Tuesday, March 19, 2013 | 9:40 a.m.
Running a city isn’t cheap, and on Wednesday the Las Vegas City Council will get a look at the long-term costs of maintaining its infrastructure. The council will also discuss downtown development when it meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday for its regularly scheduled meeting at city hall.
The cost of doing business
Although the city has seen its budget shrink in the past several years, fixed costs to maintain its roads, sewers, storm drains, parks and buildings remain.
The city’s Public Works Department will present the council Wednesday with a long-term look at costs of maintaining its infrastructure.
The council won’t take any action on the report, but it could influence upcoming budget discussions.
A new neighbor at City Hall
City employees could have some new neighbors if the council approves a lease agreement with the College of Southern Nevada.
The four-year agreement would cover 9,800 square feet on City Hall’s third floor, which would be leased by the college’s Division of Workforce and Economic Development for $60,000 per year.
In exchange, CSN staff will provide workforce training to city employees and consult on economic and community development with the city and other stakeholders. The college also would provide workforce development classes that are open to the public.
Drinking downtown
The council will discuss two items Wednesday aimed at keeping libations flowing around downtown.
The first would extend a license currently available only in the Arts District allowing the sale of beer and wine at cultural events, like art studio or museum exhibitions. If the licenses are extended, they would be available to qualifying venues citywide, although the council is unlikely to take action on it at this meeting.
A second bill would create two new licenses for drinking establishments. The first license, for an ancillary brew pub, would allow for the manufacture and sale of beer on-site, provided the owner has an accompanying tavern license.
The other would allow for beer and wine rooms, where only the aforementioned beverages could be sold for consumption on-site. The plus side for businesses is the beer and wine room license would be cheaper to acquire than other similar licenses allowing full liquor sales.
The council will introduce that bill and refer it for further discussion to the Recommending Committee.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy