City Council - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon. We're going to go ahead and call the Spark City Council meeting for Monday, February 9th, 2026 to order. And we'll start out with a roll call, please. Mayor Lawson is absent. Mayor Pro Tim Anderson here. [clears throat] Council members Abbott here. Vanderwell here. By here, Rodriguez here. Uh, city attorney Duncan here. Assistant city manager McCorbin here. We do have a quorum. Thank you. Thank you. And uh if everyone would uh please rise if they are able for invocation speaker uh Pastor Shondaanda Nunees with the Nevada Utah Conference of 7th Day Adventists.

God, our source of wisdom and of all that is good. We thank you for the city of Sparks, for its people, its history, its resilience, and for the opportunity to serve a community that continues to grow and thrive. As this council gathers here today, we ask for clarity of thought, integrity in decision-making, and respect in every conversation. May differing perspectives be met with open minds and may the common good remain at the center of every choice. Grant patience where challenges arise, courage where difficult decisions must be made, and humility to listen to one another and to the voices of those we represent. May the work done here today strengthen trust, promote safety and opportunity, and help ensure that the city of Sparks remains a place where families, businesses, and future generations can flourish. We are grateful for this time, this responsibility, and for the shared commitment to serve in Jesus name. Amen.

Thank you. Thank you. And if you'll remain standing for the pledge of allegiance. Um, assistant city manager Miss McCormack, would you mind leading us? I would be glad to. Please join me in the pledge.

I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, we'll move on to item 4.1, public comment. If uh you would like to make public comment, if you have not already done so, uh please fill out one of these forms and hand them to the young ladies at the end of the the table here. Um first one we have is Jean Griffith. Please state your name for the record. Uh, for the record, my name is Jean Griffith and I'm a resident of Sparks. More than a decade ago, when my husband and I first chose Northern Nevada as the place where we wanted to retire, we explored all over the Reno, Carson, and Sparks area. We really liked Sparks despite our real estate agent pushing us towards Reno. We found a home in the Vistas that we liked and one in Wingfield that we loved. And ultimately, that was the home we purchased. We were very excited to share our good fortune with a family member who lived down in South Reno and their spouse, a Reno native from a prominent family. You might imagine my shock when in response to the news that we were going to reside in Sparks, the Reno's native reaction was, and I'm paraphrasing here, along the lines of, "Well, you know, you can't see sparks from here, but you can smell it.

I was shocked and appalled that this person actually said that to us out loud. It was the first I knew that Reno natives have absolutely no respect for Sparks or the people who live here. What is more disappointing for me in this moment is my concern that the lack of respect this council may seem to have for their own city. Wingfield Springs, Wingfield Hills, Redhawk, the Vistas, Deandria, they are all jewels in this city. Miramont and the Vistas where we live now is adding 200 new homes built by Ryder. Condos constructed off of both North and Los North and South Los Altos are adding even more residents. The new homes being built just east of Golden Eagle Eagle. And now there's talk of destroying the lakes's course at Red Hawk in order to add 700 plus more homes to the area. All without any apparent thought to the infrastructure required to handle all this proposed development. Where is the planning for additional sewer, water, school, roads, etc.? God forbid there's a wildfire in our area with Vista Boulevard already burdened with traffic. How are the residents of nearly 1,000 new homes supposed to safely evacuate? And speaking of overburdened roads, I gather there are also rumors of adding a major highway that would possibly cut through areas east of Wingfield or Golden Eagle Regional Park. Why not bring in tractor trailers through residential neighborhoods? That'll be fun and safe for everyone. It's clear that the residents of Reno look down their noses at those of us who live in Sparks. What I don't understand is that the council may appear to do so. Also, how can you even entertain a proposal that would destroy some of the most desirable neighborhoods in our city? I ask you, is the money from the Cenino family really worth selling out

your own constituents, your neighbors? Is it? I thank you for your time.

Thank you, Jean. And next, we'll have Martell A Yuka man was in critical condition Friday at Lomol Linda University Medical Center where he was taken for treatment of head injuries after a car crash Thursday. Authorities said Mark Markel, 24, was thrown from a 1977 Dotson as it overturned on Live Oak Canyon Road at the eastbound Interstate 10 offramp at 4:30 p.m. said California Highway Patrols officer Amber Dale. The driver was driving south on Live Oak Canyon Road when he lost control of the car, struck a curb, and skidded into the off-ramp. The vehicle rolled over several times, and landed on top of Mark Markel.

Okay, I [laughter] good good afternoon, Mr. Mayor Pro Tim, city council members, city manager, and city [clears throat] at uh see attorney. I'm sorry. I I'm just here to warn you and show you people what could happen when you get in the car with the drunk driver. But I was I was in the car and we are doing t-shirt. We're doing 200 and we roll eight times and car not there. I basically want to tell you warn the people and show you people what can happen if you get a drunk driver. I'm not all there but I am out there to warning people and shooting people. I don't have much more to say. I just want to be an example. Thank you.

Thank you Mark. Next up is Meliss Melissa Partika. Um, followed by Katherine and I apologize the last name Royale.

Good afternoon, mayor and council members. My name is Melissa Partika and I've been a resident of Simmeron East, the Highlands subdivision in Northeast Sparks for the past 23 years. I'm here today to oppose three proposals that are before you and more importantly their combined impact on our community. First, I strongly oppose the proposed RTC connector road along the eastern border of our neighborhood extending from the top of La Pasada. This area is heavily used by residents like me for hiking, walking dogs, and enjoying one of the last quiet open spaces in this part of the city. These na natural areas would be destroyed to create a high-speed high volume bypass intended to relieve congestion on I80. While I agree that I80 has become increasingly congested, that congestion is largely driven by warehouse development along USA Parkway in Story County, not Sparks. Diverting fast-moving traffic into residential streets posted at 25 to 35 miles an hour is unsafe and dangerous. These streets are school bus routes, pedestrian and bike corridors, and are even frequented by wild horses every year. Second, I oppose the proposed development of more than 760 high density homes on the Red Hawk Lakes Golf Course. This area includes an environmentally protected wetland and was designed around it. Even setting the environmental concerns aside, the traffic is significant. Vista and Sparks Boulevards are already at or beyond capacity and are a constant source of resident complaints. Vista Boulevard, particularly now between Holy Cross Church and Hubble Drive, is currently in a state of complete disrepair. Adding hundreds of homes and subsequent increased traffic will further strain an already failing infrastructure. Third, I strongly oppose the closure or browning out of Sparks Fire Station 5 on

Vista Boulevard. When we moved to the Highlands in 2003, fire sprinklers were required because there was no fire station within two miles. Station 5 later later provided critical coverage, including a paramedic staffed ambulance. Closing station 5 would increase emergency response times to our neighborhood from approximately 2 to three minutes to over 8 minutes from station six without even accounting for traffic congestion or the fact that station six would be serving a much higher call volume with the addition of those proposed homes. Those delays can be a matter of life or death. Individually, each of these proposals raise serious concerns. together, the RTC connector, 760 new homes, and the loss of our closest fire station that creates a very dangerous situation. Who will respond to traffic accidents, medical emergencies, or fires? How will residents evacuate during a wildfire or a flood if Vista and Sparks boulevards are gridlock? More traffic, more congestion, more pollution, loss of open space, increased risk, and environmental harm. These are all consequences we face. I strongly oppose all three. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, Melissa and Katherine. Followed by Fred Krueger, please.

