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Various Tidbits

- Tuesday Redevelopment Advisory Board Meeting

This is a fairly packed agenda, with a presentation on the Truckee River Flood Control Project, presumably the portion in the Redevelopment District. Also on tap: Presentation of the RTC BRT Station Development Project, Overview of the East Fourth Street Planning Charette, Direction of use for leftover ReTRAC Enhancement Funds, and Update and Discussion on the Golden Eagle Land Exchange in northeast downtown.

- Wednesday City Council Meeting - Possible Downtown Alcohol Advisory Committee

Some interesting tidbits here: Discussion regarding the creation of a Downtown Alcohol Advisory Committee to Review Proposals regarding Alcohol related issues. According to the staff report, "Lately, the City has received numerous complaints from citizens regarding the number of alcohol related businesses in the downtown core that diminish the quality of life for residents. Several issues have been raised by citizens, including but not limited to noise, fights, public intoxication, violence, damage to property, litter and graffiti. These issues continue to create a significant drain on City services. The City is committed to balancing the safety and welfare of the residents in the downtown area with the vitality for business owners. The intent of this proposal is to create a stakeholders advisory committee to act as an advisory board on alcohol related issues as they impact the downtown area within the confines of the existing downtown tax assessment district or area defined by City Council."
There are three options City staff came up with to create this committee comprised of stakeholders.They would provide recommendations to the City Council on how to deal with licensed alcohol businesses that serve and sell alcohol, and balance our entertainment district with the residents who live downtown.
Here's the details on the proposed structure of the group, regardless which option is selected.

  • a) The Committee shall consist of nine voting members.
  • b) The committee shall submit an interim report no later than three months from the date of its first official meeting to the City Council. It shall submit a final report of recommendations no later than six months from its first official meeting to the City Council.
  • c) Candidate names for membership on the Committee shall be solicited by the City Clerk's Office. Those candidate names received shall be submitted by the City Clerk's Office to the City Council for selection.
  • d) Members of the Committee shall meet and select their Chairperson, vice-chairperson and secretary.
  • e) Any vacancy on the Committee shall be filled by appointment from the City Council.
  • f) All meetings of the Committee, whether regular or special, shall be open to the public and the Committee shall comply with applicable provisions of NRS Chapter 241, Nevada Open Meeting Law. A quorum shall consist of five voting members of the Committee at the time of the meeting. Whenever a quorum shall attend any meeting of the Committee, the concurrence of a majority of voting Committee members present at such meeting shall be necessary to constitute an act of the Committee.
  • g) The Committee shall be supplied such support services by the City as may be deemed necessary by the City Manager.

Here are the options the staff report outlines

Option 1 – Create a Downtown Alcohol Advisory Committee (DAAC)
The DAAC would consist of the following Stakeholders: Two (2) voting Police Special Assessment District Advisory Committee members, Two (2) voting Business Owners, Two (2) voting Cabaret Licensed Business Owners, Two (2) voting Residents of the Special Assessment District, and One (1) voting member at large.
The open meeting law, as referenced above, applies to this option.

Option 2 – Create a Sub-Committee to the existing Downtown Improvement Association (DIA)
This sub-committee would utilize an existing, active downtown merchant group that currently is comprised of stakeholders from the Downtown Improvement Association, and would follow the listed perimeters of Option One. The open meeting law, as referenced above, applies to this option.
This committee would not report directly to City Council; it would report back as a sub-committee to its originating committee.

Option 3 – Direct the existing Downtown Police Special Assessment District Advisory Board or the Compliance Review Group to create a stakeholders sub-committee under the existing Board(s) to review proposals regarding alcohol licensing and other related alcohol issues. This sub-committee would utilize an existing, active Board that currently is comprised of businesses and residents in the downtown special assessment district. This sub-committee would follow the listed perimeters of Option 1.
The open meeting law, as referenced above, applies to this option. This committee would not report directly to City Council; it would report back as a sub-committee to its originating committee.

Comments:

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Posted by: Anakin-Marc - 11/29/2009 9:58:09 PM
Is the Golden Eagle Land Exchange the same project as Tessera, or are these two different projects?

Posted by: lakescrossing - 11/30/2009 12:11:10 PM
If you've lived downtown for a while, it is actually safer down there, and there were just as many drunkards swaggering out of all the casinos, Comstock, Ed's Fab 50's, Harold's, Fitz, yeah, they're all closed now. You count the number of bars in these casinos that closed and compare them to the number of new bars that have opened in the last four years and I think they're about the same. If you just moved downtown, I think you're just angry that you bought a $300K 1 bedroom condo that's worth $150K now and that's what's keeping you awake not the party people. There have always been loud, party, drunks in Reno at all times of the night. You should have figured that out before moving downtown. Trust me, it is safer now downtown. Quit beating up on the bars and clubs, they bring life to downtown and they go belly up, the vagrants, drug dealers, and drug addicts will return, squatting and shooting drugs in empty buildings. Hmmm, loud party girls or armed drug users and dealers? Your choice. Imagine downtown Reno minus all the new bars and clubs that have opened in the last four years. With all the closed casinos, downtown would be a ghost town. Give the bars and clubs a break and enforce existing laws against the few bars that create 70% of the problems.