Report from City Council Meeting

by Ginny Dugan -- Churchill County High School senior Tommy McCormick was honored at the March 16 meeting of the Fallon City Council for his accomplishments in the sport of wrestling. Mayor Kenneth Tedford, Jr., presented him with a congratulatory award and outlined his athletic and academic achievements. McCormick, the 18-year old son of Dr. Tom and Melissa McCormick, won the 3A Nevada Wrestling Championship in the 182-pound division at the State Tournament in Mesquite on February 15 of this year and ended the season with a 43-6 record. This was his third consecutive Nevada State Wrestling Championship, having previously won in the 132-pound division in 2018 and in the 152-pound division in 2019. McCormick completed his high school wrestling career with 174-37 overall win-loss. McCormick also participated in a CCHS win of a state football title in 2018 and can claim a 4.0 (4.7 weighted) grade point average. Planning to play football next year at the University of Idaho, he will major in biology and pre-med. Acknowledging the presence of McCormick’s parents and grandparents at the meeting, Mayor Tedford observed that the accomplishments of their son and grandson was “truly a family effort” because of their dedicated support through his athletic years. Noting for the record that Councilman James Richardson was absent due to an out-of-town commitment, Mayor Tedford began the March 16 meeting with reading a personal tribute, and offering a moment of silence in respect,  for Robert Alan Cashell, Sr., who passed away on February 11, 2020. The mayor described Cashell as a close friend and mentor with “great wit, intelligence, love for all people with a special love for Reno and Nevada, and one who was larger than life.” Cashell served as Nevada’s lieutenant governor from 1983-1987 and was elected mayor of Reno for three terms, serving in this capacity from 2002-2014. In addition, he was known for building a humble truck stop in Verdi into Boomtown Hotel Casino. In other business, city council members approved an engagement letter for, and to appoint, Eide Bailly as auditors for the City of Fallon for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, for an estimated fee not to exceed $84,000.00 and also approved the mayor to authorize additional fees if necessary to complete the audit. According to NRS 354.624, the City of Fallon must provide for an annual audit of all its financial statements and also requires the city to designate its auditors and give notice of the designation to Nevada’s Department of Taxation no later than three months prior to the close of the fiscal year to be audited. The audit committee, consisting of Councilwoman Karla Kent, City Attorney Mike Mackedon, and Legal and Administrative Director Robert Erquiaga, had met and reviewed the proposal and recommended the appointment of Eide Bailley. The $84,000.00 fee is the same amount paid to Eide Bailley to do last year’s audit. Councilwoman Kent said “it was a good idea to go with Eide Bailly” because they are matching last year’s prices and “they know our records and how we operate.” The Fallon City Council also approved and adopted Resolution No. 20-02 which authorizes the execution and delivery of an installment purchase agreement in an amount not to exceed $489.989.00 for the purpose of acquiring a vacuum truck to be used by the Electric, Water and Sewer Departments and also authorizes the officers of the city to execute the installment purchase agreement and other documents related to the installment purchase agreement. Legal and Administrative Director Erquiaga indicated that this is an agenda item returned to the city council after it was considered at a January 2020 city council meeting where adopted  Resolution No. 20-01 got the process to purchase a new vacuum truck started.  The adopted resolution was forwarded at that time to Nevada’s Department of Taxation for its review and approval of the installment purchase agreement. Erquiaga referred to a letter, dated February 20, 2020, from the Department of Taxation and included in the meeting’s agenda packet, in which the city’s request was approved. The vacuum truck was cited as necessary to replace an old one in order to facilitate efficiency in the Electric, Water and Sewer Departments as they deal with electric outages, water leaks, and sewer leaks. The existing truck “has exceeded its useful life and can no longer be repaired economically,” according to information contained within Resolution 20-02. “A new vacuum truck will allow for safer and more expedient responses to utility disruption.” Erquiaga pointed out that the interest rate on the principal was 2.9 percent, lower than originally anticipated. Finally, Mayor Tedford administered an oath of office to Ramon Sanchez who is joining the City of Fallon’s police force. The next meeting of the Fallon City Council is scheduled for Monday, April 6, 2020, at City Hall, 55 West Williams Avenue, Fallon, at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend.         Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon.