New deal for college land called ‘a pretty good price’

Jeffrey Libby

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 10:42 a.m.

The Henderson City Council on Tuesday plans to set aside 73 acres to sell to the state university system for the site of the proposed state college.

The city will likely approve a lease to the state as well of 13,000 square feet of office space in a renovated vitamin manufacturing plant at $1 per year for five years.

The land, in the hills in southeast Henderson, would be sold in three phases at a minimum price of $55 an acre, according to the proposed agreement. The $4,035 purchase price for the total acreage would equal the price paid in 1970 to the Bureau of Land Management.

The value of the land today is closer to $8 million, but the city charter allows the city to sell land at a price equal to its acquisition costs when the sale benefits the public interest.

"Henderson is interested in making this commitment because we do believe the college will bring an economic benefit to the city," John Rinaldi, director of property management, said.

Calls to Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson were unsuccessful.

Regent Thalia Dondero said the college will provide new educational opportunities for Henderson and for surrounding communities. She also liked the price.

"That's a pretty good price, isn't it?" she said.

For many residents of the nearby Mission Hills neighborhood, however, the proposed college promises no bargain. Many fear degraded home values, increased crime and a loss of the rural lifestyle some have enjoyed as far back as the 1970s. As the southernmost neighborhood in that part of town, many residents are able to ride horses up the street and into the raw foothills.

That will change if, as expected, the city is successful in acquiring an additional 555 acres of federal land along the southern border of the neighborhood and adjacent to the 73 city-owned acres. The regents are expected to sign off on the city application May 10 despite some opposition on the board.

That land would allow the college to expand in future years. For 2001, Gov. Kenny Guinn has recommended $23 million in initial funding for building and operating expenses.

Residents aired concerns of the college site in a meeting with city officials earlier this month. The site was chosen in mid-March after a site in the old downtown had to be abandoned due to timing and environmental issues.

Residents will meet again, this time with university regents on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Caesar Cavigilia building at the Henderson campus of the Community College of Southern Nevada.

But Regent Steve Sisolak, who organized Saturday's meeting after receiving several letters and a petition signed by 250 Mission Hills residents opposed to the college site, said he is concerned this second meeting will be as ineffective as the first.

Jane Nichols, chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada, and founding state college President Richard Moore will emcee the meeting, according to press releases. Sisolak has been relegated to the sidelines.

"When the city held the initial meeting it was a typical presentation, the fancy slide show," Sisolak said. "And nobody got any answers. I'm concerned this is going to be the same thing. There's a lot of individuals very concerned about what is going to happen out there, and they deserve some answers."

Rinaldi said the city has released information to the public as quickly as it has become available.

"A lot of people have been critical of us for not knowing all the answers, but as soon as information has hit the radar screen, we've introduced it," he said.

Still, Rinaldi and city planner David Norris remained tight-lipped Thursday when asked what plans the city has for 35 city-owned acres stretching along parts of the Mission Hills neighborhood, the initial college site and a planned 41-acre recreational vehicle park.

Initially planners said the industrial-zoned area would be used primarily as a buffer between the college and the RV park and a trash bag manufacturer. But the latest plan calls for "college compatible uses."

Rinaldi and Norris declined several requests to elaborate on the term, other than to suggest "high-tech" uses and to rule out immediate retail uses.

Esther Cothran, a Mission Hills resident and a schoolteacher at nearby Foothill High School, said those vague terms concern her. Like many residents, Cothran worries that the city may try to accommodate the college by allowing bars, apartments, fast-food restaurants and other services there.

But Dondero, who said bookstores might be a more agreeable option on the city-owned acreage, said any change in zoning would require a public hearing.