City Council - Regular Meeting

City Council meeting for July 27th with a roll call.

Mayor Lawson. Here. Council members Abbott.

Here.

Vanderwill. Here. Anderson.

Here.

Bybee. Here. Rodriguez. Here. City Attorney Duncan. Here. City Manager Laufen.

Here.

We have a quorum, thank you.

Okay, I'll start with the invocation by Pastor Brian Smith of Summit Christian.

I wanted to share just the wisdom that council needs if they lead and guide in our city of over 100,000 and the mic's going in and out. I don't know if that's my fault. But in Proverbs 3, it says, blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding for the gain from her being wisdom is better than the gain from silver and her profit better than gold. Or James 1.5, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you. So Lord, we come before you. We thank you God for the collective wisdom in the city council. God, we thank you for the wisdom in those in our city. those in our public service agencies. But God, we need more wisdom. And so God, would you fill us with your wisdom? Would you guide and direct this council as they make decisions that impacts families and businesses? Would you give wisdom as questions are asked, as answers are sought? And God, in all of this, as we live and are governed, God, would you get the glory? And so we praise you and we thank you in the name of Christ, amen.

Amen. Mr. Duncan, will you lead us in the pledge?

Okay.

All right. Public comment.

Mark Markell.

A U.K. man was in critical condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center where he was taken for treatment of head injuries after a car crash Thursday, authorities said. Mark Markell, 24, was thrown from a 1977 Datsun as it overturned on Live Oak Canyon Road at the eastbound Interstate 10 off-ramp at 4.30 p.m., said California Highway Patrol Officer Amber Drysdale. 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 Markell.

I was filled alive by Christ, by God, to show you people and warn you people about drunk driving. It looked like my face. It's, fuck, I'm sorry.

Yeah, no cussing, please.

Yeah, I'm sorry. It's messed up. This is, I, it just happened, and it's been since 89 since I had my crash, and it's still painful. So I'm here to warn you people and tell you people what can happen. And I don't really have much else to say. I've fallen on my face. It's a bad thing. I'm doing this often, but my brain isn't all there. Just don't get in the car with a drunk driver. This is what can happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mark.

Hi there, Sean Sullivan for the record. Speaking simply as myself, Sean, I'm commenting on item 9.2, the combining of leadership with Reno Fire. It's kind of confusing to me. It's not quite my expertise. There were a lot of efficiencies called out in the proposal that I support. And it seems like an odd time to be reducing leadership if we need to be changing up things in the department. I think this can also play potentially into the Station 5 issue. Again, I'm not an expert, but... Yeah, I do support reducing upper management if it makes sense, but doing it this way seems to invite potentially divided attention. They may have different issues within the department, different cultures, and that's what a separate independent chief would cater to. It invites conflict of interests, potentially accountability complications. And I do understand that some of SPARC's fire department have expressed concerns regarding under-resourcing versus Reno already. And potentially it's not a huge stretch to imagine that this could get worse. It seems like if downsizing is needed, perhaps some roles could be combined within each department and they stay independent. This doesn't seem to be addressed at all in the proposal. There are potentially other issues that could come up, tilting of priorities. It could affect pay scales and seniority and potentially even union issues. Again, I'm not an expert here. But it certainly seems like it's likely to reduce our representation in a very important issue. So I guess my recommendation is to perhaps table the motion or otherwise spend some more time learning about why exactly this is needed. Because like I said, most of the efficiencies they call out could be achieved without changing leadership at all. It would seem to me from a single read of it. Thank you for your time. That's all I got today.

Thank you. Wendy Rawson.

