At the regular meeting of the Winnemucca City Council on Feb. 6 (with all members present):
• The Council voted unanimously to keep the property tax rate the same for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
According to City Manager Alicia Heiser, the rate is evaluated each year in February and submitted to the State of Nevada Department of Taxation, but the rate for the city of Winnemucca has not changed in decades.
• The Council approved a proposal from Design Workshop for the design of the Downtown Streetscape project. The City previously allocated $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project and will use approximately $80,000 for the design services.
The design will be added to the City’s masterplan, helping jumpstart the project and be utilized as a directive for other stakeholders when evaluating projects for the city, such as lights, art, vegetation, etc. downtown.
According to Design Workshop, they will be “providing ideas for Bridge Street
from 1st Street to 5th Street as well as connectivity to the adjacent street of Melarkey and Baud Streets.”
• The Council approved a proposal to upgrade the SCADA radio system, used to monitor controls for the city’s sewer and water systems, to operate within a different frequency.
According to City officials, the SCADA system operates on the same frequency as all of the local internet providers, which interferes with the system and bumps it offline, triggering many false alarms, day and night, that city employees must fix on-site.
The upgrades will help the system stay online and operate properly. Heiser explained that the system will operate the same as and there will be no need for City employees to learn a new system.
• Heiser updated the Council about the design of a new municipal swimming pool, noting that the KNIT, the design firm for the project, has put together the first renderings for a floor plan and will be presenting them at a public meeting in the coming months.
The latest floor plan includes two separate pools within the facility, one for more competitive swimming, like competitions and laps, and another with an area for leisure swim and family play. The facility will also have space for spectators, adequate locker rooms and a sleek exterior.