Eureka County Commission addresses budget, legislation, public safety, and natural resources

At the Feb. 4 Eureka County Commission meeting, Chairman Rich McKay called for a moment of silence in remembrance of recently deceased Eurekans Barbara Dugan, Judge John Schweble, Art Miles and Devin Barton.

County comptroller Kim Todd answered commission questions about expenditures, which included payment for indigent cremations and an indigent funds payment for someone in Crescent Valley to be able to fill portable propane tanks up to $400 a calendar year through a state grant. 

The commission approved expenditures of $5,424,003.20 (including pass throughs to the Nevada Department of Taxation Room Tax and Nevada State Controller’s School Tax of $1,952,060.74) with a total pass through of $2,487,398. This is for two cycles of payroll and tax payments and three accounts payable.

In considering the 2025 Legislative Session, Mike Mears, county assessor, related, “The fun began yesterday” for the 120-day session. Mears said he is concerned about SB116, the Elected Officials Salary Bill, which elected officials are not happy with, and a lobbyist has been hired to address the concerns. The intention was to see elected officials receive a base salary 3 percent above the highest paid employee in their organization.

Mears is also following AJR1, a joint resolution requiring a constitutional change, meaning it would have to pass the legislature twice then go to a vote of the people. The bill would affect abatement at point of sale of a property, which the assessor’s group supports, but it also resets depreciation at the time of sale. Mears noted, “If we start resetting depreciation at the time a property sells, we’re going to create so much inequity around the state with various properties, we just don’t see how it can be constitutional metal, so we’re kind of  pushing back on this one.” 

He said the one part of the bill they support is that it brings back the Senior Tax Rebate Program. Mears said, “That helped a lot of our low-income seniors. They would pay their whole tax bill, and they could apply for a refund of a certain amount of their property taxes each year. We either go to a full market-based valuation system, or we don’t. But we can’t keep adding layers to an already bifurcated difficult valuation system that we have in the state of Nevada.”

Mears chuckled at the priorities for the State of Nevada, noting there is a bill, AB99, which would make pecan punch the state drink.

Mears noted AB8135 just got drafted, which would allow surviving spouses of veterans to take the higher veterans exemption versus the surviving spouse exemption.

Jake Tibbitts, natural resources director, noted the county’s new lobbyist, Caleb Cage, will reach out to departments on issues of importance and has asked department heads with concerns on legislation to contact him directly. 

Tibbitts said it will be “a pretty heavy session on water and natural resource issues.” AB109 would change dissolved mineral mining, lithium and geothermal to “more of a water right process because you’re extracting water. The proposal is receiving “pushback from the geothermal and lithium folks” and could impact Eureka County, which has both lithium reserves and geothermal projects.

The commission considered the unusual request to donate a 2.07-acre property at 565 Fifth Street in Crescent Valley for future public use. Mears noted, “In 28 years I’ve never had a property owner make a request like this.” He explained to the owner that if the property taxes aren’t paid after three years, the county will own the land and likely sell it.

The property has no improvements on it and is a large vacant lot. Determining it was more cost-effective to accept the property donation than go through the delinquent property tax process, the commission approved accepting the donation. 

In reviewing the list of tax delinquent properties held in trust by the treasurer and soon to be offered for sale to the public, Eureka County Public Works recommended keeping a property in the Pioneer Pass area for use as a gravel pit and another in Beowawe for the water rights. In addition, Mears recommended removing seven properties owned by Nevelco, a subdivision to the southeast of Crescent Valley sitting in alkali flats. It is an undeveloped subdivision, with parcels that are not marketable. He said people purchase them online and then call and want a physical address assigned to them but the properties aren’t reachable. Mears said, “I wouldn’t drive that road again if you paid me.” He sees sales of the property as a potential liability. He suggested the county start absorbing the parcels to take them off the tax rolls. The county’s typical buyers don’t want to touch them. Mears said they were advertised as lakefront property with “beautiful Crescent Lake” though it’s actually a flood plain with designated roads often underwater. 

The commission approved the tax delinquent property list with the modification of the county’s retention of the Pioneer Pass and Beowawe parcels and approved removing the Nevelco properties from the Delinquent Properties sale list. 

Miles Umina, who is 90 days in as acting sheriff, thanked Kim Todd for help with the budget. He thanked Public Works for upgrades to the office and for coming up with a game plan involving moving patrol and sergeants around and figuring out how to create an office for a detective and an interview room. Bulletproof material and a window are being installed.