Hello, good afternoon, Mayor and City Council. I would like to have a moment really quick to talk about, again, Wendy Ross, I'm sorry about that, to talk about item 6.1 that you guys just had on your June 24th meeting that you're getting ready to approve your BDR or the legislation. I'm just asking that you guys... look at a different way of thinking on this instead of doing another tax. And I know that this would be a tax on the visitors, because this is additional tax on the rooms, for the City of Sparks to generate more income. I would ask that you guys kind of rephrase this and go into fighting for what's already being generated in the City of Sparks. In your guys' meeting, it was stated that $7.8 million is revenue that comes into the City of Sparks, with City receiving about $1.5 million of that. And I just ask that you guys fight for a fair share of the revenue that's already being generated, because over six million goes to the RSCVA, and I understand that it has its duties to help both the City of Sparks and the City of Reno. but instead of taxing more, I just ask that you guys please consider looking back at this BDR before approving it today and ask for a fair share and fight for sparks. We don't need to be doing more taxes on our residents and on our tourists. We are not Vegas, so additional taxes is really not necessary when we have that revenue that's right there at our fingertips to be able to ask for more. or our fair share. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Anyone else in the public wishing to speak at this time? All right, seeing none, we'll move on to approval of the agenda. I don't see anything coming up. Mr. Anderson.

Move to approve the agenda submitted.

Mr. Rodriguez. Second. We've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. 6.1, approval of the minutes. Any addition, subtractions? Not. I am looking for a motion.

I'm stopping.

It's rusty. Yeah.

All right, I'm looking for a motion.

Second. I've got a motion by Rodriguez, a second by Abbott. Any further discussion? Please, oh, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously. 7.1 presentation, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful.

Hello, Mayor and Council. I'm Darcy Phillips. I'm the Executive Director of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful. Thanks for having me today. And thank you for continuing to fund our work and volunteering with us. We appreciate all of you. I wanted to come give you some information about the last fiscal year of our work. Starting with the most recent, which was the Great Community Cleanup on May 2nd. We had 26 sites around town. It was our biggest cleanup ever. This picture is one of my favorites. I think you were there, right?

The piles of mulch were crazy.

Oh my gosh, just endless. Thank goodness we had a lot of volunteers. But we had three sites at the great, well, we had a couple more, but these were the kind of main ones. As usual, lots of trash, mulch, painting, graffiti, a number of volunteers. I think we had 875 volunteers total across the community. But our biggest cleanups, oh, better picture of the mulch. I've not seen anything like that before. Our biggest cleanup this year at the Great Community Cleanup was in Sparks. This was Solomon Circle, if you aren't familiar with it. It's above, or it's right next to Sierra Nevada Corporation at the end of Solomon Circle out there. If you haven't seen it yet, I've not seen anything like it, hadn't seen it until we went up there. That site we have pulled out of our stats because it threw off our statistics for the entire year. That's how big it was. It was more trash at this site than we had the entire previous year. And last year was a banner year. So those of you that have been up there, it's kind of a conglomeration of trash. dumping, commercial dumping, a lot of green waste dumping, tire dumping, what I'm calling apartment move out dumping. And we have a saying at KTMB that trash begets trash. So once one person does it, everybody else does it. So with the help of Hero Environmental, which is a wonderful company, As you know, you were there. We couldn't have done it with just hand volunteers. I mean, it was very unusual for us. It's a private property, which we don't usually work on, but it is adjacent to BLM land, and there was nobody else that could do it. So we just decided to go ahead and do the work and get it done. We will be continuing to monitor it. It's also connected to the I-80 sites that we cleaned up about a month ago that we will continue to work on. But all of those sites throughout there are connected. And it's just something else. I mean, that site was just crazy. You're still tired, right? It was incredible. Then going back to last fall, the Truckee River cleanup, we were at four sites. That one's usually smaller. Obviously, we focus along the river and tributaries, but a little smaller, about 800 volunteers in total, but four of the sites. This is always a lot of weed removal, noxious weeds, invasive weeds, as well as trash and tires, always, always, always tires. They're everywhere. We also have, people aren't as familiar with this program necessarily, the Adopt-a-Spot program and community cleanups. We have about 375 of these every year. So we're out there kind of every day somewhere with a group, whether it's a business calling saying we've got 10 volunteers that want to come volunteer for the day, or the Adopt-a-Spot program which We manage for the City of Sparks, City of Reno, and Washoe County, where a business or group can adopt a park. So these are the majority of the parks we were in, some of them multiple times. Those focus a lot on tree planting. You know, we have a lot of people that don't want to clean up the gross trash. They want to plant things, so we do that too. We're doing a project right now at... at Golden Eagle, planting some more trees with, I think, a Kiwanis group. So lots of work along those lines. This one was another unusual one we did. You guys remember when the marina backed up? Honestly, the three of us in this picture in our office were bored sitting in the office, saw the story, and said, let's go kayaking and get some of this cleaned up. We realized pretty quickly it was going to take more than that. So we ended up spending three days. I think your church group came out. TreeCare came out. We had a good group and got a lot of that cleaned up. That was the most disgusting cleanup I have ever participated in. Felt like I needed a tetanus shot and a round of antibiotics just from being out there. But that was something else. Also, I keep saying that. It's one cleanup after another. But we were... That was a good one to do. And the community came together in just a day. Really? You were out there too. Yes. And it was just like a day. We put out the call and people came and it was great. But that was a hard one. This is my contact information, also some events we have coming up. I also wanted to mention that I have been sending each of you quarterly reports about the work that we're doing in your wards. If you're not seeing those, please let me know. I never know what gets through, but sometimes in SPARCS it's tricky, because we're working along the river for the most part, and some of your wards, the parks aren't presenting themselves that need to be cleaned up, but if you see something and want us to work on it, please let us know. We will coordinate with parks and rec and make sure it's something they want us doing, but we're happy to get out there if you have concerns in your wards. We do have our fundraiser, annual fundraiser coming up on August 20th. Love for anybody to join us. And then September 26th is our Truckee River cleanup, so we'll be back out there doing it all again. But thank you all for your continued support. We really appreciate the funding from you all.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Any questions? Yeah, go ahead, Paul.

