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Fernley council delays vote on roughly $268,000 Main Street Art Park funding, asks for more billing detail
Summary
City staff asked council to reallocate leftover CRRC/general-fund dollars to finish phases 2 and 3 of the Main Street Art Park and buy shade structures; councilmembers asked for final CRRC invoicing and voted to return the item in 60 days rather than approve immediate spending.
Jessica Murdoch, the city's development coordinator, told the council the Main Street Art Park has moved forward with donated sculptures, benches and planter boxes but that remaining work for phases 2 and 3 would require additional city funding. "The $60,000 is gone," Murdoch said, describing grant money already spent on phase 1. She asked council to "allocate roughly $238,000" for a middle-ground option and later confirmed a project estimate of $268,374 for the combined work and shade structures.
Murdoch said the downtown project is community-driven and time-sensitive, arguing that ordering shade structures and materials now would let the city install them before the city's 25th-anniversary events. "If we could get the budget now, we could order everything and have it installed and up to date before June," she said.
Council members pressed for fiscal details. Councilwoman Zaberski asked whether the requested sum would deplete funds set aside for the CRRC building and for other planned improvements; Robert Carson, the city treasurer, explained the FY26 budget included a $1,000,000 allocation to cover late invoices for CRRC and said about $300,000 in invoices had already been submitted. "Of the million we allocated to finish building the building, yes," Carson said. "We would have roughly $700,000 that can be either reallocated for the Art Park or any different projects that you guys have, or it can revert back into the unrestricted fund balance and just saved for the future." He also noted an approximately $11 million unallocated fund balance citywide that could be prioritized for projects.
Despite several council members expressing support for the park and urgency about rising costs, others asked to wait for final invoices to arrive so the council could avoid surprises. After debate, a motion to approve the proposed budget for phases 2 and 3 failed on a recorded vote of 3-2. Councilman Hannon later moved, and the council approved 5-0 a motion to bring item 6.1 back for full consideration in 60 days.
What happens next: Staff will return with more detailed billing and fund-balance information for the CRRC and the Art Park estimates when the item returns to the council.
