Tribune/Debra Reid - Victorian Square provided a quiet but cold place to read early Wednesday, April 28, 2010. The square, and much of downtown Sparks, is nearly deserted between special events.
A new pair of one-way streets will connect Victorian Avenue on the south with the Avenue of the Oaks on the north, which runs in front of Sparks’ Century 14 movie theater. The Q&D project will also repaint benches and trash cans in either black or “olive drab” hues, according to project documents.
The $1.2 million road phase of the project will be paid for with room tax money and redevelopment funds. The Sparks Redevelopment Agency and the City Council both approved the funding in unanimous votes Monday.
Sparks capital projects manager Chris Cobb said some of the road work will have to be finished before July 2 as hundreds are expected to descend on the construction area for the July Fourth Star Spangled Sparks event.
The park area, beneath the small clock tower, will be closed off to fireworks-watchers at Star Spangled Sparks due to construction hazards, Cobb said.
According to Q&D spokeswoman Sheila Hlubucek, the final project will be complete by July 26.
The new roads will create an enclosed plaza on the block immediately south of the Sparks movie theater, according to project maps. One street will be northbound, one way, while the other road will be southbound, one way. City redevelopment officials hope that the new plaza will attract retail development to the downtown core.
“We are trying to set the stage for the (larger redevelopment) project to move forward when market conditions permit,” Armando Ornelas, a city planner and redevelopment manager for the city of Sparks, told the Tribune in January.
“There is going to have to be one or more private sector partners who will have to (get involved) in order for the project to be successful,” Ornelas continued. “I understand why the private sector views these projects the way they view them … but the city of Sparks would like to have a vibrant Victorian Square downtown project.”
The original road project was estimated to cost about $2.5 million when the plan was conceived almost two years ago, according to Cobb. However, due to economic conditions, and contractors needing work, the bid came in at $1.2 million.
In the wake of about 41 city layoffs, some were concerned about the misconception that this money would go to better use keeping someone employed.
“Can we use room taxes to fund salaries and benefits?” Councilman Mike Carrigan asked city planners as they met to vote on the project Monday.
The crisp answer from Cobb was, “No.”
In that same Monday meeting, Sparks Councilman Ron Schmitt asked if some redevelopment funds could be used to pay salaries and benefits. The answer to his question was a little more complicated.
“Yes,” said city finance director Jeff Cronk.
However, city manager Shaun Carey chimed in and added that the money could only pay for a salary “as long as those services are shown to be of benefit to the redevelopment agency.”
“For example,” Carey said, “we cannot charge park maintenance at Golden Eagle (Regional Park) from this fund.”
Council members expressed concern over the recent layoffs of about 41 workers, including 11 firefighters, asking if that redevelopment money could go toward any salaries.
“I think the budget as presented does not make a reliance on the Redevelopment Agency covering services that are properly placed in the general fund,” Carey said. “Therefore, I would say no.”
The city condemned two properties in order to build the road and revitalize downtown Sparks. The former Pacific Pawnbrokers location was demolished in June 2009 and 1212 Victorian Ave. was demolished in December 2009.
Both were acquired by the city using eminent domain proceedings.
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