Landscape to improve for maturing Henderson neighborhoods

Henderson officials are taking the first step in their goal to enhance and reinvest in the city’s maturing neighborhoods.

“We’re actually making progress,” Councilman John Marz told the Review-Journal.

Marz has made the issue a priority since he was appointed to the Ward 3 seat in January 2012.

On Tuesday, the Henderson City Council unanimously approved nearly $195,000 in funding for landscape improvements to city-maintained streetscapes in four areas of Green Valley, a community that first saw construction in 1978.

Those areas are:

—Valle Verde Parkway, from Pittman Wash to the Union Pacific railroad.

—Green Valley Parkway, from High View Drive to Lone Pine Lane.

—Silver Springs Parkway, from Valle Verde Parkway to Green Valley Parkway.

—The Windwill Parkway median, from Valle Verde Parkway to Green Valley Parkway.

Most of the money will come from the city’s turf conversion and irrigation savings funds. It will be used to retrofit streetscapes with drought-tolerant plants and landscape rock, remove existing grass areas, and increase plant densities.

A team led by principal planner Scott Majewski has been identifying problem areas in the city’s older areas and researching solutions.

In addition to increasing plant density, Majewski said, the city will be “increasing the maintenance frequency in those areas.”

The City Council held a workshop on maturing neighborhoods in March, and Majewski said some council members wanted to concentrate first on main corridors, such as Green Valley Parkway.

At its Aug. 6 meeting, the council approved a request by Marz to disburse the $13,500 in his discretionary fund to help update streetscapes in Ward 3’s mature neighborhoods.

Another concern city officials hope to address is the decay of aging block walls. Majewski said the city is trying to determine whether it can offer any incentives to homeowners whose block walls need repairs.

CITY TO BUY NEW POLICE, FIRE VEHICLES

Also Tuesday, council members unanimously approved the purchase of 24 Chevrolet vehicles at a cost of about $676,000.

Those include 20 Tahoes that will replace Henderson Police Department patrol vehicles and two Tahoes that will replace vehicles used by Henderson Fire Department battalion chiefs.

In addition, the city will purchase two Silverado pickups for two new officers in its code enforcement division.

The city will use the state’s vehicle purchasing contract to buy the vehicles from Fairway Chevrolet in Las Vegas.

According to background information provided with the agenda item, the Police Department has 20 patrol vehicles “that have or will have exceeded their normal economic life expectancy.”

The Fire Department has one battalion chief vehicle that has exceeded its normal life expectancy and another that the department “would like to repurpose” for its occasional towing needs.

According to the background information, the new officers in the code enforcement division “require vehicle transportation in order to perform the duties of their job. The city no longer has surplus vehicles that will meet their need.”

SENIOR FACILITY DECISION DELAYED

The City Council again delayed a decision on a controversial senior facility planned near the intersection of Carnegie Street and Horizon Ridge Parkway.

The matter was postponed until Sept. 17.

Las Vegas architect Howard Perlman, who also designed The District at Green Valley Ranch, plans to build Carnegie Senior Living, an assisted-living and skilled-nursing facility, at 525 Carnegie St.

The Henderson Planning Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the project in June, despite a city staff report that recommended denial. The report described the project’s proposed height and density as “too intense for this site.”

PEDESTRIANS TO GET AUDIBLE SIGNALS

The council approved an estimated budget of about $397,000 for the purchase of audible pedestrian signals.

“It’s becoming the new standard,” City Manager Jacob Snow said.

Developer contributions will be used to fund the purchase.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.