Elite RV Project Back Before City Council

UPDATE: In a unanimous decision last night (5-0) the City Council approved both of these measures, advancing this project to the next step which is now the appraisal of the property and the beginning of lease negotiations between the City and Top Dollar Entertainment.

This coming Tuesday, June 27^th at 5pm the City Council will vote one more time on the Elite RV Resort, specifically to authorize (or not) separately two resolutions, (7654 and 7653 respectively). One is for an appraisal of the land proposed for the project, and the second is for the City Attorney to begin direct negotiations for a lease of the land with the company.

For the past two years, the Elite RV Resort project has been talked about, developed, reviewed and gone through all of the extensive processes that any proposal of this size in Boulder City would need to do. It has been reviewed and advanced (initially) by two different City Councils, multiple appearances and approvals from the various committees and throughout has always responded to the desires and adapted. Mostly.

Back on February 28th of this year (2023) the proposal failed to move forward in a 3-2 vote by the City Council for a variety of reasons. Some had concerns about the location, and one council member who at that time felt to project should go through an RFP (Request For Proposal) process. We told you all about that vote HERE.

After many months of review the measure goes back before council. Opponents have argued against any new building being done in our area due to water concerns and have some validity to them. Others don’t like that it will generate and expand tourism into the community and feel that it will potentially draw too many people into town because even though it is short term RV stays, it creates a recycled volume of people coming to Boulder City.

Which proponents who support the project will say, is exactly the point! The project checks a lot of boxes, if you will, on a way to diversify city tax revenues, build and create more varied tourism, particularly high-end visitors with money to spend. They also point out that the water and utility footprint of this project is below what any other type of business development would be. It is also projected to bring some forty good paying jobs to the area. Also notable is the bonus to our overall tourism, as the advertising budget for the resort is planned to be extensive - more than any other business in the area, or the Chamber of Commerce could invest.

What is new to this version of the project is that is also creates a 300-person convention center that will feature a wedding chapel, on-site catering facility and will allow for use by both resort guests and those outside of the resort. The owners also say that Boulder City residents will have booking priority. You can see that piece of the project along with the full staff report and the Elite RV Presentation from the Agenda Packet, HERE.

This type of facility has been on the wish-list of many in town. The Chamber of Commerce says they have to routinely turn away inquiries for businesses outside of the area who would like to hold mid-size conventions “not in Vegas” but we’ve never had the facilities to accommodate such events.

Gary Baldwin, local resident, and pioneer of the project tells us, “We are grateful to Mayor Hardy, the Council Members and all the residences the have taken an interest in this project. We don't call is a project anymore but refer to it as a journey. We are just as excited about this journey as the day we started two years ago. We look forward to continue our effort to build a resort that all of Boulder City can be proud of."

In this version however, which would as we understand it be the final one, the location does not change. So for those Councilmembers who had that concern, they will either have had those needs addressed, or not.

We will watch eagerly on Tuesday to see how they vote on this project and let you know on Wednesday with an update.