Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles
May 31, 2012
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Meeting Summary
Video Conference Sites:
Legislative Council Bureau
401 South Carson Street Room 2134
Carson City, NV 89701
Great Basin College
Greenshaw Technical Arts Building Room 124
1500 College Pkwy., Elko, NV 89801
Grant Sawyer State Office Building
555 E. Washington Avenue Room 4412
Las Vegas, NV 89101
I.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 9:36 a.m. by Paul Jackson, Chair.
II.
Role Call Commissioners/Advisors:
III.
Review/Approval of Meeting Minutes from March 1, 2012 & April 19, 2012
Marci Henson, Secretary, noted the March 1, 2012 meeting summary has still not been
provided to the Commissioners by the DMV staff. Marci asked Andy McCool in April to
check on the meeting summary and to forward the March meeting minutes to her as soon
as they are completed. Kerry Lee motioned to accept the April 19th minutes and John
Glenn made a second motion. The April 19, 2012 meeting minutes were approved
unanimously by the Commission.
IV.
Approval of Agenda
The agenda for May 31, 2012 was reviewed and there were no comments. The
Commission approved the agenda.
Paul Jackson, Chair
John Glenn, Vice Chair
Marci Henson, Secretary
Robert Adams, Commissioner
Darin Elmore, Commissioner
Wayne Fisher, Commissioner
Gary Lambert, Commissioner
Kerry Lee, Commissioner
Rob Buonamici, Advisor
Leo Drumm, Advisor
Andy McCool, Advisor
Mike Rowan, Advisor
Ann Yukish Lee, Advisor
V.
Public Comment
Participants were asked to keep public comments to two minutes per person:
There were no comments in Elko or Las Vegas.
John Giambastiani, Michael’s Reno Power Sports, commented he would like a better
understanding of the fee structure and fiscal impact to dealerships because at this point
dealers would decline to register vehicles unless they can recoup the loss of manpower.
He also stated the VIN inspection should be done for a clean title and to prove ownership
and this will require streamlining the process. DMV stated to remember the dealerships
are only accepting applications and sending the application to the DMV. Andy McCool,
DMV, noted that dealers are allowed to charge a document fee at two dollars per
registration. Darin Elmore commented he also has concerns regarding the registration
process and not being able to register at a DMV location. Paul Jackson, Chair, stated this
is a legislative issue and the issue will be discussed at the legislative committee level.
VI.
Presentation from George Taylor with the Attorney General’s Office on Nevada
Open Meeting Law
George Taylor provided the group with a presentation on Nevada Open Meeting Law.
Handouts of the presentation were provided. He noted that the Carson City location did
not have the appropriate number of handouts for the public which is a violation of open
meeting law. Mr. Taylor stated that legal status applies to the Committee and all
subcommittees or any subsidiary thereof. The creations of subcommittees under the
Commission that have not been tasked primarily with fact finding are subject to open
meeting law. The public comment allotted time per speaker should also be noted on the
agenda.
Mr. Taylor noted an updated version of the Nevada Open Meeting Law Manual should be
available within the next two weeks on the Attorney General’s website.
VI.
Discuss the role of the Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles per N.R.S. 490
Paul Jackson stated that the role of the Commission is not law enforcement but to only
enforce the decal and procedure regulations on the decal and issue grants from the fees
collected to improve and maintain routes and to coordinate signage. The statute under
469.068 (b) was discussed that members shall swear they will work to create and promote
responsible off-highway vehicle recreation in the State or the Governor may remove a
member from the Commission.
Paul Jackson asked for public comment on the topic.
Elise McAllister, resident of Moapa Valley, commented that section (b) of the statute was
put in the language from a group she worked with in the past so that members are not
appointed that do not have the best interest of the group in mind or worked in a much
more restrictive fashion.
John Giambastiani, Michael’s Reno Power Sports, asked the Commission who he should
look to for the betterment of the OHV trails and parks with the funding that is
appropriated. In California most funding has gone to close trails. Paul Jackson
commented the Commission decides on issuing grants with the funding. The
Commission does not look favorably on closing trails. The spending is regulated under
N.R.S. 490.69 but the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management define where
we can ride on routes.
Elise McAllister, resident of Moapa Valley, stated that most grants are on public lands
and as part of that grant process things that occur on public lands must be cleared by the
public office and have a NEPA document has to be completed before grant funds get
released. So as you develop your grant rules that should clear the funding for appropriate
projects.
VIII. Discuss hiring an Executive Secretary per N.R.S. 490
Paul Jackson stated the Commission will begin looking for an Executive Secretary.
Funding will not be available until August but the Commission should begin the process.
Gary Lambert recommended the Commission appoint a member to take resumes and
gather names of the capable applicants for the part-time position. John Glenn
recommended appointing a fact finding committee. Marci Henson noted that Lea Bradle
with NACO has expressed interest in the position and could provide an administrative
role to the program. John Glenn suggested a law firm or someone with a law degree or a
person with a combination of experience.
Paul Jackson commented that there appears two ways to go about hiring this position.
