Henderson City Council briefs

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009 | 2:44 p.m.

Aging street signs to be replaced

The Henderson City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to open bids on an estimated $250,000 in contracts to replace aging street signs and traffic signal control panels at various intersections throughout the city.

Funds for the project will come out of money the city has collected from developers to help pay for infrastructure improvements.

At present, the city has collected more than $8.3 million from developers for the purpose of funding traffic improvements at Henderson’s intersections.

Building inspectors reassigned to parks

The City Council unanimously approved $125,000 to transfer underworked building inspectors to the Parks and Recreation Department, where they will be tasked with inspecting parks and trails built by private developers.

The inspectors are moving from the city’s Building and Fire Safety Department, which has been in small demand as the recession has pushed new construction in Henderson to a near standstill.

Many residential developers opt to build their own parks and trails, rather than pay a construction tax that goes to the city for parks and trail construction, but the facilities they build must meet certain standards before the city can accept them.

The Parks and Recreation Department, in a memo to the City Council to explain the request, wrote that parks maintenance personnel have been doing the inspections in addition to their regular duties. Adding the inspectors will allow the maintenance personnel to focus solely on performing upkeep for the city’s parks and trails, the department said.

Weatherization grant money received

Henderson’s Neighborhood Services Department has received an additional $43,000 in federal grants for the weatherization assistance program.

The City Council unanimously accepted the funds Tuesday. The money comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Low Income Housing Energy Assistance program, via the Nevada Housing Division.

The additional amount pushes the city’s available weatherization grants funds to more than $61,000 for the current budget year, enough to help an estimated 17 households.

The weatherization grant helps low-income households install energy-saving retrofits on their home. For more information about the program or to apply, call Henderson Neighborhood Services at 267-2010.