Report from City Council Meeting

by Ginny Dugan -- The Fallon City Council, at its February 3 meeting, approved and adopted Resolution No. 20-03 which provided for the deannexation of approximately 11.51 acres, located at 100 Airport Road and owned by Greg and Eve Holmes, from the City of Fallon. Councilwoman Kelly Frost presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Kenneth Tedford, Jr., who was out-of town. The Holmes formally requested the deannexation of the property, which they purchased in December of 2018 in order to build a single family home and install a well and septic system, in early fall of 2019. In a letter to the Fallon City Council, they stated that, due to agreements made at the time the acreage was annexed to the City of Fallon in 1988, they had not been able to use the property for their home since they would have been required to extend the city’s utilities to the site at a significant financial hardship to themselves. At its November 4, 2019, meeting the Fallon City Council directed city staff to initiate procedures required by Nevada law for the deannexation and included consideration by the Churchill County Planning Commission and the Churchill County Commissioners. The Planning Commissioners approved the detachment at its December 11, 2019, meeting, and the County Commissioners at its January 6, 2020, session gave its assent. The matter was then returned to the Fallon City Council for the publication of a Notice of Intent in the Lahontan Valley News in its January 22, 2020, issue and the City Council members’ final disposition. Legal and Administrative Director Robert Erquiaga said the purpose of the Holmes request was allowing the family, through the deannexation, to put in the well and septic system on their property as they hoped to do. All required procedures were followed, he added, to arrive at this final step.  With the city council’s approval the deannexation will now be published at City Hall and recorded by the Churchill County Recorder. “That would be the end of the process,” Erquiaga concluded. In other business, Fallon’s Police Chief Kevin Gehman offered the department’s monthly report for December 2019. Among the data provided in the written document were the following: a total of 730 incidents were reported during the month; larceny was cited as the crime with the most events (19) occurring during the same period; the majority of the 39 December arrests were misdemeanors (18) and felony/GM (9); a total of 175 moving citations and traffic warnings were given in December; and 17 accidents occurred. Police Chief Gehman stated that officers attended “multiple hours of training” and the Volunteers in Police Services (VIPs) donated 73 hours to the agency. In addition, police department personnel and volunteers participated in the Fourth Annual Emergency Responder Food Drive at Walmart at the beginning of December and collected 4,560 pounds of food which contributed to the event’s total of 19,540 pounds of food donated to the Out of Egypt Food Pantry. In mid-December two police officers conducted Operation Juice Box at Numa Elementary School and distributed 120 boxes of juice to students after school. Councilwoman Frost asked if Officer Kurtis Itskin was congratulated for his service in a recent incident at the CVS store on West Williams Avenue in which a local citizen fell. In a citizen survey comment contained within the police department’s December 2019 report, the individual complimented the officer for arriving quickly, assessing the situation professionally, and assisting in every way possible, above and beyond his customary duties. “He did a great job there,” Councilwoman Frost observed. Police Chief Gehman replied that several positive acknowledgements on his behalf were made. Quoting biblical verses, as well as passages from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, local resident Geof Knell during public comment reminded public servants of the need to understand the difference between good and evil in order to make wise decisions and to pursue with God’s direction the truth. Council members of the Fallon City Council normally meet every first and third Mondays of the month at City Hall, 55 West Williams Avenue, Fallon. The public is welcome to attend.       Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page. If you enjoy The Fallon Post, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and make a contribution today.  Your contribution makes possible this online news source for all things Fallon.