Sisolak, Giunchigliani and Brager honored at final county meeting

For three Clark County commissioners, Tuesday’s meeting was their last.

“It’s been more than I ever could imagine,” Commissioner Susan Brager said.

Brager and Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani are termed out, while Chairman Steve Sisolak will be sworn in as Nevada’s governor next month.

In a last hurrah, their final session from the commission dais featured a video presentation set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Giunchigliani, in particular, said she appreciated the choice as it mirrored her approach to politics.

“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “We are a county family, and so even though three of us may be going away, we’ll stay connected because you don’t just walk away from that type of experience in the long run.”

Sisolak became emotional as he recalled the mass shooting that killed 58 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest festival, but he noted how the aftermath saw the region pull together “the way like no community has ever pulled together.”

“It’s been a great journey, tough ride up and down,” he said. “Oct. 1 changed us forever.”

State Sen. Tick Segerblom and former state Sen. Justin Jones will join the seven-member commission next month. Former Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, appointed to the board after Mary Beth Scow resigned in June 2017, will start his first four-year term. Another Democrat will be appointed to replace Sisolak.

Other business

The commission approved the allocation of nearly $186 million to back countywide park projects.

The vast majority of money will come from the county’s Parks and Recreation Improvements Fund, with roughly $6.6 million to be paid through the Recreation Capital Improvement Fund, according to a county staff report.

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said there were “amazing projects that’s going to come out of these taxpayer dollars” that would prove “extremely beneficial” to the community.

The effort to rename McCarran International Airport, potentially after longtime former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, was removed from the agenda. Sisolak had introduced the proposal, and Giunchigliani has said that, even if the commission ultimately chooses an alternative namesake, McCarran must be scrapped. It’s unclear if the plan changes without them.

Finally, the commission agreed to extend an earlier decision not to issue new permits for marijuana dispensaries as it seeks to set up a process for marijuana establishments to contribute monetarily to the community. Existing businesses will be allowed to relocate under the so-called “moratorium.”

The commission also voted unanimously to approve 2 percent across-the-board wage increases for the 5,800 county empoyees represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1107.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.