Residents press for road repairs

Nearly half the public damage from last winter’s storms may have been in southern Douglas County.

Estimates are that just the Topaz Ranch Estates General Improvement District is facing around $5 million of the $11 million in damage for the entire county.

Work on the roads in the south county district has been a major issue for residents.

The roads are definitely in need of help, something that was exacerbated by a Tonopah Low that slammed into eastern part of the county over the New Year’s weekend and even more serious issues from the March storms that sent much of the snowmelt into the community at the base of the Pine Nuts.

Providing help to the improvement district came up at the May 17 county commissioners’ meeting as part of a discussion of distributing federal relief funds.

Formed Sept. 7, 1971, the district has its own taxing authority and operates the water system and works on roads within its boundaries. Five trustees are elected to govern the district. According to the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office the tax rate dedicated to the district is 85.46 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

Resident Jeff Mehoves lives above Sandstone and said potholes in the district’s roads are responsible for damage to his vehicle that cost him $2,100 to repair.

Mehoves said it has been years since the district has worked on his road thanks to the pandemic, worker shortages and the record snowstorm.

“They know they have to fix the runoff that causes the damage and that’s where most of the money is going,” he said. “What are we going to do? You can’t leave them like that because it’s destroying our vehicles. If the road department doesn’t have the money, we’re not going to get the roads fixed.”

Mehoves, a Vietnam veteran, said he had his 13th heart attack on Martin Luther King Day

He called the Veterans Administration, and they told him to call 911.

“They said ‘we can’t get to you because the road isn’t plowed,’” he said.

The district did end up plowing the road.

In order to take advantage of any federal money, district trustees have said they need to come up with a 25-percent match, which amounts to $1.25 million.

The Record-Courier reached out to TRE Board Chairman Brandon Taylor over the weekend.

Commission Chairman Mark Gardner said that there is $11 million in damage across the county from last winter.

Residents across the county have issues with roads and drainage that were made worse by last winter’s storms.

Centerville Lane resident Christina Keegan said she had to pay to have her driveway fixed after a washout near Georgia Lane. She said work installing new culverts there apparently didn’t fix the issue the neighborhood has with spring flooding. In a letter to the county, she said that the culvert at the locations should be widened to reduce the sediment being washed onto her property.

Residents Ian and Kim Magary, who live in the East Valley along Sheep Camp spoke at public comment before county commissioners in April and May about damage done to their property in the March 10 flooding. Their concern was specifically about the drainage issues upstream.

That flooding prompted a county, state and federal disaster declaration that could see some funding to help repair the damage from last spring.

On Monday, Gov. Joe Lombardo decleared a state of emergency dealing with snowmelt flooding across Western Nevada, including Douglas and Lyon counties as record snows swell area rivers.

The county has issued a call for requests for $719,000 in American Rescue Plan Act that could include road and other drainage work.

“The county is particularly interested in hearing from public agencies and nonprofit organizations but will gladly accept requests from anyone residing or providing government services in Douglas County,” spokesman Eric Cachinero said.

Funding requests are due at AmericanRescuePlan@douglasnv.us by June 21. Funds must be committed by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

There is another source of federal money coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, according to the county.

On Thursday, county staff is asking commissioners to approve $125,000 to prepare a countywide stormwater master plan.