NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Fred Couzens/VIEWSouthwest Gas Co. crews work on replacing a natural gas line beside U.S. Highway 95 at Railroad Pass. Fred Couzens/VIEWSouthwest Gas Co. crews work on replacing a natural gas line beside U.S. Highway 95 at Railroad Pass. Above, Boulder Dam Brewing Co. owner Toby Cook, right, talks over the damage his brewpub sustained with building co-occupant Jill Lagan of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. Left, 5-year-old Jared Benson, left, and 6-year-old Spencer Torgesen discover the hill outside the Bureau of Reclamation building on Park Place is a great place for sledding. photos by Fred Couzens/VIEW Advertisement

SOUTHWEST GAS REPLACES PIPING ALONGSIDE HIGHWAY

Motorists driving through Railroad Pass in recent weeks saw workers replacing a 10-inch natural gas transmission line on the west side of U.S. Highway 95, according to a spokesperson for Southwest Gas Corp.

The project, which is changing out 11/2 miles of old pipe, is due to wrap up in mid-January, the company said.

The spokesperson for Southwest Gas said the start and finishing points of major transmission line work such as this one could not be released because of homeland security reasons.

MUNICIPAL COURT OFFERS WARRANT AMNESTY PROGRAM

Anyone with a bench warrant issued by the Boulder City Municipal Court can come into the court clerk's office between now and Feb. 5 without fear of being arrested and taken to jail, court officials said.

Judge Victor Miller recently announced the program, which allows those with a warrant to have the $200 warrant fee waived, provided they pay in full at the time of their visit the full balance owed for their traffic offense(s).

Payment at the court, 501 Avenue G, can be made with cash, money order, cashier's check, personal check or with any of three major credit cards -- Visa, MasterCard or Discover.

For more information, call the court at 293-9278.

HOTEL TRIMMING NUMBER OF MUSEUM GIFT SHOP EMPLOYEES

Dec. 27 will be the last day of work for the Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum employees working in the gift shop.

Paid staff is being replaced by volunteers in a cost-cutting move. A reduction in the number of museum visitors is the cause for the layoffs, museum officials said.

Gift shop hours will remain the same, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, unless circumstances cause them to be changed, officials said.

For more information on the museum, call 294-1988.

COUNCIL CREATES NEW SOLAR DEVELOPMENT-ZONED AREAS

By unanimous 5-0 votes, the City Council Dec. 9 amended requests related to the 2009 Land Management Plan that could create a zone for solar energy development more than twice the size of the current Energy Zone in the southern part of Eldorado Valley.

In separate motions, the council OK'd a change to a previously approved NextLight Renewable Power LLC request for 3,200 acres north of the Eldorado Dry Lake by carving out 1,130 acres, making the request 2,070 acres and also added another 2,400 nearby acres.

San Francicso-based NextLight's total 4,470 acres, coupled with another 2,095 acres identified for solar use located between the south end of the dry lake bed and the current Energy Zone, makes a total of more than 6,500 acres available for solar projects.

Another request of 40 acres for new arenas and other improvements at the horse corrals was withdrawn by the Boulder City Horseman's Association after vigorous homeowner opposition and a pair of unanimous negative votes from the Planning Commission Nov. 19.

PROPOSED CITY LAND SALE DELAYED FOR A PUBLIC HEARING

The City Council will reintroduce a measure next month to consider selling a sliver of city-owned land along Buchanan Boulevard south of Nevada Way to CVS Pharmacy after a public hearing is scheduled.

Typically, with a lot line adjustment no notification of adjacent property owners is required; however, because the land for sale abuts another property -- the mobile home park to the south owned by the Thompson Family Trust -- the hearing becomes necessary.

The city also has received an unsolicited counteroffer for the property by Boulder City resident Bill Smith at more than $131,000, which is $46,000 more than the CVS offer of $85,000.

COUNCIL UPHOLDS PRICE OF $10 PER SQUARE FOOT FOR PROPERTY

Boulder City residents Dan and Pari Blackman said they think the city is being unfair for demanding $10 a square foot for almost 2,400 square feet of city-owned land that makes a steep drop into a drainage channel behind their home at 888 Fire Agate Drive. The couple requested buying the land upon learning that a fence behind their backyard actually sits on city-owned property.

The couple claim an appraisal that expired only two months ago set the fair value of the land at $6,000, not the $23,550 the city is asking.

City Manager Vicki Mayes told the council Dec. 9 that the going rate for lot line adjustment land is $10 per square foot and lot acreage is selling for $30 per square foot.

The City Council upheld the $10 per square foot sales price.

CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC ART PURCHASE DELAYED TO JANUARY

Noting this might not be an appropriate time to buy public art since there are many people going hungry, the City Council shelved a $50,000 contract to buy a bronze sculpture with Redevelopment Agency funds until the matter could be heard at the January Redevelopment Agency meeting.

Council members said they wanted to revisit a previous Redevelopment Agency decision to spend $60,000 a year for five years for the city's public art program.

The latest public art piece, "Puddler's Lunch Break" by Sutton Betti of Loveland, Colo., would be the third installment of $60,000 allocations to the public art program.

The sculpture, according to the professional services agreement, was supposed to have been completed and installed by May 5, but that date will be pushed back at least six weeks if the purchase is approved at the Jan. 13 Redevelopment Agency meeting.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FILING FEES INCREASE 50 PERCENT

Candidates wanting to run in next year's municipal election for one of the two seats up for grabs will have to shell out more cash to get their names on the ballot.

The City Council Dec. 9 voted 3-2 to increase the candidate filing fee to $75, which is $25 more than the current $50 charge that went into effect in 2003.

Council members Travis Chandler and Linda Strickland opposed the measure.

REPUBLICAN WOMEN GROUP INSTALLS NEW OFFICERS FOR 2009

Meeting at the Railroad Pass Banquet Room Dec. 13, the Boulder City Republican Women's Club installed new officers for the coming year, including Maraya Evans as president.

Other officers installed by Kay Butchko, southern director of the Nevada Federation of Republican Women, included Norma Barth as first vice president, Julieanne Miller as second vice president, Vicki Keller as recording secretary, Karen Keller as corresponding secretary and Sue Mazzola as treasurer.

HEAVY SNOWFALL BLANKETS CITY, CAUSES DAMAGE TO BREWPUB

For more than 10 hours on Dec. 17 and 18, a record-setting snowstorm dumped anywhere from five to eight inches of the powdery stuff on Boulder City, causing significant damage to the Boulder Dam Brewing Co.'s patio area.

The brewpub sustained more than $10,000 in damages when a snow-laden African sumac tree crashed onto a wooden pole used to hold up part of the screening system on the brewery's patio sometime during the early evening hours of Dec. 17.

"It was a chain reaction," said Toby Cook, owner of the brewub. "The tree fell on the post and then, because these are pine posts, they started snapping like toothpicks. We were going to prune the tree, but we never got to it."

There were no injuries at the brewpub, which had closed early following a staff Christmas party.

Cook said the patio will be repaired and the wooden posts will be replaced with steel posts, but the work won't be done until late spring when the weather becomes suitable for patio dining.

Elsewhere around town, the Big Horn Restaurant at 1300 Arizona St. suffered minor interior water damage from melting snow on the roof that leaked into the building.

U.S. Highway 95 from Railroad Pass to Highway 163, the Laughlin cutoff, was closed early on the afternoon of Dec. 17 and reopened the following morning.