North Las Vegas mayor headed to White House conference
North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee is joining a delegation of Nevada lawmakers headed to the White House on Friday as a way to develop a relationship between federal and local government agencies.
The group of 19 state, county and city officials and staffers, with about a dozen guests, will meet with senior-level officials from several federal agencies and White House staff during the daylong event, known as the Nevada Local Elected Officials’ White House Convention.
“This conference will be an opportunity for the administration to strengthen our relationship with local entities of government,” Adelaide Miller of the White House Intergovernmental Affairs Office said in a letter sent to Lee and other attendees.
As he prepared for his visit, Lee said he plans to ask federal lawmakers whether 39 acres of land owned by Nellis Air Force Base could be used for development. Lee said he sees it as “valuable real estate” that could generate local taxes.
Lee said he also would like for the city to gain control of some unused water rights controlled by Nellis and to gain right-of-way access to build a stormwater channel that would benefit an industrial park under development near Interstate 15 and the 215 Beltway.
Lee said he plans to ask federal officials whether military-related industries could be developed in North Las Vegas to serve as a job base for those retiring from Nellis.
Others planning to attend the conference include Republican Assemblymen Christopher Edwards of Las Vegas and Keith Pickard of Henderson.
Lee said he plans to return to Washington, D.C., next week to discuss those same issues with Pentagon officials.
“The reality is that the Trump administration will be here for four years, and he wants to reach out to the states,” said Lee, a registered Democrat. “Regardless of who the president is, he has people who are tasked to work with Nevada and all of the issues we have here, so I’m taking advantage of that.”
Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.