Good afternoon, Katherine Riyos. I am in strong opposition of selling off Nevada public lands in Wo County. I oppose the northeast connector of the I oppose the destruction of the Prawn National Conservation Area. I oppose semi-truckss driving on the same roads as school buses. I oppose construction trucks with no screens or covers on their loads. I oppose burning man vehicles with items and materials improperly secured and unsafe on their vehicles. I have seen firsthand what has been happening continues to happen in Northern Nevada. Let's take a look at the McCarron Business Center USA RTIC area. I used to hike all over the mountains in the USA Parkway area long before all of the destruction, the ugly data centers, huge warehouses, heavy traffic, fencing, and lock gates. This beautiful high desert area was once one of my go-to hiking areas. It was once home to an abundance of wildlife from lizards to wild horses and any and everything in between, including predators. It was often it was off the beaten path with wildlife, natural water sources, and a go-to peaceful location. It was where I first truly noticed a black collared lizard, a big fast reptile you would see sunbathing on a rock or running quickly across my path as I was hiking. Let's not forget about Nevada wild horses that called this area their home. Nevada politicians need to preserve our water, wildlife, including wild horses and burrows, and our land. Selling off public lands in Washa County to obtain land on the PAR range will have the same end result. It will it will just be a repeat of the destruction that has taken place in the RTIC USA Parkway area. The Northeast Connector will impact and destroy the homes of an abundance of wildlife, deer, analopee, big horn, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, wild horses, the list goes on and on. The Northeast Connector will bring excess traffic, noise, pollution,

trash, and transients into the nearby communities and into our neighborhoods. The Northeast Connector will have a major impact on every homeowner from Home Run along Vista to La Pasada, from La Pasada down to Pyramid Highway. Those in favor of the Northeast Connector have no idea of the huge financial impacts this is going to have on homeowners properties, the toll this will take on homeowners health or just they don't care because it won't have a direct negative impact on them directly. It is time for story and Lion County to develop homes, child care centers and pro provide community resources for the individ individuals working in their counties. City of Sparks has continually stated there are no funds to build, improve, or enhance roads in Northern Nevada. What is going on within the Department of Transportation? Where is the $9 million from Uprise? Where is the $25 million in discrepancies? Where is the $25,000 unaccounted for invoices? Where is the $20,000 unauthorized vehicle modifications? The state of Nevada needs to complete a thorough investigation within the Department of Transportation and provide a detailed report of the findings. It is imperative all concerns are reviewed and taken into consideration. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Katherine. Fred, followed by William Sukar. Good afternoon. My name is Fred Krueger. Uh just as a quick background, I've had 32 years in federal government and 7 years in state government. Uh I live at 799 Orange Plains Drive and Highlands at Simmeron and I'm here to oppose the Northeast Connector uh for the following reasons. Uh, one is the planning that RTC has done and I think that really needs to be looked at because I use the example of Pyramid and RTC proposed the widening of Pyramid from McCarron to roughly Walmart going north. Then they stopped there and they put sidewalk barriers and sound walls up. They should have extended the three lanes all the way to Pebble Creek if they wanted to have traffic going to 80. And it doesn't matter because it goes both ways. I have sat at the intersections in the morning. It's not 5050, but at least 40% of the traffic is going north in the morning with 60% going south. So, it's not just going to 80 both ways, but yet they choked it down and that wasn't right. So, that's just poor planning in my opinion. Uh number number three is that the people in Highlands at Simmeron are actually scared of the northeast connector. A lot of us own our homes. Yes, we're retirees and we moved here like other people have said for the peace and quiet. Sparks has that and open space. But these people are scared from the standpoint that the Northeast Connector could reduce their values to where they're underwater in home values. So they're actually scared and the people I have talked to so far. So I don't want to be just a nimi. I commend you folks for being here because it's a tough job. I'd be the first to tell you that. But at the same time, you need to do better

planning. And I think there's some alternatives. One would be do redo pyramid now. Extend it all the way to Pebble Creek. Instead, what we did with the planning RTC, which I've been critical of RTC, they spent $438 million, this is a fact, on the Northeast Connector study. $438 million. Poop. And you've heard some of those concerns on a Northeast Connector already. So then let's go to Vista, which is a concern. I understand it's busy. We're not going to get away from traffic and sparks. But the fact is we're widening Vista up to Bearing. Why wouldn't we widen Vista up to at least railies now to let the traffic the traffic isn't going to get less? You know that. So why wouldn't we extend it now while it's cheaper versus Well, let's go to the Northeast Connector. So I'm against that. Uh, Sparks Boulevard could be widened all the way through to what is it? The Highland Parkway going up and over to Sun Valley. No, we're going to add one lane at Pyramid and Sun Valley to put more traffic on Pyramid. We'll let it bleed on through to Sparks. At least it would take some of the pressure off of that. Uh, that's my my opinion and uh I look forward to visiting with you. Thank you for your hard work. We love it here in Sparks. Thank

Thank you, sir. William, followed by Diana Mackey. Good afternoon. My name is William Suchar. I reside at 7058 Pocco Bueno Circle in Wville Springs. My wife and I came to Sparks in 2019 looking for property when we came upon the Red Hog Golf Course development. It had everything we were seeking. open space, well manicured public landscaping, bicycle and walking paths, wildlife and parks. We purchased a Barker Coleman home, which we have updated over the past six years into what we thought would be our forever home. I'm here today to discuss the Red Hawk Land Company's proposal to convert the lakes's course into 764 residential housing units. I'm asking for your no vote on this proposal for the following reasons. I am concerned about the adverse effect this proposal will have on current property value. Estimated to reduce values by 15 to 25%. At 20 20% for me personally that would be a $200,000 hit to my wallet. At age 82, I don't have enough time to make up that loss. I have other concerns regarding this proposal as well. 764 units built on the area currently occupied by the Lakes course constitutes in my opinion very dense housing and to me it resembles a lowincome housing project. Additionally, 764 units converts into 1500 or more vehicles utilizing the existing community roads which already suffer from curb to curb expansion and contraction cracks every 50 feet on average. There are three main arteries leading into Wingfield Springs. Vista, which is at capacity during rush hours, Sparks Boulevard, which is above capacity and

is currently being widened, and Pyramid, which was recently widened from Roberto Lane to Los Altos, but is still severely congested during rush hours. 1,500 additional vehicles utilizing these three entry points will make rush hour traffic a nightmare. I know that water rights are involved with this proposal and I wonder how the additional water requirements will be met. Also, our sewage treatment plant is currently operating beyond its design capacity and will require a serious and very expensive upgrade. I'm concerned who will pay for that. Approval of this proposal will likely result in an adverse impact to the health of many senior residents living through the increased noise along with dust and dirt as earth movers reshape the terrain, eliminating open space and wildlife habitat while destroying the lifestyles current residents contracted and paid for to live there. Finally, I am aware that Red Hawk submitted their own analysis on the financial benefit to the city should this proposal be approved. I would respectfully request that the council obtain independent consultants to ensure an unbiased evaluation on the actual benefit to the city. Thank you for allowing me to express my concerns today.

Thank you. [clears throat] And Diana, followed by John Corbin. For the record, my name is Diana Mackey. I've been a resident of Wingfield Springs since 1999. I live in council member by Ward 4. For transparency, I also serve on the executive board of the Democratic Party of Wo County. However, I am here solely as a private citizen. Those of us who live at Red Hawk experience this area in a way that cannot be understood from the outside. We see coyotes walking past our patios many times with someone's pet in their mouth. We see hawks perched on our fences. At night, we wake up because we hear the frogs or the owls or the carp uh nesting in our pond. And in the spring, we see the families of ducks and geese crossing the roads with their new babies. We occasionally glimpse the neighborhood bobcat or watch raccoons scatter during an evening walk. These are not abstract environmental concepts. They are part of our daily lives and part of what makes our community unique. I do not know a single resident of Springs who wants to see our neighborhood fundamentally altered or diminished. Because you do not live where we live, you cannot fully understand what it feels like to face the loss of the beauty, space, character that drew us here in the first place. When John and I and he dragged me all over Wingfield Springs, Reno, the whole county, trying to find a place to retire, we chose Redhawk and Wingfield Springs. Now, large financial interests are seeking to reshape and in many ways

destroy the very qualities that made this area our home. Only about 12 to 15% of people ever donate to political campaigns. Those of us who give 25 or $50 do it because we believe in our community and we hope our elected officials will return our calls and listens to our concerns. When developers and casino interests write $5,000 checks, it's reasonable for the public to ask what they expect in return. That's why I've encouraged my neighbors to follow the money by checking the Secretary of State's campaign finance website, which tracks contributions and expenses. So when the Cenos, Peppermill, Redhawk, or Western Village make those $5,000 contributions, the community deserves transparency. What outcomes are they hoping to influence? What access are they buying? And when decisions are made, whose interest will be prioritized? Those of everyday residents or those of the biggest donors? These are not accusations. They are the basic questions any healthy democracy requires us to ask. Transparency is not optional. It's the foundation of public trust. Thank you.

Thank you. And now we have John Corbin, please.

