Crescent Valley board addresses fire dept., power issues and community services

The Crescent Valley Town Advisory Board convened on July 2, 2025, addressing a range of community concerns and updates. Key discussions included the Crescent Valley Volunteer Fire Department’s potential new members and upcoming training, a review of the recent “Fun Day” event, and a discussion regarding NV Energy’s transformer upgrade policies and perceived billing inconsistencies. Additionally, the board touched upon ongoing issues with firefighter physical billing, trash pickup service complaints, and updates on local law enforcement efforts, including the deployment of new speed signs and the hiring of a new deputy. The meeting also featured updates from the Crescent Valley Medical Advisory Committee, including changes in EMT staffing and the library’s new Saturday hours.

Vice Chair Jeremy Rice, who is also the Crescent Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief, reported at the Crescent Valley Town Advisory Board meeting, “I have possibly two new members.” There was no extrication class held June 20, but there will be two classes held July 25 and 26. Rice said, “We’re doing good” with new equipment coming.

Reviewing the Crescent Valley Fun Day held on June 21, Rice said, “I’ve never seen that park get cleared out so fast” when the winds came. After discussing how to be prepared in future years for such a freak event, member Laura Shivers said, “Nobody was mad. Nobody was upset,” and everyone got to eat lunch before the winds hit.

In considering writing a letter to NV Energy about frequent power outages, secretary Christine Tucker said, “If you give me a general idea of what you want the letter to say, I will write it up.”

Rather than addressing power outages, Dale Kersey said, “They’re making everybody that puts any power in here buy the upgraded transformer. You can’t do anything on a piece of property, add power to a property, without having to pay for a new transformer: $12,000 and up.” He noted, “Say I have a transformer; I put one in for my shop. Two more people come in. I don’t get any of that money back.”

Shivers said, “They’ve been saying you get credit.”

Kersey said, “You don’t get a dime back. They tell you that, but you never see a dime of it.”

Shivers said, “I want three hook-ups. I want three meters so that no stranger can hook up.”

Kersey said, “Every place else I’ve ever been in the country, if I pay to have one put in, I still don’t own it. The next guy comes in and hooks to it, I get a third of it back. The next guy comes in and hooks up to it; I get another third of it back. May stretch out for a while. Maybe never. Here they don’t do that.”

Rice said he received a $1,500 credit when someone moved onto his property.

Kersey said, “They pick and choose. The other thing they don’t tell you when they come out and do a site survey…you apply for it and you pay your money. ‘Oh, by the way, because it’s this time of year it gets knocked down to almost nothing.’ But they don’t tell you that. There’s no information that comes from that place at all. And they won’t tell you until after you’ve done your deposit.”

Shivers said, “We asked about it when they did the site survey, and we paid the deposit, and we asked when they sent us the proposed contract…But we gave them our deposit, and they kept the deposit, and we had sent all emails and calls and never received a response.”

Kim Sewell noted that Rick and Rachel Harding “upgraded their transformer,” and she didn’t know who footed the bill.

Shivers said, “He did.”

Sewell said, “And that benefitted the entire block.”

“He paid the money, and nobody gets any benefit out of it,” Dale Kersey said. “It’s unbelievable how wishy-washy it is.”

“And the bad thing is, all the transformers are outdated,” Sewell said.

Rice motioned to generate a letter to send to NV Energy. 

In reviewing the commission meeting of July 1, Shivers brought up the problem that Commissioner Marty Plaskett raised over his fire department physical being billed to his personal account. Public Works Director Jeb Rowley, attending the meeting remotely, related, “I need to add some context to this. The physical is specifically a fire physical for what the county does: we pay for the physicals for the firefighters. Marty serves on the Diamond Valley Fire Department, and for anybody else. And it’s been an issue, and we’ve definitely run into bumping heads with ‘has this been corrected?’ No, it’s not. They assigned it to his personal account like it’s his bill, but it’s the county’s obligation to pay for these physicals for the volunteer firefighters, and that is largely what the issue is with this.” 

Rowley told Commissioner Plaskett not to pay it and noted multiple firefighters using William Bee Ririe are having their bills mixed up. Rowley said, “They’re all billing issues. As far as fire physicals go, that’s an issue specific to anybody that may have that done at William Bee Ririe.” 

Public Works Director Rowley said, “I’m bad enough managing my own invoices,” and “it’s an extra layer of frustration with trying to manage physicals for health care. Their screens say, ‘This has been corrected. What else can we do?’” 

During public comment, Kersey complained that “our trash pickup people won’t answer the fricking phone to deal with charging too much, charging too many dumpsters, charging people that aren’t there. They won’t deal with it.” He said if you leave a message, they won’t call you back, “But by God, if you miss a payment, they’re going to come take your dumpster and dump it on the ground.”

Rowley said Olcese Waste, which is in a franchising agreement with Eureka County, has new billing software that will go live on July 14. Rowley said he would communicate with Olcese to make sure there is a good number to address billing issues. Diana Kersey confirmed Olcese is charging them for two containers when there is only one. 

Deputy Nick Collins related that speed signs will be put at “both ends of town on 306” and will be placed “just after the 25 sign” to show current speed. The information will be shared with Nevada Gold. Collins said the biggest challenge in traffic enforcement is when drivers “take their foot off the accelerator and they kind of coast.” Collins said speeding usually happens at “odd hours.” He also affirmed that they will be patrolling the JD Ranch Road and requested that anyone who experiences issues on JD Road please call the Sheriff’s Office.

He confirmed the new deputy hired for Crescent Valley will be going to the POST Academy for 19 weeks. There are now six deputies in Crescent Valley. 

Kim Sewell, librarian and Crescent Valley Medical Advisory Committee Chair, invited everyone to take advantage of the new Saturday hours at the library and praised the deputies for coming in to help with story time, which helps the children since “some of these kids don’t have a good impression of law enforcement,”

Sewell noted the CVMAC will meet July 15 at 5 p.m. on the same day as the county commission meeting. Interviews are underway for the EMT position. With Adam Barron’s resignation and final day, July 11, “We will probably have MedEx come in and cover,” with full-time EMT Brent Jones continuing, “so we’ll still have coverage.” 

Shivers asked whether Medical Services Director Nicole Cooley will be attending the CVMAC meeting, and Sewell said she informed the director and hoped she would be attending. 

The Crescent Valley Town Advisory Board approved the Agenda Notice and tabled approval of the minutes of June 18, 2025.