North Las Vegas council briefs

Sprinklers waived for Avante homes

New Avante homes to be developed in the northwest won't have to be installed with sprinklers, and North Las Vegas Fire Chief Robert Dodge sees the alternative as acceptable.

The City Council will allow Avante Homes to purchase a fire rescue vehicle for $175,OOO instead of installing fire sprinklers in all 507 new homes to be built in the northwest.

In 1998 the city began requiring all new developments to install sprinklers or come up with some other option to deal with the lack of emergency services in the far northwest part of the city.

"The rescue vehicle will allow us to free up the firetruck so it is not on minor emergency calls," Dodge said. "It allows us to keep the firetruck available."

The fire department just began using a new fire rescue rig for emergency-related calls. It is staffed by two people, one of whom is always a paramedic.

Dodge said he is not sure whether the $175,000 check from Avante will be used to reimburse the cost of the current rescue rig or another rescue rig will be purchased.

Grant to help local citizens

The Southern Nevada Enterprise Community has awarded a $2,200 grant to the North Las Vegas Fire Department to provide residents with free smoke detectors and fire safety education.

In November 1993 the council adopted a resolution supporting the establishment of the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community, and in December 1994 President Clinton designated the nine census tracts in the urban core of the Las Vegas Valley as the Enterprise Community. Four of the census tracks are in North Las Vegas.

The grant will provide assistance to the residents in the targeted neighborhoods.

Area police to join forces

The Office of Traffic Agency has awarded the city a $58,227 grant to participate in the statewide "Joining Forces" traffic enforcement program to improve traffic safety.

The North Las Vegas Police, Henderson Police, Nevada Highway Patrol and Metro Police have formed a multiagency traffic squad to conduct selective traffic enforcement, saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints.

The departments will rotate in each agency's jurisdiction.

Plan amended for 7,500 acres

The city will spend another $200,000 for portions of the water and sewer design for a master-planned community it hopes will rise on 7,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management property to be sold.

In April the council approved a contract not to exceed $262,000 with the engineering firm PBS&J to begin water and sewer studies for phase one of the project.

City staff members said another $200,000 is needed to address flood control in the study.

The new portion of the study will detail flood control collection and drainage systems needed to reduce hazards in the 7,500-acre area.

Ranch estates can keep livestock

Calling it affectionately the "Tom Collins" ordinance, the council approved an amendment that will allow ranch estates residents to have cows, sheep, goats and chickens at their homes.

Assemblyman Tom Collins, D-North Las Vegas, initiated the ordinance change on behalf of residents.

Currently, only horses and household pets are allowed. The amendment allows the other animals to be kept, as many as one per 7,500 square feet of lot area.

Transportation study planned

The City Council on Wednesday approved an engineering agreement with Louis Berger Group Inc. to conduct a transportation study to determine how residents could be affected if high-level radioactive waste is shipped through the city.

In May the state Agency for Nuclear Projects awarded the city a $50,000 grant to assess the risks and hazards associated with shipping radioactive waste along the northern portion of the Las Vegas Beltway.

The lump sum fee of $50,000 to the group will cover all costs for the study and is expected to take two months.

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