Followed by Donna Schwarz. Thank you. My name is John Corbin for the record. C O R B I N. Uh, I've been a resident of Red Hawk for 27 years now. And you know, every two to four years, all of you spend thousands of dollars on your campaign, whether it's flyers, whether it's yard signs, whether it's radio, TV advertisements, and you tell the voters that you have their best interest at heart. And you tell them that you're going to listen to their concerns about public safety, water, sewer, roads, traffic concerns, and the issues of growth. You know, citizens who live in Red Hawk are the voters who put all of you in your seats, every single one of you. They're the ones who pay your salary. They're the ones who voted for you. These are the people that work at, Safeway, at Grocery Outlet. They're the people who serve you breakfast, lunch, and dinner at our local Sparks restaurants. They're the ones who serve you coffee every morning at our coffee shops. They're the doctors and dentists that you go to. These are the people who live at and then around Red Hawk and they make up 10 to 12,000 voters who are your constituents, not the Cenino Corporation. Your consistent consistent constituents live here and the Cenos don't. They live in the Bay Area. This should be the easiest vote that you ever have to make while you're on the city council. Are you going to vote for your constituents who voted for you and put you in your chair? Or are you going to vote for a state developer who doesn't even live here? They live out of state. they live in California. I would hope that you'd have the moral compass. And as I said before, this should be the easiest vote that anyone on the city council ever had to make. Not one resident of Red Hawk will tell you that building 800 new units will make Red Hawk a better place. The Red Hawk Golf Course is doing just fine. The existing infrastructure Red Hawk can handle the current population, but it's at its limit. When David Loe envisioned Red

Hawk as a community, he envisioned a planned place where people wanted to call home. That's why he retired and lived here. It's also the reason that all of us chose to live here. And I think that you're going to find the backlash of this proposal is going to grow way beyond anything that any of you probably imagined. So, I'd ask you to take a serious serious look about adding 800 new homes to an area that's already at its limit. Thank you.

Thank you, Donna Schwarz. Follow Okay. Neil Schwarz. Good afternoon. My name is Neil Schwarz and I am running for state assembly in district 31 which is part of Red Hawk. I'm here today to talk to you about the proposed additional development of this area. I've been a realtor for over 30 years and I've worked in development of subdivisions of 50 acres or more both in Pacifica, California and in Contraosta County on the foothills of Mount Diablo. There are three major problems with this development. One being the infrastructure which includes water, waste treatment and roads which of not fully covered by their proposal. Two, the environment which includes traffic. noise pollution and endangered species that use the golf course as their habitat like the spotted owl. The third is a financial one by the homeowners that will lose the value of their property because of depreciation caused by not having the views or losing the status of not having a golf course home. When this project was originally designed, the developers sold their homes and priced them with the idea that they were surrounding a golf course. There are homeowners now that are thinking of selling their homes and which because of they're going to lose their value. This causes a could cause a crash in the real estate market in this area if these homes don't sell quickly. According to figures on the internet, the golf course and the clubhouse generate $14.4 million. However, owner developers feel that they're losing money, especially in

the winter when they can't play golf and there's snow on the ground. This is Sparks. It's not Las Vegas. It's not Hawaii. And it's not Palm Springs. They should have realized this when they first started developing this property. When the development was originally approved by the city, it had room for an additional couple hundred homes. Now they want to add an additional 600 for 800 homes. If you approve this project, you will cause deterioration in the quality of life of the Red Hawk community. I stand in solidarity with the Red Hawk homeowners and oppose this project. I want to thank you for allowing me to talk.

Thank you. and Beth Cooney.

Hi. A little bit more of the same. Sorry about that. Uh I'm Beth Cooney and my husband and I reside at 2871 Billy Dove Court in Sparks. Uh I'm here today to talk in opposition to the upcoming Ceno Homes proposal to change the master plan and replace Red Hawks Lakes Golf Course with high density housing. We built our custom home in Wingfield Springs in 2003. We selected the community uh to make our investment based on the master plan. A master plan serves as an implied contract between land owners and the governing body. As citizens, we have the right to expect a master plan communities won't be fundamentally changed. As our trusted elected representatives, we look to you to make decisions that maintain the long-term health of the community above the short-term promise of tax dollars. In a time of immense housing growth [clears throat] in Spanish Springs, preserving community open space and the beauty of Wingfield Springs is the right choice for the entire community. Wingfield Springs is a coveted area within Spanish Springs. The most expensive homes and highest property tax contributors in all sparks are at Red Hawk. Homeowners have paid tens of thousands of dollars in lot premiums for their location based on a beautiful community that has come to fruition. I am a successful realtor uh and have sold many houses in the Sparks area. With plans that have leaked out, the potential demolition of the essence of Wingfield Springs has already stopped sales. I currently have two homes listed in the community. We have we had a deal cancelled in fact just this week based on the proposed project. The ultimate sales price for these houses will be less than current market value and it's remains to be seen how much that will be but it definitely will be as much as you hear estimates of 10 to 20%. Approving these plans would irerrically sorry harm the homeowners and residents

in the community taking the specialness beauty and open space away. There are many other solutions that would maintain open space and spe specialness of the community. Just because Cena organization can't make money on the golf course doesn't mean that somebody else can't. If that's not possible to sell to another golf course operator, there are many other options that would serve our your constituents and the future of Sparks. These options have successfully been implemented in other communities and include bond efforts for community to purchase the land, regional plan, regional parks, and more. I urge you to consider all the options and impacts of this detrimental proposal and vote uh no when the time comes. Thank you.

You all right? Is there anyone else that wish to speak? All right, we're going to go ahead and close public comment and move on to item 5.1, approval of the agenda. Do we have any changes or do we have a motion? Uh, Council Member Abbott, I excuse me. I move to approve the agenda submitted. Council member Vanderwell, second.

All right, please vote. And it passes unanimously with those present. Move on to item 6.1, consideration, possible approval of the minutes of the Spark City Council meeting and the Spark City affordable housing workshop for January 26, 2026. And uh we have a motion from member Vanderwell. I move to approve the minutes of the Spark City Council meeting in the Spark City Council affordable housing workshop for January 26, 2026. And Mr. Rodriguez. Second. All right, we have a motion, a second. Um, all those wish to I'm sorry. Yeah, let's vote.

Passes passes unanimously with those present. Thank you. And with that, we'll move on to item 7.1, proclamation for Black History Month. Do we have anyone here for that event? All right, go ahead and go ahead and read it.

Hey, thank you. Whereas this month, we pay homage to the rich history and contributions of black Americans who have shaped our city in countless ways through centuries of struggle and triumph. And whereas Black History Month was first proposed by scholar Carter G. Woodson in 1926 and it lifts the black experience in a fuller telling of America's story. And whereas 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month and offers a special opportunity to reflect on a century of national commemorations and have helped transform how we understand black history and its pivotal role in the broader American story. And whereas the 2026 national theme, a century of black history, commemorates, invites us to explore the impact and meeting of a century of celebration and reflection, highlighting not only historical achievements, but the evol evolution of how black history has been told, taught, and celebrated in every sphere of life. And whereas such commemorations remind us that black history is American history encompassing the stories of enslaved and free laborers, community builders, scholars, artists, entrepreneurs, activists, and everyday citizens whose lives and contributions have save have shaped the moral and social fabric of our nation. And whereas during this month, we honor generations of leaders and ordinary citizens alike who through conviction and courage have expanded opportunity, advanced justice, and enriched our cultural heritage for all. And whereas as we celebrate the centennial mind milestone, we also reaffirm our commitment to equity, inclusion, and freedom for all people, reflecting the enduring truth that no one of us can be free until everybody is free. As expressed by Dia Dr. Maya Angelo. And now, therefore, I, Ed Lawson, mayor of the city of Sparks, Nevada, do hereby pride proclaim February 2026 as Black

History Month in the city of Sparks, Nevada, and encourage all citizens to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and educational efforts that honor the legacy, history, and ongoing contributions of black Americans. Okay, we'll move on to item 7.2, proclamation for National News Literacy Week. And do we have anyone here for that? Come, if you would come on, come on down.