The Commission could hire someone who is secretarial orientated or has worked for a
board of commission before with that experience and that is willing to take on a part-time
job. The other possibility is to get someone who already has a law degree because we
will need to hire counsel at some point to advise the Commission legally. Marci Henson
pointed out the statute states the Commission is allowed to hire an Executive Secretary
and having someone with a law degree would be helpful as well as an aptitude for
finance, accounting, and auditing.
Marci Henson was appointed to gather information on the recruitment including
advertising of the position. This will be an action item on the next meeting agenda to
discuss the next steps required to move forward.
XI.
Receive an update from the Secretary on the solicitation for nonvoting advisors
Marci Henson provided the update to the Commission as well as a handout. She stated
there remains one vacancy that needs to be filled for a Commission member appointed by
the Governor from a list of persons submitted by the State Director of Conservation
Natural Resources.
A nonvoting advisor position, indicated on page two of the handout, has been filled by
NDOW’s Rob Buonamici. Marci noted she has heard from the State Director of U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service Ted Koch on this advisory position. Ted indicated at this time
the service has declined to name a nonvoting advisor due to other priorities in their office
but would like to continue to be noticed on the Commission meetings. Additionally,
since this handout was published the U.S. Forest Service appointed Mike Rowan,
Recreational Wilderness Coordinator, as an advisor to the Commission.
X.
Receive a presentation from the DMV on the bond required per N.R.S. 490
Terry Baltisberger, Business Program Manager for DMV, provided the Commission with
a report for the bonding requirements under N.R.S. 490. Terry explained the bonding
requirements under this statute are separate from other license and bonding requirements
for the state. They are allowing current dealers that are licensed and bonded that qualify
for the five year reduction from $50,000 to $25,000 to do so but they must maintain a
separate bond for the OHV license.
John Glenn asked if an on-highway dealer is also in the business of selling OHV and
already has a bond will that bond overlap. Terry explained that is not how they interpret
the statute because the on-highway bond is under statute 482 and the off-highway statute
is under 490 so this would be a separate bond for separate licenses.
Paul Jackson commented that there does appear to be an overlap in the bonding and
licensing of on-highway and off-highway bonds. For instance, dual sport motorcycles are
both on-road and off-road so which bond would one need. Terry explained in this case
the dealer would need an on-road bond under statute 482 but the overlap is being
considered and part of the problem is how 482 was written as it does specify if there are
different types of vehicles you must have the largest bond level. There was no language
included like that in statute 490. Paul Jackson noted this would be an easy legislative fix
to statute 490.
Paul Jackson recommended a legislative action item be put on the next meeting agenda
for possible action to revise the 490 statute language as it relates to bonding and licensing
requirements.
XI.
Receive a presentation from NDOW on its law enforcement capabilities
Rob Buonamici, NDOW, gave a presentation to the Commission and provided a handout.
He stated the mission statement for the Bureau of Law Enforcement of Nevada
Department of Wildlife is to protect and manage the wildlife resources and provide for
public safety and protection of life and property of resident and visitors of the State of
Nevada through enforcement of wildlife and boating safety laws.
The NDOW law enforcement program is made up of 14 subsets to include wildlife
protection, operation game thief, wildlife investigations, dispatch, communications,
boating enforcement, boating education, human wildlife conflicts, guide program,
regulation adoption, officer recruitment and training, community relations, AIS (aquatic
invasive species), and boat access. This program has the largest patrol area in the country
with the exception of Alaska. There is a total of 110,000 square miles of land in the state
which equates to 3,139 square patrol miles per game warden with 32 officers.
Additionally, Nevada has 385,000 surface acres of water to patrol which equates to
11,000 surface acres of water per officer to patrol.
Rob noted that NDOW will require dedicated funding to enforce N.R.S. 490 unless a
violation occurs in the normal course of the officer’s duties or in a case of public safety.
Paul Jackson commented the Commission will be starting a subcommittee on law
enforcement and the Commission welcomes your advice. The Commission may be able
to assist with funding as well. Robert Adams asked that NDOW be put on another
agenda and Paul asked that request be e-mailed to the Secretary.
XII.
Receive a report from the DMV on advertising the OHV program
Kevin Malone, DMV, reported the Commission has $85,000 in one time funding to
promote the OHV program. Kevin would like to form a website solely for the use of the
OHV Commission. A State hosted website will cost roughly $100 per month but an
outside provider like GoDaddy.com will charge $750 for five years and that includes 20
e-mail addresses and band width. Kevin also asked the Commission to decide on the
URL address.
Following discussion Paul Jackson motioned to accept using NVOHV.com as the URL
and Robert Adams provided a second motion, the Commission unanimously approved.
E-mail addresses will be set up with first initial and last name for the Commissioners use.
Gary Lambert motioned to approve funding and the use of GoDaddy.com to host the
website. John Glenn provided a second to the motion, the motion was approved.
