The new owners of John Ascuaga’s Nugget are planning to remodel the exterior building façade fronting Victorian Avenue and demolish the Last Chance Joe “feature” that currently resides there. The new owners have indicated that they have no interest in keeping Last Chance Joe but have offered to allow the feature to be removed and relocated as long as it is done very quickly and at no expense to the Nugget.

The City Manager received a letter from the Sparks Heritage Museum & Cultural Center (the Museum) on September 9, 2014 requesting City Council approval for the following:

1. Permission for the Museum to install Last Chance Joe on the exterior front of the City-owned building, currently leased to the Museum at 820 Victorian Ave.

2. Waiver of City permit fees for any and all permits needed to accomplish the relocation of Last Chance Joe.

3. Permission for the Museum to go forward with the project with the understanding that the project will go forward only after sufficient funds are obtained, i.e., the Museum will not commit its current funds (the Museum is willing to be the non-profit organization that receives donations restricted to the Last Chance Joe project with appropriate IRS compliant letters of acknowledgement of the donation to the donors for their potential use as a Federal tax deduction). The letter indicates they have raised approximately $24,000 so far and that they believe the relocation can be done for between $35,000 and $40,000. It also indicates an expectation that once the relocation is complete Last Chance Joe would become city property.

A copy of the letter is attached for your review

Determining whether or not the City should allow Last Chance Joe to be attached to the building at 820 Victorian Avenue should begin with a structural analysis to ascertain whether or not it could be safely and economically done. The cost of this analysis should be borne by the Museum, should the City Council choose to move forward with negotiations.  The engineering analysis should also include a proposed layout for Last Chance Joe that would include any enclosure details so that staff can determine how much right-of-way would be occupied. There is currently between 20 and 25 feet of sidewalk in front of the building.

Request number two is for the City to waive all fees for permits. A building permit would be required for the work, should it move forward. Staff anticipates the cost of the permit will fall between $1,200 and $1,500. City Council members will recall the Development Services Enterprise Fund (i.e. the fund set up for development/permitting purposes within the City) is based on a cost recovery method of business. Staff would recommend rather than waiving fees, that the City determine an alternate internal funding source, should the City Council choose to move forward.

The third request is more of an acknowledgement that the Museum won’t move forward unless they can raise all of the necessary funds from external sources.

A fourth request, although it’s not labeled as such, is the Museum’s idea that once moved Last Chance Joe would become city property. Staff is concerned that built into the ownership idea is an expectation of long term maintenance by the City. Staff recommends that, should the City Council decide to move forward with negotiations, ownership and maintenance responsibility be discussed at length with a goal to have the Museum find an outside source of funds for the “yet to be determined” maintenance requirements.

The City Council could: 1. Direct staff to move forward with negotiations. 2. Decline the request.

I move to direct staff to negotiate a contract with the Sparks Heritage Museum and Cultural Center to relocate Last Chance Joe to the southern side of the City owned building at 820 Victorian Avenue with all expenses to be paid by Sparks Heritage Museum and Cultural Center.