Umina related that in December there were 1,309 calls for service with 30 cases generated and 3 separate arrests, all for domestic battery. In January there were 1,240 calls with 31 cases generated with 3 sheriff’s office arrests and 1 NHP arrest. One arrest involved a drunk driver on I-80 who made it to Hwy 306, where a Eureka sergeant located the driver in a Lander County section of the road. 

Umina related January saw one arrest for burglary, domestic battery and an NHP arrest for vehicular manslaughter. He said the majority of the cases generated have been in Crescent Valley.

Umina commended Undersheriff Thomas who, on Jan. 29, entered his neighbor’s burning house and was able to contain the fire until the Carlin Fire Department arrived.

On Feb. 1, the sheriff’s office was notified of a missing 59-year-old man who had been out rabbit hunting. Deputies as well as Diamond Valley Fire went out on the Pony Express Trail off Hwy 278 and encountered heavy fog and deep mud. They walked 12 miles and, at 11 p.m., located the missing person and had him evaluated by EMS. Umina commended everyone involved in the rescue. 

Umina and staff members came up with a mission statement for vision and values, stating in part that “In partnership with the community, we endeavor to operate a sheriff’s office with a focus on preventing and investigating crime in a moral, ethical and legal manner.”

Asked about traffic control, Umina said, “We need to get out there a lot more and start hitting the pavement quite a bit more” especially with NHP staffing down 57 percent. Umina is working with NDOT to determine the best place to put the four highway speed signs with billboards, including one at the entrance to I-80 in Crescent Valley. 

He said the schedule within the sheriff’s office needs to be adjusted so inmates can be held in Eureka for 24 to 48 hours. If held longer, they need to be sent to White Pine. Currently, two inmates are in Lander County and two are in extended stay in White Pine.

The sheriff’s office currently has three openings in the north end of the county and after April 1 will have one opening in the south. 

Public Works Director Jeb Rowley related they have been concentrating on road maintenance agreements with the mines. The road crew has been crack sealing at the airport. An x-ray machine is being installed at the clinic around April 21. Well 2 repairs are complete and the well is being brought back online. Buildings and Grounds has been finishing projects at the sheriff’s office and stripping and varnishing park benches. 

An Emergency Services Roundtable will take place Feb. 25 between the sheriff’s office, EMS and Fire, reviewing coordination across the departments and radio upgrade implementation.

The preliminary water report for the Water Master Plan will be presented with additional proposals for the Kobeh Valley Water transmission line Feb. 18. The proposal is at 30 percent design stage, including further design out to 60 and 90 percent, including the drilling exploration program. The proposal will be reviewed for how to utilize the remaining $2.5 million design grant funds.

Rowley noted a generous donation from McCuin Mining for technical rescue equipment to be distributed to fire and EMS. It includes tactical gear such as ropes, harnesses, tripods, mod pods and retrieval equipment.

Asked what impact Eureka County could see from federal funding delays, Rowley said he doesn’t foresee impacts on the recovery from the flooding but does expect impacts on energy initiatives that cover the opera house and courthouse energy efficiency grants.

One of the things on pause is any project with connection to renewable energy, including solar and geothermal, which fall under the umbrella of renewable energy. Tibbitts said the greater sage grouse effort is also impacted. The Public Lands Rule allowing parties to place public lands on conservation leases is on pause. 

Tibbitts said there have been two notices from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada for the two solar projects on private land in Diamond Valley and that process is continuing through the state public utilities process. Both need a right of way to connect to transmission lines. 

Tibbitts said, “Just this week I got an email inviting county participation in the NEPA kick-off meeting for the Mountain Solar Project.” Tibbitts said the Battle Mountain BLM “doesn’t feel that they need to pause continuing NEPA on that continuing project.” 

The TS Power Plant is being transitioned from gas to renewables.

Tibbitts is going to present to the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee Feb. 5 on how to work with federal agencies.

He will attend the Sage Grouse Ecosystem Council meeting Feb. 7, the Crescent Valley Firewise meeting Feb. 12, the Diamond Valley Road District meeting and the Eureka Conservation District meeting Feb. 13, the Nevada Gold Community Development meeting Feb. 14 and the Natural Resources Advisory Committee meeting on the 18th.

