City, county, school district reach tentative settlement of redevelopment lawsuit

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The City of Fernley, Lyon County and the Lyon County School District have come up with a joint recommendation for a potential settlement of the county’s lawsuit against the city over it’s proposed redevelopment district.

County manager Jeff Page and city manager Daphne Hooper each confirmed that the parties have agreed on the joint recommendation, but both also declined further comment on the specifics of the agreement until the City Council, County Commission and the school district’s Board of Trustees have placed the item on an agenda at a public meeting to adopt the proposal. Each body will have to vote at a public meeting to adopt the proposal to be effective.

Lyon County field the lawsuit last June, and the school district joined the lawsuit in July, each arguing that property tax money would be diverted from the county and the school district.

The county field its lawsuit near the end of the last day of a 90-day. The county initially objected to the scope of the redevelopment district, disputing the way the city was calculating the number of properties in the redevelopment district, and that it exempted the North Lyon County Fire Protection District and Fernley Swimming Pool General Improvement District.