Sparks City Councilman Phil Salerno just wanted an opinion from the Nevada Commission on Ethics. What he got was a meeting.

In advance of Monday’s City Council vote on a land use amendment for the Lazy 8 casino, Salerno wrote a letter to the commission asking for a formal opinion on whether or not he could vote on the matter.

In July 2008, Salerno was slapped with a $5,000 fine from the commission ifor voting on the controversial Lazy 8 project without disclosing that he did business with one of the project’s biggest opponents, John Ascuaga’s Nugget.

This week, Salerno got a certified letter back from the commission asking for a meeting. He and city lawyer Doug Thornley will be meeting in a closed door session with the commission today at 10 a.m. to discuss whether he can cast a vote on the issue this time around.

Salerno is the owner of Nevada Printing and Forms, which received more than 12 percent of its business from John Ascuaga’s Nugget over the past eight years. The Nugget is in the midst of a court battle with the developer of Lazy 8, Red Hawk Land Co., fighting the proposed casino.

Salerno said Wednesday that with a council vote on the Lazy 8 resort and casino looming on Monday’s city agenda, he wanted an official opinion from the commission on whether or not he could vote that day.

“Just to keep myself in the clear, I want them to have the final say,” Salerno said Wednesday, adding that he still does business with the Nugget.

“If I don’t get a straight answer from them I will not be participating in the vote,” Salerno said.