Tag: douglascounty

I drove by the Mirastar gas station in the parking lot of the South Carson (Douglas County) Wal*Mart, and noticed that the prices were missing from the sign. On closer look, the pumps were roped off with yellow caution tape and the pump heads were wrapped up. When we looked even closer, we saw this sign posted on the pumps.

Dear Valued Customer

Effective August 15, 2008 this Mirastar gas station will be permanently closed.

Thanks for your business.

There are no other indications of why the station shut down, but a search online shows that a similar station in Pittsburgh has also closed. The story goes on to say that Tesoro, the parent company of Mirastar, is closing 42 of the 76 stations that they operate in Wal*Mart parking lots nationwide. The only reason given by Tesoro was that it was “a business decision.” So it sounds like a similar situation to the Mervyn's that is in the process of closing. A nationwide company needs to tighten the belt by closing "underperforming" stores, and Carson City gets the shaft end again.

Too bad, because that Mirastar station was one you could always count on for low prices. It was usually right there in the running with Costco and Arco for the lowest price in town, and it was also the only one of those three that accepted credit cards as well as debit. Plus it was very nearly the last gas station you hit on the way out of town; only Chevron and the Silver City RV Park sell gas between there and Minden, and their prices are usually considerably higher.

So now, the real question is, what will become of this facility? Will this gas station remain abandoned, or will some other company swoop in to resume operations and fill the gap it's left behind? I can't see it being torn down, because that would require pulling out the underground tanks, and there is so much environmental red tape involved with that that it would be cheaper just to leave the station boarded up.

The plan by Park Cattle Company to change the Douglas County master plan to allow them to build 5,000 new houses in Minden and Gardnerville was denied by the Douglas County Planning Commission Wednesday night. There article doesn't say if this is the final word or if the matter still has to go to the county commissioners.

Update: The Board of Commissioners meets on Sept 4 to discuss and vote on the issue.

So on Friday there was a river rafting expedition for Carson City officials, starting at Morgan Mill and floating down to Dayton. But that was the second expedition. On the Sunday before, there was an expedition for Douglas County officials which started at Markleeville and floated down to Gardnerville. The Record Courier's Scott Neuffer has the story on that one, as well as video.

Both of these expeditions were put on by Great Basin Sports.

The Record Courier has brought us the blueprint for Jethro's 2,400 square foot sign. Look at the little tiny man standing at the bottom of it. That will give you an idea of how big this thing is. There are two articles to go along with it: Beverly Hillbillies sign fails first test, and Baer’s big sign still looming.

Now remember, this sign is going to be on the north side of the hill. So even though it's Douglas County that gets to approve or deny the sign, the majority of Douglas County residents won't have to look at it. But it's perfectly placed, right across the highway from Best Buy, so that it will shine brightly like a beacon and be visible from every part of Carson City. Its size and position, looming at the top of the hill overlooking the whole town, reminds me of something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it...

After years of trying, Max Baer Jr. is this close to building his dream casino. He has the land, he has the zoning variances, he has approval from the county, he says he has the money, but there's no way to know if that's true. Everything is in place, and he should be ready to build. So why hasn't he started yet? He's still fighting over the sign.

He started by wanting a 200-foot tall oil derrick shooting flames as the sign the draw people to the casino. That was denied, so he scaled it down to 143 feet, the same height as the hotel towers. That was denied, so then he cut it down to "a 109-foot tulip-shaped sign". The Planning Commission just denied that, too. The Commission says that the limit on signs is 30 feet, and that's plenty. Jethro, apparently, just wants to keep chipping away until he can find a compromise. And since the process can take three to four months each time, it could be years before they finally hash out a number and get to building.

Also the article talks about how the sign face would be 2,423 square feet. That is an unfathomable number. That's bigger than my house. I don't think the casino in Las Vegas have signs that big.

I think it's time to give in and just start building. He got 98% of what he wants for this project. Don't worry about the sign. The draw is going to be the hotel building itself, perched on the hillside. A sign isn't going to make too much difference. The time for talk is over. Now it's time to put shovels in the dirt.

