Latest hold on Stupak resort vote is surprise to Las Vegas officials

Erin Neff

Friday, May 21, 1999 | 11:56 a.m.

Neither the city clerk nor Las Vegas City Council members have been asked to remove a vote on the proposed Titanic resort from Monday's meeting agenda.

But a fax sent from developer Bob Stupak's number and signed "Titanic Resorts," claims the vote has been held for one month.

"This abeyance has been agreed to by the majority of the City Council members," the faxed statement reads.

Councilman Gary Reese, whose ward encompasses the planned resort, said Stupak has made no such request and has not received any agreement from the council.

City Clerk Barbara Jo "Roni" Ronemus said her office has not received any request to hold the vote. Because the item is already on the agenda to be heard Monday at 2 p.m., the council would have to vote Monday on whether to grant any such request.

The council has the option to go ahead and vote on the issue.

"I've had residents calling my office like crazy," Reese said. "They really want us to vote on it so they don't have to keep coming down here."

Reese said he does not want to hold the item a second time.

Residents of the historic Fifth Place neighborhood adjacent to the planned 1,000-room, ship-shaped resort and iceberg shopping center are just as mad about the supposed delay in the vote as they are about the 280-foot smokestack towers of the planned boat on Las Vegas Boulevard at Park Paseo.

"We're going to have to fight this a long time," resident Jim Mills said. "But it would be nice to get the first step over with and not have this delayed."

The first step is a zoning change request on the land to allow that type of higher-density project. The Planning Commission unanimously denied the change, but city planners are recommending that the council approve it.

The vote on the resort was originally scheduled for May 10. Residents armed with photos of their historic homes and petitions packed the council chambers only to learn that Stupak had requested the item be held for two weeks.

The council granted that extension.

The faxed statement announces that the item will again be held, this time for one month, and explains, "This allows more time to communicate with the neighbors and property owners in order to come to an admirable agreement between all parties."

Residents said Stupak attended a meeting of the John S. Park Neighborhood Association, but refused to answer any of their questions about his planned resort.

Stupak did not return calls seeking comment.

In addition to the Titanic, the council will also be considering the city's fiscal year 2000 budget on Monday -- including a 2 percent property tax increase.

That increase, with proceeds expected to go directly to parks and recreation, amounts to $4.69 on a home with assessed value of $100,0000.

Also on Monday, Councilman Larry Brown will introduce a bill that would change the council's meeting times from the first and third Monday of the month to the first and third Wednesday.

That change is being sought to return the council meetings to their regularly-scheduled time. Councilman Michael McDonald's work schedule had been one of the factors involved in moving the meetings to Monday.

Now that McDonald has resigned from Metro Police, Brown said, the meetings should be moved back.