Council approves deposit and reimbursement agreement to begin Talis Valley SAD work; mayor recuses

The Reno City Council voted June 3 to approve a deposit and reimbursement agreement that authorizes staff to begin work on a Special Assessment District (SAD) for the Talis Valley development.

Assistant Finance Director Matt Taylor said the overall project would cover roughly 2,500 homes when complete; phase one — the item before council — would include 774 homes. He reported total infrastructure costs of about $27 million for all phases and said the phase-one financing would target roughly $7.8 million in net proceeds and about $9.5 million in bonds. Staff estimated annual assessments of about $1,000 per homeowner over a 30-year bond for the 774 homes in phase one and said the developer would deposit $150,000 to cover initial staff time and ancillary costs.

Council members questioned who bills homeowners (staff said the city uses AMG, a district manager, to send annual bills), how future reimbursements would be tracked over decades and whether staff can recover ongoing costs. Matt Taylor and other staff said they intend to seek full reimbursement for all staff costs associated with the district and that costs could be allocated to bond proceeds where appropriate.

Before the vote, the clerk read a disclosure: Mayor Shibi said she had a private legal relationship that created a potential conflict with parties involved in the item and stated she would not participate; the disclosure cited NRS 281A.0655. The motion to approve the deposit and reimbursement agreement passed unanimously (the record reflects the mayor’s recusal).