The commission conducted budget reviews with County Comptroller Todd and all department heads related to tentative 2025-2026 budgets, which are due to the Department of Taxation by April 15. All budgets are subject to revision before adoption of the final budget, which is due by June 1.

In considering current tax rates and proposed changes to the tax rate, which must be submitted to the Nevada Department of Taxation by Feb. 21, the commissioners were advised by Todd to increase the rate for the Building Maintenance Fund up to three cents as monies are needed to supplement necessary repairs and maintenance. Todd also recommended an increase to the Future Reserve, which is presently set at a tax rate of .0005. 

Todd reported that the Current General Fund Balance is $32,204,857 and the current Estimated Assessed Value is $846,767,099. Mears said the assessed value is “based on the actual value, which is a combination of value on the secured and unsecured roll and does not include mine net proceeds but is strictly property improvements and land values.”

The commission motioned to not increase taxes and approved the suggested reallocation from the General Fund to the Building Maintenance and Future Reserve Funds.

Key projects tentatively considered for capital outlay in Fiscal Year 2025-2026 include:

• Ambulance Service state radio upgrade – $100,000
• Commissioner miscellaneous equipment – $1.5 million
• IT fiber optic rollover – $190,000
• Buildings & Grounds/Public Works painting the senior center – $40,000 
• Pool resurfacing and deck replacement – $120,000 and $110,000 respectively
• Backhoe for Buildings and Grounds – $420,000
• 911 system for the sheriff’s office – $298,000
• Snow plow and dump truck for Public Works – $400,00
• Pave Airport Avenue and 8th Street in Crescent Valley – $2.8 million
• Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue side by side and trailer for the North End – $60,000
• Fire equipment – $10,000
• Water Mitigation Fund for the Beowawe and Ramona Well – $2.1 million (grant from the state)
• Enclosed cargo trailer for the Crescent Valley Town Board – water improvements, $75,000 just in case
• Water tank painting (which will require a transfer from the General Fund) – $800,000
• Devils Gate repairs – $75,000 

The TV District Budget has not yet been received. 

The commission approved:

A resolution recognizing Maureen Garner for her many years of service to Eureka County;

A waiver of the rental fee for the opera house for the memorial service of the Honorable Judge John Schweble, an 18-year employee of Eureka County;

A resolution recognizing Kenny Sanders for his many years of service to Eureka County;

A proclamation declaring February 2025 “National Radon Action Month in Nevada;

Quote #25-01-10 Switch Upgrade with mGig core and purchase of replacement networking equipment in Eureka and Crescent Valley for an amount not to exceed $145,833.76, utilizing funds budgeted for capital outlay in the Technology Support budget;

A temporary credit limit increase on the county purchasing card issued to Inna Davila in the amount of $1,500 ($2,000 total) for February and March for the purchase of dance program supplies;

A temporary credit limit increase on the county purchasing card issued to Steve Zimmerman in the amount of $1,500 for February and March for the purchase of dance program supplies and an additional $7,000 for March to cover expenses for the annual high school ski trip;

An advanced step hire for the candidate for the Deputy III position at a range 12/step 22 ($39.0) on the Eureka Law Enforcement pay scale;

Ratifying the Indigent Defense Financial Status Report for Quarter 2;

Proposal #16020 from Total Security Solutions for purchase of a ballistic transaction window and ballistic opaque tiles to be installed in the Eureka Justice Facility for an amount not to exceed $18,000, utilizing funds budgeted for capital outlay in the sheriff’s office budget;

The Nevada Division of Water Resources Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget for the assessment to be collected by Eureka County on behalf of the Division for Necessary Expenses related to supervision over the distribution of water of the Humboldt River as decreed;

A resolution approving membership of Mineral County to the Central Nevada Regional Water Authority (CNRWA) and amending the Interlocal Cooperative Agreement Establishing the CNRWA;

2024 Certification of Expenditure of Title III funds received through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act;

A support letter for a federal appropriations request for assistance in establishing an agrivoltaics center at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Great Basin Research and Extension Center;

Out-of-state travel for the natural resources manager to attend the National Association of Conservation Districts’ annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 10-12. Tibbitts chairs the NACD Public Lands Subcommittee and is the NACD Nevada Board member. All expenses for travel, lodging, meals and per diem will be paid by the Nevada Association of Conservation Districts.