If you'd both like to come down, please take a seat here. Member BBY will read the proclamation, then we'll give you a moment to speak. Thank you, Mayor Proim. Whereas news literacy is the ability of critically ability to critically evaluate the credibility of news and other information, recognize the standards of factbased journalism and make informed decisions about what to trust, share, and act upon. And whereas strong news literacy skills empower individuals to engage thoughtfully in civic life, contribute to informed public discourse, and strengthen communities. And whereas National News Literacy Week highlights the importance of providing students and the public with tools, resources, and learning opportunities that foster critical thinking, media awareness, and responsible information consumption. And whereas the News Literacy Project is a national leader in advancing news literacy, news literacy education by providing free curriculum, professional development, and resources to educators nationwide and continues to support a broad coalition of partners working toward this shared goal. And whereas National Lu's Literacy Week is made possible through the collaboration and support of educators, journalists, libraries, nonprofit organizations, community groups, families, and sponsors who are committed to promoting factbased information, civic engagement, and helping learners of all ages navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly changing information landscape. And

whereas the week of February 2nd to the 9th, 2026 has been designated the 7th annual National News Literacy Week, encouraging communities across the nation to elevate news literacy education and awareness. Therefore, on behalf of Ed Lawson, mayor of the city of Sparks, we hereby proclaim the week of February 2nd to the 6th as National News Literacy Week here in the city of Sparks. [applause] And if you would please state your name for the record.

Sure. I'm Jody Ben. I am the coordinator of the news literate community initiative here in Wo County. And if I could invite you to go to our website and sign our pledge and if you would indulge me in just a moment to read it, um you might be really motivated to go there. As a news literate community member of Nevada, I pledge to fight truth decay in all its forms, utilize critical thinking and factchecking of news media sources, and will encourage my network to support news literacy for the benefit of future generations. So, thank you for the proclamation. We're grateful. Ditto, [laughter] you had to tell us who you are. Thank you.

Give us your name. I'm I'm Steve Mulannan, retired communications director in the Wash County School District, but here in my private citizen capacity. Wonderful. Thank you. Well, thank you both. Thank you very much. And if you'd care to step over to the side here, um council, and I just want to thank you both for being here. I know we had a snafu on when we were going to present this, but we're in the correct week to do it and appreciate the work that you're doing. And I think raising community awareness, public awareness is really the key. And uh hopefully people see this and go take the pledge and and follow what you all are doing. So thank you for joining us today. You will be back next year. Okay. To prevent truth decay.

Correct. All right, we'll move on to item 7.3 presentation from Hexagon Unified Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Suite Software Replacement Project for an update. Hello, good afternoon, Mayor Prom, members of council. Russ Elder, your IT development manager for the record. Um, I'm also one of the agency coordinators assigned to the Hexon project. And today we're going to be giving you an update. Uh, normally given by one of the coordinators, but we're joined today with uh, Hexon representatives. So, uh, Ben Ernst is here. He's the VP and general manager for Hexon's public safety division.

[clears throat] um and he's going to give you a brief presentation on the status of the project and hopefully answer any questions that you might have. So that said, I'll Ben come up. Yeah.

Just first of all name for the record. First name is Ben, last name is Ernst Eer N. As Russ indicated, I'm with Hexagon and responsible for our North American public safety business. Uh Mr. Mayor, council members, and other city officials, thank you for allowing me to be a guest in your meeting today. I appreciate the opportunity to provide an update, answer any questions, and receive any feedback from you. I have a couple three or four slides. I'll try to go through it in an expeditious way, but also provide some content and then allow for time for questions at the end if that's okay. Um, let me make sure I do this right. So, okay, just uh some brief background, most of which you're probably aware, but I'll just take a few minutes. Uh the contract amongst the various agencies was signed with Hexagon in the fall of 2023. We started the the actual engagement on the initiative in November of 23 at the time with a even though a contracted 27-month timeline that the parties agreed to try to do it in a more aggressive time frame and try to go live in what's noted there at the very end in September of 20125. We went through obviously several months of of testing, preparation, meetings, configuration sessions, all the things that go into developing a mission critical software system. Um, ultimately, and so that that's the background ultimately. Um, as you're probably aware, we had a delayed schedule. Um, we didn't meet the go live that really about this time. That was initially uh I said second initially we're going to do it in November or September of last year. We then delayed till February of this year. We're now looking at a go live more in the early fall of this year. Um as we try to finalize the interface development that's all the integrations to the third party systems in and around the county and state. Um and we're we're doing the

uh remediation of the of the software issues to meet the requirements that have been contracted. And then as I mentioned, we're preparing for the the go live later this year. Um, just a couple other things in terms of the timeline. I just tried to lay out kind of where we're at between now and then. As you see, we're in kind of the final testing phases working with the agency coordinators and members of the different various public safety agencies, police, fire, EMS. Um, and then we'll go into a more elongated, I think it's a 90-day training schedule. That's again part of the contract that we allow that much time. And then eventually I have the go live and then the reliability period towards the end of 2026. Um, [clears throat] a couple just critical next steps and I think this is my last slide and then certainly welcoming any questions is as I mentioned we're completing the system readiness right now with with all the different departments and agencies that are involved. Uh, I mentioned the enduser training. I have a line there for contractual alignment. And I guess what I really mean by that is um, as we've gone through and worked together with the different departments. Um, I it's my understanding and certainly been presented to me that there's been some unaccounted for expenses that the various cities and counties have had to incur. And so I'm working with the agency coordinators, the CIOS, and other kind of agency representations just to make sure that everybody's made whole, if you will. And so we're working through that right now. I've been in several discussions in the last two weeks with members of Sparks, Reno, the county, as well as REMA as we work to a conclusion there. Uh I'm optimistic and I I would hope that my my peers on the customer side, your side would would agree with that. Then eventually the project go live. And so again, just kind of did a quick run through there because I think I wanted to leave more time for questions and comments that you may have

of me as it relates to the project. I think yeah, that's the last slide. So I don't know if I went too far there on the slide deck, but nonetheless, that was a a quick quick update. Well, thank you for being here and talking to us. You mentioned in your presentation about it being mission critical, not only for the city of Sparks, but our entire region. And I appreciate you giving us an update other than, you know, staff saying, "Hey, here's where it is." But we'll open it up for questions from the council. Uh, do any of the council members have any questions? Member BY.

Thank you, Mayor Prom. Um, so Ben, I know this has been a really long road and a very frustrating one. And for people in the general public who don't know what we're talking about, Hexacon is basically our dispatch system, regional dispatch coordination, correct? I mean, in the simplest terms, um, [clears throat] trying to do it regionally and upgrade what we need to do for all of our safety in the whole region. So, it's been frustrating that the timeline has been pushed really a year past what we originally had hoped for, I guess. Uh I I'm I'm glad that we're working with you. I'm glad especially that you're looking at um at the additional expenses and time that we've put in uh all the jurisdictions uh to have this um to make it successful, which it needs to be. It's critical and it is mission critical to get it done get it done right. But I appreciate the fact that uh that Hexagon that you are looking at at what our costs were in our time and uh that we can work out being uh made whole as you said on on what we have expended on this project that is uh really important. So I guess my my question is how how certain are we that we're looking at the um September for go live? I I guess it's hard because we've had so many hiccups and it just seems to be taking forever. How how can you reassure me that we're looking at September as being a pretty realistic date to get this to get this live because it is so important that we get it on board?

Yeah, I appreciate the I appreciate the question and and as you said, just for for clarity, we're today in terms of when 911 calls are made, we are not the system of record today. We are working to become that in the future. just I think obviously you know that but just for clarity um I think one of the things we we we probably mistakenly did at the beginning is we were really focused on the go live date and less focused on kind of the system readiness meaning that's when we start training right and so I think what we've done a better job of here um in the last 3 four months or so is is two things number one I think we've brought a more near-term goal as opposed to something that was many months out in the distance versus um and I think that's brought clarity to the project plan and the project team. I think that's one. The second thing that I believe we've done is we have several team members that that spend every week here and so working closer knee to knee with the members of the various agencies has allowed for quicker resolution of some of the issues and challenges in the software. And so I think those two things give me increased confidence that we will meet kind of the the new go live or system readiness and then the go live that I outlined in the slides.

Member Rodriguez.

