Tuesday, July 18, 2000 | 11 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn says he won't hold individual meetings with proponents and opponents of a proposed $650 million monorail that connects some of the major casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
"I don't have enough time to meet with everybody for and against it," Guinn said Monday at a state Board of Finance meeting.
The board must approve the findings of Sydney Wickliffe, director of the state Department of Business and Industry. On Monday she recommended the issuance of industrial revenue bonds to finance the project but imposed some conditions.
The finance board is tentatively looking at Aug. 17-18 for a hearing on the project.
State Controller Kathy Augustine, a board member, said there should be a legislative-type meeting, giving those for and against the project time to testify. Some board members said they are already getting telephone calls asking for private meetings to present their case.
State Treasurer Brian Krolicki, also a board member, said individuals can hold the private meetings, so long as there are not three board members present. That would violate the open meeting law.
Guinn said there have been open hearings already by Wickliffe who issued her decision Monday. He said the testimony before the finance board, of which he is chairman, should be restricted to the issues already considered. He said it wouldn't be fair to start considering additional evidence.
The Clark County Commission must approve the project before it reaches the finance board.
In her decision Wickliffe noted there's been arguments about the financing of the project and the risk to taxpayers and bondholders. "As has been stated many times before, the financing proposed relies entirely on the project for the repayment," she said.
"There is no legal or oral obligation of the state or Clark County to support the bonds with public funds. All investors will be fully aware of this fact," she said.
Wickliffe said the purchasers of these bonds will either have the protection of bond insurance or will be experienced investors "and will have ample opportunity to assess the financial success of the project and make sure such investments on an informed basis."
Guinn has stressed there is no state guarantee to pay off the bonds if the project runs into financial trouble. He said he wants to ensure that somebody does not lose life savings by investing in the 3.6-mile project that would link the MGM Grand with the Sahara with stops at Bally's-Paris, Flamingo Hilton, Harrah's Imperial Palace, the Las Vegas Convention and the Las Vegas Hilton.
The Public Resources Advisory Group, which has been the advisor to Wickliffe, said it consulted with Moody's Investor Service and Standard & Poor's Corporation, which both said the state does not have a legal or moral obligation to make up the debt payments if the project fails.
Both credit rating agencies said a default by the project would not have a negative impact on the state's general obligation bonds.
The average fare would be $2.50 when the project is expected to start in 2004. Supporters estimate the monorail will generate $48.8 million a year from the fees.
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