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Nevada City Council approves appointment, lease renewal and donated public art; residents urge letters opposing FCC preemption
Summary
The council confirmed a Public Arts Commission appointment, renewed a three‑year lease for Firehouse No. 2 with IAFF Local 3800 and approved a donated metal dragon for the Chinese Monument Garden; during public comment residents urged the council to send letters opposing FCC Docket 25-276 and related federal bills that they said would preempt local control over wireless siting.
During its Dec. 11 meeting the Nevada City Council handled several routine actions and heard public appeals on federal telecom policy.
The council approved by roll call the committee recommendation to appoint the selected applicant to the Public Arts Commission; the motion was moved and seconded on the record and passed with the members voting in favor. Staff noted enthusiastic community support for the appointee and involvement from current commission members who participated in the review.
On the historic Firehouse No. 2 property (420 Broad St.), staff recommended and the council approved a three-year commercial lease renewal with Nevada County Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 3800. Staff clarified that the previous lease arrangement produced roughly $50,000 in in-kind materials and services and that the proposed renewal uses a nominal rent structure in exchange for continued maintenance and improvements to the building.
Council also approved a donated public-art installation — a hand‑made copper-patina metal dragon proposed for the Chinese Monument Garden parking lot at 412 Commercial Street — with a condition that the applicant enter into a public-art agreement prior to installation. The Public Arts Commission had recommended the piece and staff confirmed it involves no cost to the city because it is donated and the applicant will pay installation costs.
In public comment earlier in the meeting, residents urged council action on federal telecom proposals. "It begins with Federal Communications Commission's docket 25,276," one commenter said, asking the city to sign and send prepared letters opposing the docket and related bills (including HR 2289) that commenters said would restrict local authority to consider environmental, aesthetic and health concerns.
The council took no formal vote on the telecom requests at this meeting; no further formal action on FCC-related letters was recorded on the agenda items heard that night.