Uh thank you Mayor Proam. Um kind of similar. I'll be honest. Um uh you I'm the freshman here. I kind of walked in and and inherited this as we were moving forward uh before me. Um, but with that being said, like one of the things that is important to me and I think majority of us is that we're we're looking to look at exploring options of regionalizing our fire emergency services, which I'm pretty sure you're familiar with. So, as we look to that study to get that going, one of the key elements of that is you probably are hearing have heard from the jurisdictions is that we need that dispatch. So I guess I just want to hear again like what is the likelihood of September 25th or I'm sorry September of this year that being realistic a year later honestly.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that as I as I mentioned and just to kind of reiterate the point right what we're doing to try to ensure that we hit that date is we've really not done the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. We've we people are on on the ground working every day with the various team members to ensure that we hit the dates that have been outlined in the schedule. And so that's what we're doing different and that's what gives me increased confidence that we will in fact meet those dates and deadlines. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? Yes, Mr. Abbott.

Yeah. Um on that I appreciate my my colleagues for asking those questions. That's definitely I think uh one of our number one concerns is making sure that hits. But uh I'll ask on the other side, what's been one of the highlights of the project so far that you've been a part of or the team has been a part of that you could speak [clears throat] to?

Yeah, I think I think the biggest thing that that I would point to as a highlight is really the involvement and commitment and investment that that all the agencies have made to try to make this a success. uh we have not had an issue from the beginning as it relates to getting access to the resources who can help us make the right design decisions and so that involvement and that commitment from the four agencies has been a real highlight for me. Awesome. Thank you. Great. Well, thank you very much for being here and I think that's it for today. Appreciate it.

Appreciate it. Thank you again for allowing me to be here and we'll move on to item 7.4. 4 presentation from Northern Nevada Public Health and get an update from Dr. Kingsley the PowerPoint. Yes.

Are you sure? Welcome, welcome.

Good morning, Mayor [sighs] Prom and Council members. Uh Dr. Chad Kingsley, district health officer. Uh for the record, with me today is uh this board's appointed member, Steve Driscoll, as well as air quality manager, Francisco Vega. just coming here for a six month update of our accountability and those actions that we perform not only for all of Wo County but for uh Sparks as well. So just uh that accountability and protecting health through surveillance prevention and rapid response uh driving equity across across all our communities and standing readiness for emergencies in complex hazards. So our scope is you know we are multi-division division expertise cross- sector partnerships and operational resilience but we also you know when speaking so many about regionalizations we have over 70 years of being one of the regionalized partners here in within our community. So the office of the district health officer strategic leadership and governance just uh recently advanced EMS franchise revisions for accountability and adaptability manage federal shutdowns impacts to wick and title 10 programs uh EHS third party review and that's environmental health services uh with outcomes and from that the outcomes were announced visits for our restaurants and we'll be piloting that and successful interventions in tuberculosis measles and protessus whooping cough uh performance metrics. I just threw in a few, but my strategic partnerships on average I meet 19 to 22 of our strategic partners a month. Communications on average 300 to 400 a month. Uh out to our community and community engagements 11 to 15. Budgetary achievements from last year for fiscal year 25. We put a goal of saving 10%. We also as many of our partners are facing u budgetary constraints but we saved $1.5 million and I put in our um and it's through vacancies. So holding those positions open, holding a a hiring committee to evaluate each position and make sure that it is uh meeting our mission and

accomplishing our goals for our community. Uh we increase efficiency through modernization. So through informatics, we've saved three FTEEs. And so this allows us to be able to where like historically an office specialist would take three days putting in data. Now with informatics, it's uploaded within 30 seconds. And so, you know, it saves our our staff times and those where we can find efficiencies uh on those points. And we secured $2 million uh for fiscal year 272.8 through stat uh state uncatategoral funds. So, this is the first time really uh in the history of Nevada that we have been put into the governor's budget and through uh lobbying, we've been able to secure that funding to help sustain public health within our communities and within our state. Uh communications, public information, prompt, informative press releases. Uh we're always transparent accessibility to the media. Our largest one, flu uh viral flu shot was uh 15 uh 1500 comments, 225 new followers. Our digital accessibilities that we're all facing, but uh we are we will be compliant for 2026. We'll be meeting that goal within the next few months and our impact is strengthen trust and transparent across jurisdictions. Uh public health accreditation board. So it is a five-year cycle, but we meet national standards. So we have been reacredititated and we achieved that this past year. Our quality initiatives uh we automated uh air quality invoicing with a 95.7 on-time payments. We streamlined special event permitting with community service department and integration of staff performance metrics to add to the performance measures of our strategic plan. In 2027 to 2029 we have begun our community health assessment. So that is in partnership with Renown and included 15 focus groups and various surveys with over 600 individuals within our community responding. Uh the public forum for that for the results was just recently held mid January. And those top eight ones that came out are down there below. And this is what our community

spoke to us and said that they're they as a what is important to them for the healthare community and that's mental health access to health services economic stability health risk behaviors and early detection violence prevention and crime environmental sustainability substance abuse maternal and child health. Now a lot of these aren't new but what was new is number three economic stability. This is the first time that's ever appeared on a community health assessment. So it is something in our community that our community across here Wo County is is finding uh increase in an anxiety or concerns over economic stability what we have faced with us. So as we now we take this uh the community health assessment the CHAW and we do the CHIP the community health improvement plan. So over the next six months we'll be taking the CHAW and then uh deciding where on these points where can we make an impact and a meaningful impact. We'll also have the results from the 2024 20226 on those impacts that our community told us to focus on from the previous cha and those one we have 51050 healthy wash so that's school wellness assessments no so some mental health session for families the family health festival uh record reach we had over 200 clients served in 2025 and over 200k annual for behavioral health access so from our pre uh current ship and fulfilling those. So, air quality management uh there are regulatory leadership. So, they respond to EPA rollbacks. They they responded to EPA rollbacks for PM2.5 and GHG standards. So, that's the air particles within our community. I recently just read a report too that one of the the best indicators for your longevity, your life is your lung capacity. Sometimes don't realize how important is there that we breathe, but so monitoring AQI remained good moderate. We had a really good uh uh past year and we also wild wildfire smoke study was initiated. So

permitting over the last six months 29 295 plans reviewed with 99% on time 644 air permits issued 183 dust permits and 254 wood stove certificates. Uh our impact the advocy for advocacy for clean transit. So we uh advocated for it and were able to support and which was awarded 21.5 million grant for hybrid buses here in our communities. And then community reinvestment with the uh county school district electropowered maintenance uh community and clinical health services. So immunizations uh 12 thou over 12,000 doses with 5,200 individuals served. Uh tuberculosis control. So on uh on active cases uh approximately about seven per year. They used to be five or four, but now we're up to seven. Inactive, which we call latent tuberculosis with over 30. Most of these cases required nine months of treatment observed weekly. Um, with that, but we has we sustained adherence through the whole year. Sexual health, over 2,000 clients served. 46% of them were uninsured. So, we're kind of the stop gap. We are also the only clinic that offers daily walk-in visits for uh for these services. Um, we've also same thing, we always reserve so many so individual in our community can go there to get same day services. Uh, we're able to extend some services. We have preps and docu preps and EMPOX vaccination. And I put it down there a little bit low, but we also now include infertility support. So, we do offer ovulation tests now to help support anybody that is facing infertility. if they can't afford those tests that we're able to provide them for that maternal and child health. So the fetal inform fetal infant mortality rate advanced policy and so now our eent departments uh they do uh rapid syphilis testing on okay we have about four cases a month and that means that if somebody comes in they get treated in that moment and we don't have

to go to try to find them anytimes we lose them so that has been a from AB360 last legislative session lead screening about 44 45 open cases and that's newborn screening and cribs for kids is included in that and then our chewy Community health workers are bilingual. They are focused on increasing access to care. Wick our participation went 4.5%. Uh during the shutdown, we went week to week until uh the government federal government was ready to reopen. If we had closed, we were going to be the only wick open in all of Nevada. And we were going to be able to sustain that for up to six weeks um for up to six months for our community if we needed to um uh at that time. So they receive those essential services. Environmental health services. Lot of numbers here. Food safety, consumer protection. The Red Nugget Rib Cookoff. I don't know if you may know, but we had a minor tsunami attack us that very first day. Very nervous, but we got a bunch of inspections out there. But that requires 400 inspections at just the the Nugget Rip Cookoff every year. So that's the one thing we guarantee in this community here in Sparks. So we do an inspection in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night. And it's out of normal because we allowed them to cool and and heat the various foods through that process to allow that go. So it takes a lot of coordination. 70 plus inspections for hot August nights and 72 for great Italian festival. Our active managerial courses 25 to 31 a month. That's teaching uh managers of food establishments to run them correctly. Foodborn disease illness complaints. Um about 6 to 10 a month that we go out to. U there was an infant formula recall. Uh and also we participated in a pilot composting program here for Wo County that need can go and pick up and transport uh compost. Uh we did receive a grant for PAS for testing our waters even though all regulations on PAS have been pulled back by the federal government. Um we are still able to have this. So we are it's a safe drinking

