Boulder City has big caucus turnout

By Mike Trask

Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Boulder City always gets a high voter turnout, and this month’s presidential caucus was no different.

More than 1,800 people turned out at the 13 Republican and Democratic sites in the town of 15,000.

Even for local elections, Boulder City typically gets a turnout of about 50 percent, far greater than the 15 percent to 20 percent generally seen elsewhere in the valley.

Lynn Goya, president of the Boulder City Democratic Club, said every site ran out of paper ballots, forcing people to use scrap paper. Republican organizers also ran out of ballots in Boulder City.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York took 58 percent of Boulder City’s Democratic votes in the Jan. 19 caucus. The Republican results in Boulder City were not available. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the GOP caucus statewide.

Boulder City residents often say small-town concerns typically bring people out in droves to vote — or, in this case, caucus.

“One thing about Boulder City is we do have a very stable population compared to Southern Nevada” as a whole, Goya said. “I think that translated to more civic involvement.”

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Henderson and North Las Vegas will have greater presences on Cox Communications cable in the next few months.

The cable provider agreed to give Henderson and North Las Vegas more access to government channels as part of a revised franchise fee agreement. Under the agreement, Cox will pay $1.25 million to area municipalities, including $173,500 to Henderson and $117,500 to North Las Vegas.

Beginning next month, Cox will produce a monthly series about North Las Vegas and Henderson.

The cable outlet already broadcasts Clark County Commission and Las Vegas City Council meetings, along with other government programming, on Channels 2 and 4.

It remains unclear, however, whether the suburban municipalities will begin airing their meetings. A North Las Vegas spokeswoman said doing so has always been cost prohibitive in the past.

In Henderson, a team of city employees has been exploring ways to broadcast or podcast meetings via the Internet.

North Las Vegas and Henderson are the only two area municipalities that do not air city council meetings. Boulder City has its own TV station, which airs all meetings.

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Boulder City will hold a series of public meetings on a possible new parking ordinance.

The meetings will be held at City Hall on Jan. 24 and 29 and Feb. 6.

The ordinance would establish stricter rules for RVs and other large vehicles parking on Boulder City streets. There has been talk of time limits or complete bans in an effort to make the town safer for pedestrians, as well as more aesthetically pleasing.

The proposal has drawn strong interest from RV owners, who assert their right to park on the street — and from neighbors tired of looking at trailers and boats.

“The people are very passionate about it,” said Councilman Travis Chandler, who is undecided on the issue.

Councilwoman Linda Strickland favors a ban on long-term parking, noting that more than 230 recreational vehicles, boats and trailers are parked on city streets.

“I’m calling it storage of things on city streets, not parking,” she said.

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The long-awaited North Las Vegas library planned near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Alexander Road is one step closer to reality.

Last week the City Council awarded a $7.8 million contract to Las Vegas construction company Burke & Associates Inc. to build the city’s third library.

The 4.5-acre site was donated to the city in the mid-1990s. Delays in building a library led to intense criticism that the city was ignoring its more mature sections, especially after a library was built in 2006 in a newer area.

City officials hope to open the 16,000-square-foot building in 2009.

Mike Trask can be reached at 259-8826 or at [email protected].