Boulder City to get new mayor, right to OK city land sales

Wednesday, June 4, 1997 | 10:33 a.m.

Boulder City will have a new mayor, and that person and the new council members won't be allowed to sell more than an acre of city land without voter approval.

Both changes resulted from Tuesday's general election, as Eric Lundgaard, a 12-year veteran of the council in his second term as mayor, was soundly defeated and a charter amendment question restricting the sale of city land passed overwhelmingly.

That's just fine with businessman Bill Smith and retail clerk and disc jockey Michael Pacini, who were selected as councilmen from a field of four candidates. They supported the land sale measure.

Smith, 71, who won the May primary, got about one-third of the votes. Pacini, 29, who finished second last month, got a little more than a quarter of the votes. They will join a five-member council that will choose the town's new mayor from among its members.

Darryl Martin, 49, a computer-software designer who placed fourth in the primary, collected just under a quarter of the votes for third place in the general election.

Lundgaard, 44, a program analyst who finished third in the primary, got slightly more than 15 percent of the vote to finish last.

Lundgaard had angered voters over his support for using 240 acres of Eldorado Valley annexation for a new garbage dump.

His turnabout on that issue days before the election apparently did little to help his chances of getting re-elected. The other three candidates had long been in opposition to the dump that has created a great stir in Boulder City.

Another hot issue was Charter Amendment Question No. 2, which asked voters whether they wanted to require city land sales greater than one acre to be voter approved.

Opponents such as Lundgaard said the measure could hamper the city from making major capital improvements. In the last 10 years, about $7 million in land sales have gone to fund capital projects.

Supporters of the measure, including the three others in the race, said it would give residents more say in controlling growth. Boulder City has long operated under a strict controlled growth ordinance.

About two of three voters cast ballots in favor of the question.

Capital Improvement Question No. 1 asked voters to provide funding for a $250,000 fire pumper. It passed overwhelmingly with nearly four of five voters marking yes on their ballots.

Charter Amendment Question No. 1 asked voters to extend the city limits to include the Eldorado Valley land that was annexed in 1995 -- a housekeeping measure. It received more than eight votes for every 10 cast.