County rejects Beverly Hillbillies casino derrick. Sometimes you have to wonder about the depths of self-destructiveness that Max Baer Jr. is capable of. After fighting for over ten years and plowing through three counties, he's finally found a spot to build his big dream casino. He's finally got zoning approval from the county to build a casino. He's finally got height variances to build a hotel tower. He has everything he needs to move forward with the project. And now he's fighting over the sign. The sign?

Originally his plan was to build a 200-foot oil derrick out by the highway that would spurt fire 24 hours a day. That soon scaled back to where there was no fire, probably because the price of natural gas keeps rising. Then the county said 200 feet was way too high for a sign, so he dropped it back to 143 feet, the same height as the hotel tower that was approved. The county's response? Still too high.

Jethro's people have said this sign is essential to draw business to the casino. Although I'd think that the massively big hotel-casino would be a draw in itself. I don't think anyone is going to zip right by this huge casino complex plastered on the side of a hill, missing it completely, but then spot the sign at the last second. That's nuts.

In similar sign news, the North Carson Crossing shopping center in Carson City (the Wal*Mart center - where College Parkway meets the freeway) just got their request for a 65-foot sign denied for similar reasons. A 45-foot sign has been approved for the center, but the developers say that won't stick far enough into the air to get attention. Their big concern, I guess, is that they want their sign to rise way above the freeway, instead of just a little bit above. The Board of Supervisors disagreed. And now, in the grand tradition of four-year-olds everywhere, the developers are saying they won't build a sign at all. Well. That will teach them.

And one more tidbit from the Record Courier article, the Gold Town casino project, which has been in the works for 15 freaking years, got approval from the Douglas County Commissioners.

Phase one will include the hotel and 92,000 square feet of casino space, 50,000 square feet of retail outlet shopping, restaurants and a convention facility. Costs are estimated at $125 million for the first phase,

Phase two includes a parking garage, conference center, event center, casino expansion, retail space, spa and wellness center, according to information from county officials.

Gold Town will be located at Hwy 395 and Sunridge Drive, right next to the Silver City RV Park.

So just in case you thought this latest announcement by Jethro about moving his casino project was just his usual hot air, now comes the news that he's sold the old Wal*Mart building in South Carson. This is the same Wal*Mart about which he said, "I can wait in perpetuity." I guess perpetuity is about two and a half years.

Actually, this is a good move for Jethro. It shows that he's not really the stubborn fool that he's made himself out to be over the last four years. Who knows how long he's been working on a deal to get rid of the Wal*Mart. Even as early as 2005 he was talking about the possibility of moving to Douglas County. So behind all of his bluster, he really did realize that the battle for Carson City was lost and was trying to move forward. His timing was a little off ("I'm going to put a shovel in the ground in June [2006], one way or another"), but even back then I think he knew he would have to sell out.

And even if he never built his casino, the building turned out to be a good investment. Jethro (or his partner, John King) bought the building for $4.3 million and sold it for just about twice that, $8.5 million. So it was a smart deal even if the place sat empty for four years. And now the money from the sale can go into the new location in Douglas County. Maybe this time all the stars will finally line up for Jethro.

And what about the Wal*Mart building itself? The new owner is a developer that specializes in taking old empty buildings and putting new tenants in. It's too early to speculate what stores might be moving in, or even if it would be one big retailer, several small ones, or even an "outlet mall" like the article says. All I know is that this same kind of company bought the old K-Mart building at the north end of town, and was supposed to be working out the same kind of deal for it. They were even supposedly getting Kohl's to move in there. Well, now Kohl's has picked Riverwood in Douglas County, and the K-Mart remains empty. So maybe this news really means nothing for the old Wal*Mart building, and it will stay like it is for the foreseeable future.

But at least Jethro has moved on, proving himself to be not quite so much of a grandstanding fool. Even the Letters to the Editor are on his side now.