Ethics complaint hits three BC leaders

Rachael Levy

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

A Boulder City attorney has filed a complaint with the Nevada Ethics Commission against two City Council members and the mayor over their approval of a regional dump and a power plant 17 miles south of town.

Hamilton Moore, who unsuccessfully ran for a City Council seat in the May 6 primary, accused council members Iris Bletsch and Bob Ferraro and Mayor Eric Lundgaard of supporting the projects without disclosing conflicts of interest.

The Ethics Commission, comprised of six appointed members, will decide whether to investigate the complaint May 30.

"I want to put an end to what appears to be a woeful disregard to the ethics rules by the Boulder City Council," Moore said Monday. "Who knows how the votes would have gone had this disclosure occurred when the (issues) came up."

But Lundgaard said the complaint was thinly veiled political mudslinging and City Attorney Bill Andrews called Moore's filing "absurd."

"Frankly, Hamilton will continue to raise any issue he can," Bletsch said. "I think this is just another frivolous balloon. ... It's a reach."

Andrews said the complaint addressed "indirect" connections the council members had with three companies the city does business with, El Dorado LLC, Nevada Recycling and Boulder City Disposal.

"They're not ethics violations," Andrews said.

But Moore said the council members' and mayor's actions during the 3-2 vote for the construction of a regional landfill and unanimous approval of a natural gas power plant, both in the Eldorado Valley, broke statutes.

The allegations are:

* Bletsch -- The councilwoman and owner of Big John's and Sons Auto Wrecking is accused of failing to disclose a business relationship with Nevada Recycling and Boulder City Disposal while voting on garbage rates and approving the regional landfill.

Bletsch, who is retiring as a council member, is accused of not disclosing before voting in favor of the landfill that her wrecking yard has received $20,000 from Nevada Recycling over the past four years.

Moore also accused the councilwoman of failing to disclose ownership of stock in Enova Corp., the parent company of El Dorado LLC, which plans to build the power plant, before voting on the issue.

But Beltsch said she disclosed her ownership of a "small amount" of Enova stock before casting her vote. Monday, Bletsch said she has 200 shares out of millions of outstanding stock.

"It absolutely would not color my vote," she said.

* Lundgaard -- The mayor is accused of opposing a regional dump while working for the Yucca Mountain Project, which aims at storing the nation's nuclear waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Moore questioned the ethics of supporting a nuclear dump while opposing one in the city. Lundgaard, who is running for re-election, said he voted in favor of the regional landfill.

"I don't know what one has to do with the other," Lundgaard said. "This is blatant politics."

* Ferraro -- The councilman voted in favor of the power plant, but is accused of failing to disclose that his son worked for R&R Advertising Co., the public relations firm which handled El Dorado LLC's publicity.

R&R Advertising said Ferraro's son, Greg, was vice president of the company's Reno-Carson City and Washington, D.C., offices. A company spokesman said Greg Ferraro has not worked on the power plant issue.

Ferraro is confident his actions will withstand the scrutiny of the Ethics Commission. The councilman said he followed the city attorney's advice, which recently was reviewed by a District Court judge.