Lyon County approves service plan for proposed North Lyon County Power General Improvement District; ordinance hearing set for July 2

LYON COUNTY, Nev. — The Lyon County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 on May 13 to approve the service plan for the proposed North Lyon County Power General Improvement District, advancing a plan county staff says is required before the district can be organized.

Andrew Haskin, Lyon County manager, told the commission the service plan includes the statutory elements required under state law — a financial survey, a preliminary engineering or architectural survey, a map of district boundaries, estimates of population and assessed valuation, descriptions of proposed facilities and services, and cost estimates. "All of those elements have been included in the service plan that is presented before you today," Haskin said.

The plan, Haskin said, anticipates that infrastructure construction and operation will be financed entirely through private development commitments and long-term energy supply agreements; the county would not issue ad valorem taxes, general-obligation debt or provide direct financial support. "The beneficial users of infrastructure will be evaluated for creditworthiness prior to execution of any such agreement and may be required to post financial security instruments to cover all the costs," he said.

The county manager also reported that the Northern Nevada Industrial Center currently has no electric service and that the district would allow electric energy service on a timeline years sooner than other commercially reasonable alternatives. The service-plan packet lists no residents within the proposed district, an assessed valuation of about $1.6 million now and a projection of about $279 million by 2031, figures staff described as dependent on future development.

The board read a resolution into the record and then voted to approve the service plan; the motion to adopt the resolution was moved by Commissioner Jacobson and seconded by Commissioner Hendricks and was announced as passing 5-0. The county manager said statutory notice and a multi-step post-approval notification timeline will follow the board action.

Commissioners also reviewed and proposed an initiating ordinance that would set a hearing date for the organizing (creation) ordinance required under NRS chapters 308 and 318. County staff said the initiating ordinance in the packet contained the incorrect map in one display; Haskin acknowledged the error and confirmed the map attached to the filed service plan (exhibit A) is the legal boundary. The board set the organizing-ordinance hearing for July 2, 2026, at 9 a.m., and Commissioner Hendricks proposed the initiating ordinance to be updated with the corrected map (the proposal was seconded; no adoption occurred at the May 13 meeting).

During questioning, Commissioner Jacobson asked what the phrase "commercially reasonable insurance" in the service plan would require. Project counsel identified in the record as Bob Sweet said the term is intended to include insurance, performance bonds and other financial instruments that would indemnify the county and prevent fiscal liability. "Commercially reasonable in all cases would mean that the county is in completely indemnified from any harm," counsel said.

Public commenters pressed for clearer, satellite-style maps showing where the project and other regional solar and energy infrastructure are sited, and raised questions about whether amendment packets and newspaper notices had been provided in a timely or sufficiently clear way. Robin Biggs, a resident of Arington, asked how many people attended the 2025 public meeting and said multiple map versions in the packet and a late amendment stack that was not readily available to the public raised concerns about transparency and compliance with open-meeting procedures.

County staff told the board that the service plan and initiating ordinance would be updated to use the correct map from the filed service plan and that changes between a proposal and final adoption are permitted; the staff timeline also includes the statutory posting and notice steps required after the board's action.

The Board of County Commissioners adjourned the special meeting at about 9:40 a.m. The organizing-ordinance hearing to consider formal creation of the North Lyon County Power General Improvement District is scheduled for July 2, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in the commission chambers.