More than 25 people questioned county and state lawmakers on a variety of issues at Saturday's Grass Valley Town Hall meeting. Topics ranged from road maintenance and code enforcement to the quality of public education and the federal lands debate.
Members of the Grass Valley Advisory Board took turns grilling officials during the open discussion with State Assemblyman Ira Hansen, Pershing County Commissioners Carol Shank and Pat Irwin, District Attorney Jim Shirley, Sheriff Richard Machado and Landfill Supervisor Mitch Nielsen.
Competing candidates for the seats of district court judge and county sheriff shook hands and slapped backs during a barbecue hosted by the Grass Valley Volunteer Fire Department.
County officials assured the audience they're stepping up code enforcement in response to complaints of debris, structures, vehicles and other private property considered eyesores by residents. At a recent County Commission meeting, emotions ran high during a public hearing over a nuisance complaint.
"There are about 15 or 20 nuisance cases the building department and the code enforcer are looking at," Shank said. "Eventually, if nothing is done, those cases will come before the commission. We'll have nuisance hearings and people will be forced to clean up their properties."
The Grass Valley transfer station sometimes overflows with more trash than Lovelock residents produce, according to Nielsen. Residents blame nearby Humboldt County residents for bringing their trash across the county line. He proposed a "host program" for site security and a recycling program.
"I've been pushing the recycling program to eliminate waste," he said. "Based on assurance bonds and engineering costs, expansion of our 43-acre landfill would cost the county roughly $155,000 per acre."
County officials told Grass Valley residents the county may assume responsibility for some private roads that have deteriorated into public safety hazards.
"We can't be losing sight of a fire truck or an ambulance down inside of a pothole," Irwin said. "It is getting that bad but we need to make sure that we're not exceeding our (legal) bounds as well."
A resident asked Hansen why the state's public school system has been ranked lowest in the nation.
"It isn't about money, it isn't lousy teachers - it's something I don't know if you can legislate," Hansen said. "The key to education is two parents raising kids. There's a huge explosion of single people trying to raise families with an 80 percent illegitimacy rate among blacks, 50 percent among Hispanics and now almost 30 percent among whites."
Hansen said he sees a moral disconnect between anti-drug education programs and recent state legislation supporting the "anything goes" Burning Man in Pershing County. Hansen said he fought for county control of the event and said it should provide greater local economic benefits.
"If you want to run around in the desert naked and smoke dope, go to Burning Man," he said. "You're talking a $30 to $50 million enterprise that should be contributing substantial amounts to the county."
Federal public land management such as reduction of livestock grazing has caused an explosion of cheat grass, massive wildfires and reduced sage grouse habitat in Nevada, Hansen said. He believes public lands and sage grouse habitat would be better managed by state and local agencies.
"The best thing we could do is expand grazing and give the state much more control over the public lands with more input from the local communities," he said. "I think the sage grouse will be listed (as an endangered species) and I hope the state gets very aggressive and sues the federal government."
Irwin, also president of the Nevada Association of Counties, said the NACO lawsuit recently filed against the Bureau of Land Management over excessive wild horses may be followed up with more litigation if the sage grouse is listed as an endangered species in 2015.
"We are the people that own and manage the land so much better than the federal government," he said.
"To keep wells pumping for the wild horses to increase those numbers is ridiculous and has put several ranchers out of business. We're going to continue that fight and the sage grouse issue is on our list."
A candidate night is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, April 28 at the Grass Valley Community Center.[[In-content Ad]]
