Boulder City says ‘no’ to Harrah’s warehouse

By Cassie Tomlin

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009 | 10:33 a.m.

Harrah's Golf won't be allowed to build warehouses between Cascata Golf Course and U.S. 93.

The City Council told course planners on Tuesday it wouldn't change the city's contract to allow a proposed warehouse and distribution center on 60 undeveloped acres, which were planned for a second golf course.

Warehousing would hurt Boulder City with increased traffic, and the site is too close to the Nevada State Veterans Home, council members said.

Mayor Roger Tobler and Councilwomen Andrea Anderson and Linda Strickland said U.S. 93 at Railroad Pass is dangerous now and has no improvements planned.

The distribution center would draw about 500 tractor trailers and other vehicles every day — about 1,000 trips, said Ben Campbell of Panattoni Engineering, which did a preliminary traffic study on the proposal. An average 35,000 vehicles daily currently pass through the U.S. 93 and U.S. 95 interchange, he said.

Harrah's Golf, which operates Cascata, has a lease with the city for 800 acres at $750,000 a year, until 2038 with three 10-year extension options. With utility payments, the lease generates about $1 million every year, City Manager Vicki Mayes said.

MGM Mirage planned two golf courses on the land, but built just one and sold it to Caesars Entertainment Inc. in 2000. Harrah's Entertainment acquired the golf course when it bought Caesars Entertainment in 2005.

Eric Dutt, vice president of Harrah's Golf, said another golf course doesn't make sense, and he would continue to work with the city to find a use for the 350 acres that aren't being used now.

"We'll probably never build that second golf course," he said. "We're not looking to take advantage of you, and we're not looking to be taken advantage of. If we can come up with something that wins for the both of us, we'll go back to the drawing board."

The city also rejected Dutt's proposal for a less expensive lease agreement and to relinquish a contract for 900 acre feet of water from the city, which the city would provide if the second course is built.

If the city were to allow the warehousing, Anderson said, the council would look at increasing lease payments, not reducing them.

Tami Jenicke, a spokeswoman for the Nevada State Veterans Home, said the environment around the home needs to stay peaceful, no matter what is built there.

"We owe it to the veterans that the quality of life is ensured in their last days, weeks, months and years," she said.

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or [email protected].