initiative to make sure that our water is safe and that and free from plastics. mosquito surveillance. We still uh did uh 600 plus tools uh pools tested and 650 treatments. We did have to decrease air services, but our staff was very diligent and we were able to uh maintain the as best of service as we could on those points. Land development, our septic wells, 71 plans, 44 new submitts. Uh the sand filter shortage, who knew public health dealt with sand, but uh we engaged the public on that. had over 100 attendees. We need uh sand for our filters in our pools and we uh we found a a source for it. And then we met all our inspections from pools, hotels, fuel sites, waste facilities, land and land liquid waste trucks. And then just down performance down there, we did meet 92 to 90% within our 14year goal of our commercial plan reviews. And then over 4,000 food inspections and complaints and public records, population health, so that's our epidemiology. uh community respiratory dashboard. So now this is updated so anybody can go in and at any influenza they can see the past five years what our trends look like how much we had in our community when it when it spiked when it went down and that's available to the community. So previously whooping cough prior to the last sort of 10 years we on average had eight cases in 2025 we had over 40 cases and with the two high schools was over 200 exposures of those students. So we put it increased a burden on our local health care system. This past month we had another exposure at a middle school with over another 200 exposures to students. So we're continuing seeing this case uh and and actively engaging with our community and notifying them through surveillance. We did have one measles case. It turned out as best case possible. We didn't have any contaminants. We were very promptly on top of it. We're able to respond and contain any type of uh outbreak from there. On average we have outbreaks mo mostly we see in our schools but gastrointestinal hand foot mouth and

rash animal bites can be anywhere from 20 to 30 a month food born disease and then a fungal or thrush that we also track um sexual health there's a cases there but we initiated all cases within 5 days and by law we have to close them within 30 days for chlamydia and 60 days for syphilis and I'm get all these numbers here preparedness I always like to point out the IHC the inner hospital committee it is one of the national we are the gold standard for the nation on what we run on how we coordinate all our hospitals and our health care system and they come together and do an amazing uh interventions for our community. They did exercises on a beta burn uh silver pivot and cyber ready. We had flu pod practice uh EMS oversight priority when compliance so 91% in zone A 90 to 96 in zones B to D chronic disease prevention uh listing all those but uh uh stepping on fall prevention tobacco control youth vaping prevention cannabis education traffic safety suicide prevention. Um there's a recent uh legislative where somebody can go to a site and put if they feel they were in a crisis and put their firearm in a in a locker, no questions asked, and anytime they can retrieve it, no like that. It just provides a safe place for it. We also had a reaction uh a prescription takeback with over 5,000 pounds medications collected and vital records. We do vital records but uh we actually having more deaths than births but these are our numbers on vital records uh that we issue out on a on our monthly basis. Overall maintained essential services despite funding volatility advanced maternal child health systems strengthened emergency preparedness and delivered measurable community engagement and health outcomes. lessons we learned from the state. Cyber resilience, what we need to do to prepare if that occurs and contingency planning, a data-driven information for systemic change uh systemic change,

community alignment ensures operational integrity and positively navigating federal public health dismantling uh priorities for the next six months. So, we will be piloting on the environmental health announced visits with our restaurants. We seem rather excited for that. Uh we'll be following through to that and see how that uh increases our relationship with our restaurants. For the first time since the building built on Ninth Street, we have a public health building opening probably within by the end of this month. But the tuberculosis clinic, which you're all invited to, we'll send an invite to you, will be opening up and excited for that. That's right next to West Hills, but a brand new building through ARPA. uh we'll be f finalizing we have a six-month process to continue to finalize the EMS franchise revisions and then uh maintain a disease surveillance and then budget priorities we are in a in a pinch we are in solvent next year uh we are addressing that and we are having our board retreat this month where our board received direction from our board and able to follow forward with that um federal funding is like all of us we wake up a new day to something new tuberculosis we did only receive 50% of our funing ing for the year. We hope to receive that uh the rest of it for the rest of the year. And then insurance premiums, Cliff, I think we're all watching that for uh like that. So, thank you for giving me a little extra time there. I need to shrink it down to 10 minutes, but open to questions. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Dr. Kingsley. We'll open it up for questions from the board or the members of our council. Yes. Go ahead, Mr. Rodriguez. Uh thank you, Mayor Proam. Um slide I do have about three or four questions. So slide number four, let me go there real quick. [clears throat] Um the very first bullet there says advanced CMS franchise revisions for accountability and adaptability. Can you kind of go a little bit more into that? Like what does that mean?

So as part of this is uh it means that previously if we had renewed the current contract it would have be extended to 2036. So we and with the possibility of 2042 and so working with that that was something that our community we needed a more flexible system so that if we needed to make changes more often it allow us to be adaptable and accountable to that and so as part of the uh the adaptation to it that is it that on a yearly basis we can make changes or adaptations to the franchise agreement. Um but it is a five-year cycle now that we go through and every fourth year is we designate as uh the overhaul of the franchise agreement. Previously from 2014 we had to wait to 2024 where we had to address that and then uh that extended out and obviously our community had concerns and there's still concerns. It's not a perfect but we made it adaptable so that we can adapt to that. So right now we have a six-month window from passage of it allows us to go and continue refine certain points in it. But on a yearly basis we're now able to go and address if we need to update or change. So example with the hexagon project when that is completed and we see those changes and how it would adapt into the EMS system. We don't have to wait another 10 years to go in and try to change the emergency medical dispatch. We can do it on a yearly basis.

Uh thank you for that. Um and then uh on the same slide uh on the budgetary achievements um I I guess that's an achievement uh the salary savings uh so those are from the vacancies I guess like can you kind of give us like a snapshot like I mean I look at that number I think that's a lot of people that could be either a working or b helping our community out so if you kind of like and

yes sorry thank you [clears throat] um so 1.5 is is our budget is about $39 million a year and so focusing on that. Yes, exactly that point. We navigated through these vacancies to be able to provide and that's where our expertise is at. Most of our staff 88 about 86% of our budget is staff when it comes down to it and but these are highly trained specific epidemiologists. Uh the REHS is for environmental health. we have a lot of, you know, expertise to to provide these services to our community. Um, but it was across the board and so on average, um, I would just say this is about 12 positions. Um, about four of them are from my office, ODHO. So, anytime a position would go vacant, so we began a hiring committee and so that would say, okay, come in and show us, demonstrate through data, you know, and impacts and performance metrics that this is needed and what's the impact. So an example is in APRN the they kept it open but they found that they were losing 44 to 44 appointments a day that they weren't able to meet for those walk-ins and so they we tried diligently for three months but we are coming in and we do see a need. We've seen other spots office specialists that they've been able to adapt and been able to has it overwhelmed or not overwhelmed has it affected services. So these vacancies that we've kept vacancy has yes increased the capacity to our staff. Um we're right at the border of not burnout but we have to watch that closely but that has been allowed us to be able to recognize efficiencies where we needed to. Um but it is also been helped to slow our curve in a sense of the amount of money. Uh this year we will absorb 3.5 million from our um we had a small reserve a few years ago and then the following year is 5.2 million

but we also have cola increases as well every year. So thank you. And then I think the last one or two was on slide 15. Um [clears throat] uh this is something I remember I was on the school board. It was a hot topic and you know we uh um there's always a heavy concern of ours but the the teen suicide the prevention. Yeah. Um can you can you just for the community and as Mayor Lawson likes to say for the millions of viewers on YouTube?

