Culinary Union Calls Upon County Commission to Say No to UFC’s Wasteful Water Feature

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 30, 2015

MEDIA CONTACT:

Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088

Culinary Union Calls Upon County Commission to Say No to UFC’s Wasteful Water Feature

Las Vegas, NV - On June 17, 2015, members of the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, attended the Clark County Zoning Commission hearing to ask the commissioners deny the wasteful water feature at the planned UFC headquarters.

The UFC was seeking approvals to build its new headquarters, and a key feature of the new “campus-style” building plans a decorative water feature that consists of “2 areas next to each other with a 30 inch raised water table with infinity edge weirs and 8 inch high bubbler jets.” The total surface area of the water feature will be 1,070 square feet.

The Culinary Union urged the Commission to follow the Comprehensive Planning staff’s initial recommendation and deny the water feature sought by the UFC.

“Water conservation is a major concern for our community,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union. “It would be irresponsible for the UFC to have an unnecessary water feature while other businesses and homeowners in Southern Nevada are subject to strict water conservation rules.”

“I’m extremely disappointed that Commissioner Steve Sisolak and the other commissioners ignored the concerns of our community regarding water conservation and this unnecessary water feature. The UFC should be a responsible member of our community and should do its part to conserve water at a time of historic drought,” said Leain Vashon, Vice-President of the Culinary Union, who spoke at the meeting and is a registered voter in District A.

Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department staff recommended against this water feature in their written review of the company’s application. They wrote, “Staff cannot support the design review for the manmade decorative water features. Water is one of the most valuable resources in the desert, and conservation of this resource is essential.” They added that, “manmade water features are not consistent with the water conservation policies in the land use plan, and therefore, not compatible with the water conservation goals and practices.”

Unfortunately, the Commission approved the water feature despite objections by a 7-2 vote.

Sisolak led a motion to approve the water feature despite the fact that the company’s representative, Joe Haley, was unable to tell the Commission how many gallons of water would be circulating in the water feature or how much evaporation would take place with it.

Sisolak was joined by Commissioners Scow, Weekly, Brown, and Brager in approving this wasteful water feature. All of these Commissioners, except Larry Brown, have received donations since 2011 from Stations Casinos, which has owners in common with the UFC.

Commissioners who have received donations from Station Casinos since 2011:

The Culinary Union urges Nevadans to tell Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak to reconsider the county’s approval of the UFC’s water feature. Call Commissioner Sisolak today at 702-455-3500 or email him at ccdistA@co.clark.nv.us. You can also sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/county-commission-say-no-to-ufcs-wasteful-water-feature

Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 55,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.

www.CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226

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