Summit Sierra Shopping Center Asks Reno for New Deal

The company in charge of the Summit Sierra shopping center in south Reno wants to revamp its financing agreement with the city, an issue the Reno City Council is addressing in its Nov. 7 meeting. When Bayer Properties built the center, the city agreed to give the company half of the annual sales tax revenue to pay off a $10 million dollar bond. But with the economic downturn, that money has been virtually nonexistent. Now, Bayer is asking to readjust that agreement so it can start receiving sales tax revenues again. The proposal requires Reno to pay $450,000 dollars a year to Summit Sierra from its general fund, based on current revenues. This isn't the first refinancing deal in front of the city. The city will also discuss a deal with the Reno Aces to refinance its ballpark debt. Reno Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza questioned how far the city can go: "This council -- the next council -- everyone's going to come up to this council and say, 'You know what the financial projections weren't projected to be what we anticipated. And we want you to bail us out.' I mean, we have other agreements," Sferrazza said. "Is Cabela's next? Are they going to come forward?" The City Council told staff to look at the feasibility of the proposal and bring it back to the council next week. The next meeting will include four new council members.