Kevin provided the Commission with a handout on the advertising campaign for the
program and asked for feedback. The proposal at this time includes billboards, handout
cards, and radio advertising. Two billboards will be featured in Reno and a rotating
billboard at 15 locations in Las Vegas. The billboards will begin in October for Reno and
September in Las Vegas and will rotate until spring. The Commission discussed the
effectiveness of the billboards in the current contracted locations. Kevin will check on
the status of the billboard contacts to see if changes can still be made to the locations.
Radio advertising will commence with eight stations up north and five stations in the
south to advertise starting in late July and will spread throughout the remainder of the
year. Gas pump toppers are being researched for rural area advertising. Gary Lambert
stated he knows several clubs with websites that would be willing to post our message.
He asked that when an electronic copy of the advertising becomes available that Kevin
works with him for the additional advertising opportunities.
Marci commented the Commission may be able to leverage funds and combine efforts
with the Desert Conservation Program and their OHV educational program. Paul
Jackson made a motion for the Commissioners to instruct Kevin Malone to cooperate
with the Desert Conservation Program and Marci provided a second to the motion, the
motion carried unanimously.
Kerry Lee asked Kevin to provide a press release to the Sheriffs and Chiefs Association
so they can make the information available to users. DMV updates will become a
standing item on each Commission agenda.
XIII. Receive report from the Mapping Subcommittee and consider sending a letter to
stakeholders requesting information on OHV routes in Nevada
Gary Lambert, Commissioner, stated he has received maps from the Bureau of Land
Management. Gary distributed these maps to 12 off road organizations to receive
feedback. He commented the current mapping in northern Nevada is very poor. The
mapping in southern Nevada is much better.
Gary noted if anyone has a desire to assist in the mapping to please contact him. The
mapping effort will be useful in understanding the economic impact the OHV community
has on the State. The Western Governors Task Force has commissioned an economic
impact study for the western states and there may be additional economic information by
the end of the summer for the State of Nevada.
Gary provided a draft letter to the Commission for consideration. The letter requests
assistance in the gathering of information such as routes, trails, GPS data, photos,
locations, etc. for the mapping of OHV trails.
Gary Lambert made a motion to accept the letter as presented requesting mapping
information from outside entities. Paul Jackson provided a second to the motion, the
motion passed with two members in opposition.
Paul Jackson recommended creating an information gathering subcommittee on law
enforcement and proposed Sheriff Kerry Lee as the chair of the subcommittee. Paul
would like this to be an action item on the next meeting agenda.
Paul Jackson also proposed a subcommittee on legislation be put on the next meeting
agenda for action.
XIV. Public Comment
Participants were asked to keep public comments to two minutes per person:
There were no comments in Elko.
Elise McAllister, resident of Moapa Valley & Partners in Conservation, stated she has
been working on the recreation trails grant program and perhaps if we contact Jennifer
Scanlon she could give the Commission a good idea of job duties when we get the grant
process up and running and hire a secretary. Partners in Conservation would be happy to
spread the word and we would spend our own money to make copies of the cards and
take them to OHV shops and places we do a lot of PR events. NDOT has an excellent
book that is fairly accurate and it costs $12 that last time I bought it and it has the state
divided up into quads and it might be helpful. She has had a lot of experience with using
volunteers and training them on the GPS of routes in the ACEC areas of northeast Clark
County and the BLM went forward and did an Environmental Assessment from that so
we have a lot of experience in collecting information and GPS. We do have the Trimble
units and could travel so feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help out where
we can. She also sees a real value in having a state Commission to help direct people.
John Giambastiani, Michael’s Reno Power Sports, commented on the advertising. You
need to consider the dealer network. The e-mail program that you spoke about earlier is a
great idea to keep the costs down but I do not think you have the database you need for
an e-mail blitz. We do the same type of advertising in our store and without actually
gathering information over the years it is difficult to have that. People do not like to give
e-mail addresses unless you ask them repeatedly. Gary Lambert commented that the
dealers are our best resource and the Commission will be using them as a resource.
Michael Gerow, Michael’s Reno Power Sports, wanted to touch base as they want to be
ready for the public. It seems like we are kind of out on a limb because from what I
understand users have been asking what will happen to them when they ride and they do
not have the OHV registered and I do not know if I have a really clear answer to give
them. It sounds like as long as you do not register your unit, there are no consequences.
It does not sound like there is any agency for enforcement. I want to be clear what I tell
the public. Paul Jackson commented that the only bikes that must be registered after July
1st are the ones that are sold brand new and I would refer you to DMV because they will
be able to answer those questions. DMV will be your resource for those questions.
Michael also noted that it sounds like around July 1st we will also have to have separate
bonding and it sounds like we also must have separate licensing for the salespeople. John
Glenn stated that is also the way he reads it. Michael’s last question was with the
program going into effect, is an all terrain vehicle a dirt bike and a snowmobile are they
now considered a vehicle in the State of Nevada because prior, none of those were a
vehicle. John Glenn commented the way he reads NRS is yes they are considered offhighway vehicles in the State of Nevada.
XV.
Adjournment
The meeting scheduled for June 7, 2012 has been canceled. The next meeting date is
scheduled for July 26, 2012 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meeting adjourned at 1:34 p.m.