madame Mayor, yourself and Miss Der have really strong feelings on the subject. Um and of course I respect the both of you very greatly. Uh I am forced to choose between understanding what the planning commission did which was a 5-1 decision in favor of the recommended things and this um different way to uh sort of reach compromise numbers just being pulled out of thin air. I'm not sure what the difference between 24 and 18 is. Why the residents think on one end that would destroy their quality of life for all time in Memorial and on the other hand it'd be fine. And this is not making a lot of sense to me. We have a housing crisis in this community. And so when we have the opportunity to approve housing and and certainly these are not going to be cheap, cookie cutter anything. Uh I heard that said tonight. I I think these are going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Whatever is built there will be uh certainly out of my price range. Uh and so I I simply find this process that we've engaged in and I'm a process person and I know sometimes my colleagues fault me for that but as a lawyer that's where I am constrained to be. So I have no objection to the concerns that madame mayor you've raised or Miss Der your heart is in the right place. I'm just not there on the process. Okay. Okay. And I and I feel phil philosophically different. I was here whenever um it was probably one of the most controversial votes it was. Um, so I feel different. I also feel that um, just because you can doesn't mean you should. And I'm going to add that I have supported Ranchera on every request that they've had. Every and I have made the motions and I am big fans. Matter of fact, uh, Park Lane was supposed to look like Ranchera. It was supposed to be absolutely beautiful. And here I'm asking them to lean in and and work with residents and us. So that's it. Motion. I have a second. All those in favor say I. I have a question. Oh, go ahead. Yeah. So, are you guys willing to make the changes that this is the motion? Okay. Back. Yeah. All right. So, um I have a motion and a second. All those in favor say I. I. I. I. You're um Yeah. Okay. Uh all those in favor say I. All those opposed? No. No. No. Uh, motion carries, I believe. Four, three. Madame Clerk, uh, roll call, please. Vice Mayor Taylor. I'm a no on the motion. Council member Derer, I. Council member Martinez, no. Council member Eert I. Council member Reese, no. Council member Anderson, no. Mayor Shivy, I. So it's 43 43 fail. Yes. Anyway, fail. 334. So 34. Yes. Perhaps, Madame Mayor, and and I'm willing to do this. Uh perhaps an alternate motion could be to to Mr. Reese's point that it's unusual to negotiate from the dis. Um you know, maybe we could take that offline and maybe we could do a a a two or four week continuence, whatever people would like. I have shown that I can work with these people and get things better and we just did it on Lakeidge where we ended up with a much better design because we did a continuence. So, I'm willing to tackle that. So, I'd make a a motion to continue this for I don't know if your people are in town, but uh for four weeks to the second meeting in I guess it would be June. Is that correct? But I understand you're not willing to mad mayor. I'll try another motion. Move on. Okay. Yeah, I'll try a motion just to see where we go. I didn't know if there was a I don't I I didn't Did you still want to make the [TRANSCRIPT TRUNCATED DUE TO EXCESSIVE LENGTH TO PREVENT PROCESSING COSTS]