Two incumbents re-elected; animal shelter approved

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

Boulder City voters on Tuesday re-elected two incumbents, approved an animal shelter and for the second time in seven months rejected a ballot measure to sell city land and pay down a $22 million in debt for building the Boulder Creek Golf Club.

By a comfortable margin, voters returned Andrea Anderson and Mike Pacini to the City Council. The duo received 34.2 percent and 29.5 percent of the vote, respectively to top Jeremy Lilly, a swimming pool salesman, who had 25.2 percent of the vote followed by Bradley Farmer with 11 percent.

Boulder City residents voted in favor of building a new animal shelter with 69.8 percent.

In November, Boulder City voters, by a 52.7 percent total, rejected the city's bid to sell 46.5 acres on the northeast side of the golf course. On Tuesday, 54.3 percent of people who voted cast ballots against the same measure.

The November defeat prompted the City Council to bring back a more detailed plan to ease the concern of voters who fear a large and dense development would be built on the land.

The more detailed plan didn't work. Boulder City's Charter requires that any sale of 1 acre or more of city-owned land be approved by voters.

The city planned to sell the land around the course for a 90-home subdivision. Officials have suggested the land could fetch between $15 and $17 million and help pay for the course, which has lost money since it has opened.

Both Pacini and Anderson supported the land sale, but Lilly made his opposition to the ballot initiative a key plank in his campaign. Farmer did not actively campaign.

Anderson said the incumbent's support of the land sale probably held down their vote totals but added residents felt more comfortable with someone they know. She said voters likely rejected the measure because they didn't want the city to bail out the golf course.

"They want it to make it on its own," Anderson said. "They don't want to see us selling the land to bail the city out of debt. They don't want to start something. They are worried where that will lead down the road."

Pacini said he's disappointed the ballot measure failed, saying its a mixture of people against growth and the golf course's financial problems. He said there are no plans to put the measure back on the ballot, and the city will have to explore other alternatives to deal with the debt.

"We are going to have to regroup and keeping swinging at it," Pacini said. "We are committed to the golf course and swinging it in the right direction."

Anderson said the city may have to turn to commercial leases of its properties to generate revenue to pay for the golf course debt.

Rattner unsuccessfully tried to get the state Supreme Court to throw out the ballot initiative, saying it didn't properly describe the initiative and its ramifications. He said he plans to work with the council on developing solutions for the golf course debt. Among them, he called on the city to close nine holes at the course and find ways to cut the city's overall budget.

Lilly said the continued public opposition to the land sale didn't surprise him. He said he's disappointed in his loss but flattered at such a strong showing by a political newcomer.

The council post pays $11,203 a year. Council members no longer get $450 a month car allowance or medical insurance worth $8,100.

Voters decided to replace an aging animal shelter that dates to the 1950s with a modern facility that is expected to cost taxpayers $1 million once land is sold.

The initiative asked voters if the existing shelter at 1390 San Felipe Drive should be sold to offset the cost of building a new shelter at Nevada Highway and Yucca Street.

The ballot measure calls on the city to spend no more than $1.5 million on the new shelter out of the capital improvement fund. The building alone is expected to cost $1.2 million. The remaining $300,000 will go for grading and sewer hookups.

The existing shelter lacks the room needed for housing cats and dogs.