Um like what are some of the resource like how are you getting that message out? Um are you partnering with the school district or like like it's very commendable and it needs to be addressed 100%. So if you would like the suicide prevention the the individual we have it would be a wonderful presentation uh Joe Dibble he does amazing work on average we have about a hundred suicides a year um and so uh the different programs that we push out there and he is not on a grant we made this a priority that he is on our general fund to support that within our community. you know, this isn't a mandated program. Um, but overall, it's doesn't have a full teen focus. It's just overall prevent suicide prevention in our community, but and I don't want to do him a disservice because he could come in and speak highly to it. And he was instrumental in that program of with a crisis, if you if you own a firearm and you feel that you're in a crisis at any time and you want to put it into a safe place. So, we're we're grateful for him on on that point. But um for reaching our teens, I could speak more on the tobacco and vaping prevention than I could on teen suicide prevention. But it is something clear I would actually say if if depending on your board to invite Joe Dibble and happily he would happily come and do a presentation. But he will actually be presenting to member Anderson in March. So at the district board of health,

give you the presentation. Okay. All right. I think that's all I got. Thank you. Any other questions? All right, Dr. Kingsley. Thank you. Thank you. And on to item 7.5, boards and commissions vacancy announcements.

Thank you, Mayor Prom. There is one vacancy on the Sparks Building Code Board of Appeals for a 2-year term. The [clears throat] vacancy is for an electrical engineer or an electrical contractor representative. Applicants must have at least 10 years of experience, including five years being responsible charge of work. Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, February 25th, 2026 at 5:00 pm. People interested in serving on this committee should complete a community service application at the city's website, www.c cityofsparks.getvolved. Simply complete the volunteer application form and hit submit. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. And we'll move on to consent items. Item 8.1. Do we have a motion to approve? Mr. Rodriguez, I moved. Member Abbott. Second. Please [clears throat] vote. And the motion. [clears throat]

Motion passes unanimously. All right. And move on to general business. Item 9.1, consideration, discussion, possible appointment of Steven Esquaga to serve on the Sparks Tourism and Marketing Committee or Tourmark as a Nevada Resort Association member. And this is an action item. Uh, do we have any questions or concerns about that? Not from the city manager's office. No. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Um, any anyone wishes to make a motion here? Member Rodriguez.

I move to appoint Steven Squaga to serve on the Sparks Tourism Marketing Committee Tour Mark as the Nevada Resort Association member. Thank you, member Vanderwell. Thank you. Please vote. [clears throat] Motion passes unanimously. Item 9.2, 2 consideration discussion possible appointment to Steven Esquaga to serve as the Sparks Tourism Revitalization Steering Committee as the Nevada Resort Association member. Any questions on this or would anyone like to make a motion? Member BY.

I move to approve Steen Esquaga serve on the Sparks Tourism and Revitalization Steering Committee as the Nevada Resort Association member. Thank you. Member Rodriguez. Second,

please vote. Passes unanimously. Thank you. [clears throat] Item 9.3, consideration, discussion, possible confirmation of the mayor's appointment to two planning commission uh commissioners to serve the Truckucky Meadows Regional Planning Commission for a three-year term beginning January 1st, 2026, ending December 31st, 2028. from the following pool of applicants listed in alphabetical order. Marilyn Kramer, Carl Neberlin, um Evan Pritos, Prito Pto.

Thank you. Um Mike Rosson, Shelley Reid, Ricky Rodriguez Elkins, and Steven Sperber. And uh the mayor on this one did request uh Mayor uh Marilyn Kramer and Shelley Reid. Do we have a motion? Member Vanderwell. I move to confirm the mayor's appointment of Marilyn Kramer and Shelley Reid to the Treky Meadows Regional Planning Commission for three-year terms beginning January 1st, 2026 and ending December 31st, 2028. Member Abbott.

Second. Thank you. Please vote. passes unanimously with those present. Item 9.4, consideration of and possible action on the request to direct the city manager to initiate modifications to a to 12 final approved plans in the Kylie Ranch North plan development handbook phase 1 through 12 for the purpose of consolidating the 12 final approved plans into one final approved plan. Good afternoon.

Uh, good afternoon, Mayor Prom and members of the city council. Uh, for the record, Sienna, city planner. Um, as noted, this agenda item allows council to direct the city manager to initiate modifications to 12 final approved plans. This would be Kylie Ranch North plan development handbooks, phases 1 through 12, uh, for the purpose of consolidating those 12 approved plans into one final approved plan. Um, and this uh item does respond to council member Rodriguez's request from last December to bring this item forward for potential direction to the city manager. Um, as you are aware, the Kylie Ranch North plan development uh is unique in that the associated development agreement allowed for a tenative handbook that covered the full area that you can see all of the colors um in terms of a tenative handbook for that full geography, but allowed for final handbooks to come forward in subsequent time frames on their own smaller phases. And you can see each of those phases identified in the map overhead. Trying to get this There we go. Uh so ultimately that tenative handbook was adopted in 2004 and then each of the final handbooks came in between 2005 and 2022. With the adoption of that 12th and final handbook all of the provisions of the tenative handbook ceased and uh at this time what we encounter are variety of practical difficulties in administering 12 final handbooks. So, for example, if there are modifications proposed to a final handbook, an applicant needs to update the associated technical studies for that entire Kylie Ranch North geography. That could be a full traffic study, that could be a fiscal impact analysis. Um, but that is a situation that is complex and difficult for applicants to navigate when they think they're coming in for a relatively small change uh to a handbook. Um, in

addition, as development contemplated in the entire Kylie Ranch North geography continues, it's become clear that a mechanism is needed to preserve trips for undeveloped lands in Kylie Ranch North. Uh, the original traffic analysis for Kylie Ranch uh was prepared in 2003. That analysis identified a whole host of roadway improvements necessary to accommodate buildout of Kylie Ranch North. Um, however, the nature of commercial development has changed since that time. Uh, namely the number of drive-through restaurants uh have has really shown a very market increase. Uh, and these types of businesses do generate very high volumes of traffic. So, to ensure that trips uh associated with approved land uses remain available for undeveloped properties in the entire Kylie Ranch North geography, trips do need to be allocated to individual properties. And pursuing that approach is dependent on having one final handbook to work with uh rather than the current 12. So that there is a method to equitably allocate those trips across all of the villages uh and clearly identify how any unused trips might be transferred uh as portions of the uh development continue uh to be developed. Uh notably, this agenda item would allow uh work efforts to continue by staff um to evaluate the feasibility of consolidating those 12 handbooks into one final handbook. A key component of that feasibility is master developer approval of any change to any of the final handbooks. Um and staff did have preliminary uh discussions with the master developer uh who is receptive to an effort to consolidate the handbooks. So that's some good news. Um, and so ultimately, should the master developer formally approve amending the handbooks, uh, I do want to note to council that there is substantial work that lies ahead for staff to collapse all of those

handbooks into one. Um, and at this time I don't have an exact estimate for you of when that consolidation uh, might start moving through the public hearing process, but happy to answer any other questions. Great. Thank you. Questions for Sienna. Member Vanderweb. Thank you. [clears throat] Thank you, Sienna. Um I just a question. So collapsing all these into one and we do have the maximum daily trips for the whole area. Correct.

Uh thank you council member Vanderwell. Uh we do have those maximum uh daily trips identified in the previously approved traffic analyses and uh staff has uh through a consulting agreement uh gone forward and figured out a preliminary model to allocate trips to villages. So and then just a followup so we will not be going over the initial

uh no council member Vanderwell that is absolutely correct. Any other questions? I have one for you, Sienna. Are there any other multi-phase projects like Kylie Ranch where it could be impacted by um consistency or lack thereof of of combining like this? Uh thank you uh Mr. Mayor Prom. In the city of Sparks, we do not have any other handbooks that have taken this approach of one tenative handbook and then subsequent phases of final handbooks. So it it really is unique. Okay, great. Thank you, member by

So Sienna, just just to be clear because obviously I was here as Kai Ranch, each village came in and [clears throat] we took them all a bite at a time uh like the map shows. Uh but in essence what was approved those maps those handbooks in essence um are not changing consolidating them allows any any work that needs to be done uh because the requirements are the same across all the handbooks. They're just in separate handbooks right now. So putting them consolidated which was request of council councilman Rodriguez makes sense for streamlining the work that if there is work or additional um things that have to be considered and obviously traffic is a huge one and uh is one that that you have already looked at that uh that makes sense but we're not going in and changing what we've already what's in place already with Kylie Ranch and all the handbooks that have been approved already.

