Thursday, Aug. 5, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.
Ordinance aimed at city employees
In other action Wednesday, the Las Vegas City Council introduced an ordinance that would prohibit city employees from being paid by the city while running for elected office or while serving at the Nevada Legislature while it is in session.
The ordinance as proposed says that an employee "who serves in the Nevada Legislature shall receive no city pay or benefits for the period of any regular or special legislative session, but may continue to receive insurance coverage if the employee directly pays the applicable premiums." The proposed ordinance also says, "a public employee who files for any political office will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence until the election."
The proposed new rules stem from the controversy stirred up last fall after Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, who was an employee of Las Vegas' Neighborhood Services department at the time, had claimed city pay for days on which the Legislature was in session. Williams eventually was fired by the city.
The proposed ordinance was assigned without discussion to a two-person City Council Recommending Committee that will meet at 3 p.m. on Aug. 17. Public comment on the ordinance will be taken at that meeting, after which the matter then will come back to the full council for discussion and a vote.
Action on bills postponed
The council postponed taking action on three bills the city hopes to pitch to the 2005 Legislature. Diana Paul, a city spokeswoman, said the postponement was due to Councilman Larry Brown's absence.
The city plans to ask the Legislative Counsel Bureau to write bills that would:
Allow the city's Emergency Management Committee to shut the public out of its meetings when the committee discusses sensitive security matters.
Create exemptions to information from public records pertaining to people using public facilities, such as those signing up to use ballfields or joining a class at a community center.
Change parts of the city's collective bargaining practices with the unions that represent its employees, primarily replacing the use of a sole arbitrator in binding arbitrations with a panel of three mediators that would include representatives from labor and management plus a neutral party.
Firm to study Fremont stench
A contract that will pay Brown and Caldwell Environmental Engineers and Consultants of Las Vegas $96,731 to search for the source of a stench that apparently is emitting from storm drains along Fremont Street was unanimously approved.
The company will use a closed-circuit TV camera on wheels to traverse about 11,500 linear feet of 18-inch to 42-inch wide pipes in an area bounded by Main Street, Bridger Avenue, Las Vegas Boulevard and Stewart Avenue.
"I guess we are getting old," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said of the city, which turns 100 next year. "We have to consider the aging infrastructure."
Goodman instructed the city staff to look into possible federal funds available to replace bad pipes.
Fifth Street School transfer OK'd
The council approved a transfer of title that places the historic Fifth Street Grammar School under the Las Vegas Redevelopment Authority, making the site eligible for redevelopment funds that would entice arts-related businesses.
The vintage Spanish-style structure at 400 Las Vegas Blvd. South was long used by Clark County and Metro Police but now is being earmarked as a center of art, literature and the free exchange of ideas. The 37,000-square-foot, 68-year-old building currently houses the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Architecture. Acting as the Downtown Redevelopment Agency Board, the council also approved an amendment to the development authority's contract with the Nevada Board of Regents to increase by 724 square feet UNLV's space at the site.
Employee of the Year announced
A woman who helps neighborhood associations obtain grants to improve the quality of life for residents was named as the city's 2004 Employee of the Year.
Maria Castillo-Couch, a senior management analyst with the city's Neighborhood Services Department, has been been a Las Vegas employee since 1992. She is responsible for the Neighborhood Partners Fund Programs that provide the neighborhood grants. She also serves as the staff liaison for the Senior Citizens Advisory Board and provides bilingual services to city departments.
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