Hello all! You may remember me discussing federal stimulus bonds going to every state called Recovery Zone Facility Bonds. These are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Obama passed, meant to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
The Recovery Zone Facility Bonds are meant for PRIVATE development, so keep that in mind before you get upset that the money isn't being used for schools or to pay off government debt. There are laws saying what the money can and can't be used for.
The bonds are not a 'hand-out' but tax-exempt bonds the developer/business can qualify for and then pay back. I'm not sure but I think interested is waived for these bonds as well.
To help sort out the qualifications and to select the businesses who get the bonds, a subcommittee was formed consisting of John Breternitz, Washoe County Commissioner, District 1, Kitty Jung, Washoe County Commissioner, District 3, Robert A. Cashell, Reno Mayor, Pierre Hascheff, Reno Council Member, At-Large, Julia Ratti, Sparks Council Member, Ward 1, Mike Carrigan, Sparks Council Member, Ward 4.
Today at 1:00 p.m. in the Washoe County Administration Building, Commission Chambers, Building A at 1001 East 9th Street, a MAJOR MEETING will be happening to listen to a review of the final projects, see a presentation for each applicant, listen to public comment, rank the projects by priority, and discuss the allocation of bonds.
PROJECT NAME (APPLICANT)
Project 1 – Solar Panel Project (GA-SNC)
Project 2 – Solar Roof Program (Clean Energy Center)
Project 3 - PV Manufacturing Plant (Titan Energy Systems)
Project 4 – Sparks/Reno Ice Arena (Peter Hansen Realty)
Project 5 - Manufacturing Plant (Cobalt, Inc.)
Project 6 - Solar Panel Project (GA-SNC)
Project 7 – Reno Eco-Energy Park (Castaways, Inc.)
Project 8 - Reclaimed Water Pipeline (Stonefield, Inc.)
Project 9 - Hotel in Vista Hills (Hudson Realty)
Project 10 – Customer Support and Training Center (Talon Aircraft)
Project 11 – Manufacturing Plant (SAWE-USA)
Project 12 - Freight House Phase 2B (Nevada Land LLC)
Project 13 – Tessera (No. NV Urban Dev.)
Project 14 – Reno Eco-Energy Park (IMG Energy)
It looks like SK Baseball is going after these funds to assist with Phase 2B of their ballpark, which is the restoration of the old original beige colored Freight House building just north of the ballpark.
Also applying for the bonds is Tessera.
Much like Reno as a whole, the projects above are split into the two areas that seem to parallel Reno's options as a future: tourism-based projects and manufacturing/green projects. It's hard to decide without hearing the presentation for each project. I feel that Reno might gain benefit from the continued pursuit of an eco-energy/industrial park or even Tessera, which plans to built entertainment venues along South Virginia Street across from Circus Circus as part of its first phase of development.
What are your thoughts? Who should be priority one for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds?
UPDATED: Here's a list of Recovery Zone Facility Bond funds by county/city from the United States Treasury. The other bonds (the economic development bonds) are meant for non private use, and was already allocated to UNR to build a medical center and to various local schools for improvements.
These funds should be put into anything that improves energy efficiency or manufacturing. We need to wean our economy off of tourist dollars.