Yeah. Thank you. me. Uh, council member VBE, that's a great question. Uh, no. Staff would be working to just take all of the final handbooks as they're currently approved, make sure all of the provisions that are in them are in the one final handbook. And so, there'll be a lot of work making sure all of that is is double checked, triple checked. Uh, the only uh new component that staff uh could see coming forward would be the integration of information on trips. that is something that's not currently in any of the handbooks. So, uh staff would be bringing forward a handbook that would identify what is the maximum level of trips for each village just so that again we make sure that lands that currently are undeveloped can continue to be developed. We don't want to uh [clears throat] ultimately render any of those properties undevelopable. Member Rodriguez,

you uh just I just want to say thank you for the work. Um I know it's been a lot. Uh I appreciate you and staff keeping us updated as you go forward on this and uh um you know hope you know I do believe you know this this makes sense. You know it makes sense to staff as well that you know we can look at one handbook as opposed to 12 separate ones. So I just want to thank you and staff on that. So thank you. That's it. Uh do we have a motion? Member Rodriguez.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim. I move to direct the city manager to prepare proposed potential changes to modify 12 final approved plans. Kylie Ranch North plan development handbooks phased 1 through 12 for the purpose of consolidating the 12 final approved plans into one final approved plan. Member Vanderwell. Second.

We have a first and a second. Please vote. Passes unanimously. Thank you. Okay. Uh move on to item 9.5. Consideration discussion possible approval of a reimbursement to city of Reno for Sparks share of the construction contract with resource development company DBA far construction corporation for the Trekky Meadows water reclamation facility digtor 4 cover replacement project in the amount of $4,25,200 with spark share being 1,319,17124. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mayor Prom Council. My for the record, my name is Amy Egan. I'm the assistant plant manager at the Truckucky Meadows Water Reclamation Facility. Uh I'm here today seeking approval for the re reimbursement to the city of Reno for a construction contract for the digesttor 4 cover replacement at Tumbarf. Mayor Proam, since I am seeking approval for the engineering services during construction for the same project. After this, I would like permission to present both items at the same time. Yes, ma'am.

The digestion system treats the solid waste portion of the wastewater by breaking down the solids into gases and reducing the total solids that require disposal. There are six digesttors at Tumborf. Digesttor 4 was constructed in 1979 and has been in continuous service since. The cover was supposed to be repaired in 2009, but repairs to the cover could not happen at that time. During that project, it was noted that there was substantial corrosion to the cover and degradation has continued since that time. There are notable safety and structural integrity issues with this cover. In 2022, Brown and Caldwell was hired for pre-esign analysis and pre-esigned documents for alternatives to replace the current cover. Brown and Cwell Brown and Cal Cwell recommended a stainless steel fixed cover due to less moving parts and being more resistant to the corrosive environment of the digesttors in the current lid. As part of the fiscal year 2026 risk ranking process, the digesttor 4 cover replacement project ranked third. Reno cons Reno staff conducted a public bid and received four bids. Reno Resource Development Company won the bid for construction. Their bid came in approximately $1.5 million lower than the engineers estimate. This specific item is to award the construction to the resource development company. Supporting that effort is the next agenda item. With that item, staff are also seeking to hire Brown and Cwell to provide engineering services during construction for the this project

because of their expertise designing the project and familiarity with the operational and maintenance constraints at Tumborf. These items are included in the current year fiscal CIP. I'm happy to answer any questions. Appreciate it, Amy. Good job. Um, do we have any questions regarding item 9.5?

Wow, you did such a great presentation. No questions. All right, let me I'll entertain a motion. Member Abbott, excuse me. I [clears throat] move to approve a reimbursement to the city of Reno for Sparks' share of a construction contract with resource development company DBA uh doing business as far construction corporation for the tumorf digesttor for cover replacement project in an amount not to exceed $4,25,200 with sparks a share mean $1,319,17124. Member Rodriguez. Second.

All right, we have a motion to second. Please vote. Motion passes unanimously. And item 9.6, you already gave us all the information. If you don't have any questions, could we have a motion, please? Mayor Prom. Oh, I'm I'm trying to speed things up. Sorry. Oh, good.

Okay, let's go to an agenda item. How about that? Consideration discussion possible approval of a consulting agreement AC6175 with Brown and Caldwell in the city of Reno for engineering services during construction for the Truckucky Meadows water reclamation digtor number four cover replacement project in the amount of $448,215 with the spark share being $140,655. Now we have a motion. Member Vanderwell.

Thank you. I move to approve the consulting agreement AC-6175 with Brown and Caldwell and the city of Reno for engineering services during construction for the digtor number four cover replacement project at the Truckucky Meadows Water Reclamation Facility in the amount not to exceed $448,215 with spark share being $140,655. Member Rodriguez. I'll second.

All right, we have a motion and a second. Please vote. Motion passes unanimously. Item 9.7, consideration, discussion, possible approval of consulting agreement AC 6174 with Corollo Engineers Incorporated in the city of Reno for engineering design services for the Truckucky Meadows Water Reclamation Aiation Tank 1B rehabilitation project in the amount of $350,24 with spark share being $19,858.99. Welcome.

Well, uh, good afternoon, Mayor Prom and members of council. For the record, Casey Menser, treatment plant director at the Trek Meadows Water Reclamation Facility. So, I'm here today seeking approval of an agreement to conduct engineering design services for aerration tank uh, 1B. Uh, we have five aation tanks out at Tommorph. Those are the large concrete structures um that we use to remove organic pollutants and nutrients uh, during the wastewater treatment process. I know that you all have been out to the plant and have familiarity. Those are the tanks that are always actively bubbling. Um, aerration tank 1B is vintage to the original uh, plant construction. So, it was built in 1964 and it's been in continuous service uh, since the the commissioning of the treatment plant. It has not really had any significant work since 2006. Um, that also includes on the air diffuser membranes and uh, air diffuser grid which typically have a seven-year service life. So, it's time for us to uh, get in there and design some rehabilitation uh, improvements. uh between 21 uh 2021 and 2022 uh Corollo engineers they conducted evaluations of the concrete mechanical and process components of all of the different aerration tanks and they prioritized them uh based on need. Aeration tank 1B was identified as the second highest priority uh with most compon uh components of that tank being in the fair to poor condition. Uh this item is being requested to continue the rehabilitation recommendations as the highest priority. uh erration tank 1A was already uh designed and is now currently in the construction phase. So we're just moving on to the next highest priority with this uh with this project. Um Corollo had done the initial uh assessment and the design of aation tank 1A. So we view them to be the most qualified in this particular case and uh it is budgeted for in Tumborf's current fiscal year CIP. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions on this project.

Any questions for Mr. Mener?

I just have one. So, I mean, it's pretty impressive getting 60 years out of this tank. So, with the new process that we're going to do the rehabilitation with, do we expect the same or better outcome? We uh you know I I think that our efforts to continually do these rehabilitations to coat the uh you know coat the concrete to um you know replace the the metal, the pipe supports, the the um you know uh failing or um you know components that are in some state of disrepair. I I think that that's why it's lasted so long because we've always had this uh you know continued maintenance schedule and so I would expect that we will continue on keeping on with this tank. Uh I I think that you know structural assets certainly do have a a a you know a defined lifespan but I think that we certainly could expect with this particular tank that we would expect to see another say 60 years out of it.

So as long as our time Yep. [laughter] Awesome. Okay. Uh any Oh, I already asked for questions. No one have any. Um I'm willing to accept a motion. Member Abbott. I move to approve the consulting agreement AC-6174 with Corollo Engineers Inc. in the city of Reno for engineering design services for the Trek Meadows Water Reclamation Aeration Tank 1B rehabilitation project in the amount of $350,00024 way off $350,24 with Sparks' share being $109,858.99.

Mr. for Rodriguez. All right, we have a motion, a second. Please vote. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, sir. Thank you. All right, we do not have any public hearing action items unrelated to planning zoning. We do not have any planning zoning public hearings or action items. And uh we're back to public comment. Do we have any public comment to close us out here? All right, then we'll move on to the next one, which is announcements from the mayor, city council, or city manager.

All right. Well, with that, the meeting is adjourned.

Yes.