James Rosaschi and his children live in the Yerington home where his mother grew up. His family has been in the valley for generations, and he wants his children to have the choice to remain there.
“I want them to be able to stay here,” he said.
That concern now places Rosaschi in the middle of an effort to recall four of Lyon County’s five commissioners. Organizers are seeking the recall of Scott Keller, John Cassinelli, Tammy Hendrix and Robert Jacobson. Commissioner Dave Hockaday is not included.
The group faces a difficult signature drive and may not collect enough valid names to force recall elections. Rosaschi said the effort still has a purpose.
“We’re sending a message and letting them know that we’re paying attention,” he said.
That message is not a rejection of every new business or industrial project. Rosaschi is asking county leaders to take more time, gather more information and show residents how major developments will affect the places where they already live.
Organizer Elwood Emm said the recall petitions are not specifically about the data center. For him, the larger issue is a lack of communication and consultation with local residents, including the Yerington Paiute Tribe.
“They [county commissioners] approve a lot of things that are not the people’s issues. They do it without consultation with the tribes. They don’t really have a relationship with us on these big projects like solar, Monarch Data, the NV Energy line, or mining.”
The proposed Monarch Data Center in Mason Valley first drew Rosaschi to county meetings. He opposed the project but said the recall effort grew from a wider concern about how the county handles large developments.
Rosaschi’s questions include traffic, water, housing, utilities, noise, lighting and conditions beneath a project site. In Monarch’s case, he wants to know whether earthquake faults or other underground conditions could create trouble later.
“Get reports, do research, get environmental studies,” he said.
Rosaschi said residents were told that a broad environmental impact report was not required because Monarch would be built on private land. He believes county officials should look beyond what is strictly required when a project could change a community for decades.
The timing of the county’s own data-center work sharpened that concern.
On Aug. 3, commissioners reviewed a draft ordinance covering noise, lighting, setbacks, emergency planning and studies of traffic, water, wastewater, utilities, electricity and financial effects. County officials said the draft followed several years of research. Commissioners asked staff to revise the proposal and return with another draft.
On Aug. 6, three days after that workshop, the board voted 3-1 to approve rezoning approximately 505 acres to Planned Unit Development for Monarch. Hendrix, Keller and Jacobson voted yes. Hockaday voted no, and Cassinelli recused himself.
The county says Monarch must meet additional requirements before construction, including drainage review, emergency and fire plans, road improvements, environmental permits and approval to convert agricultural water rights for industrial use.
Rosaschi’s question remains: Why commit to a project while the county is still deciding what standards data centers should meet?
Rosaschi said residents repeatedly appeared at county and planning meetings to object to proposals he was following. The projects were approved anyway. He came away believing their comments had little effect on decisions that sometimes appeared settled before the vote.
The county’s Aug. 6 meeting summary says the Monarch hearing included speakers both for and against the project. Rosaschi does not expect agreement with every speaker. He wants residents to see that their testimony affected the discussion, the conditions placed on a project or the final decision.
When an approval follows strong opposition, he said, officials should explain what they heard and why they chose to move forward.
A recently approved gravel pit in Silver Springs offered another example. Rosaschi said the pit is expected to supply gravel for a Microsoft project, although he could not confirm where that project is located.
He said as many as 60 trucks could travel to the site during its weekday operating hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If each truck enters and leaves once, he estimates nearby residents could see a truck coming or going about every six minutes during the 12-hour day.
Because the route passes through a residential area, Rosaschi wants to see the traffic and safety work behind the approval. He also wants to know who will address road damage, noise and other effects on the neighborhood.
One project cannot be considered in isolation, he said. New traffic, demand for housing, water use and pressure on public services accumulate as more developments arrive.
Housing may be the most personal concern to Rosaschi. Large projects promise well-paying jobs, but many of those workers may come from outside the county and compete for an already limited supply of homes and rentals.
Rosaschi questions whether temporary worker camps or large RV developments will help families who already live here. He worries that higher rents and home prices could gradually push longtime residents away from the communities that raised them.
His own home gives that concern a face. He and his children are another generation living under the same roof where his mother grew up.
Organizers are pursuing separate recall petitions for each of the four commissioners. The number of signatures required differs because Keller's seat was on the ballot in 2022, while Cassinelli, Hendrix and Jacobson were elected in 2024.
Under Nevada law, a recall petition must have signatures equal to at least 25% of the voters who voted in the applicable district in the election when the commissioner was elected. Those signing must have voted in that election.
Volunteers are fitting the work around jobs and children. They must find places to meet voters, explain the rules and collect signatures that will survive official review. Election fatigue makes the job harder.
Rosaschi said people from very different political camps have expressed concern about the county’s direction. Whether that concern produces enough valid signatures remains uncertain.
For him, the recall is asking a larger question: How much should county leaders know before they approve projects that may change daily life for the people who are already here?
His answer is direct – Slow down. Do actual research. Set some rules. Then decide.
For more information, contact recall organizers at [email protected].
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