I don't have any questions, just praise. You and your team do an amazing job throughout the year.

Thank you.

And yeah, we just got to see a snippet of some of the projects here in Sparks, but you do it throughout the city of Reno, all of Washoe County. You guys make a huge difference. I mean, we have this beautiful river that passes through our community, and unfortunately, some people... don't take very good care of it. And it falls on folks like you guys. And between our Parks and Rec team and Public Works and you all, we make it the kind of place where people still want to enjoy it, whether it's the marina or the river or whatever. And I just want to say thank you so very much. Thank you.

Appreciate it. We appreciate all the volunteers and all of you all. Great. Thank you.

Mr. Abbott.

Darcy, on the adopted spot parks list that you had, are those the only ones that we currently have adopted?

Those are the ones that are currently active. So we're doing a backlog. There's about 75 to 80 parks community-wide that we're working on. Sparks was managing the program in-house for a while. We've got it turned back over to, because it's just easier for us. And I think it's high maintenance work for the parks and rec department. So we're still working on it. Those are the really active ones, but there's definitely more and there's more available. So if you've got somebody in mind that wants to adopt, just reach out and we can figure it out.

I will say one thing I love on the Adopt-A-Spot Park.

The initials are even worse. You messed that up.

Is the requirement for some time coming out. You know, they don't just get to show up and put a sign on our park and it's their park forever. I love that you guys are maintaining the act, you know, keeping them active. I mean, that's one cleanup a year is better than no cleanup, so.

Yeah, we require two. We ask that they do at least three. Yeah, we've had a lot of backlog cleanup to do on that program with staffing, but we're getting there. So it's in good shape and we'd love to see it grow.

Well, thank you. And I'll second everything Councilman Anderson said. You guys are doing amazing work. Thank you. We'll see you at the Razor River and we'll see you at some more cleanups probably this year too.

Thank you. Appreciate it. All right.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate that. Let me go early. I'm going to hobble out of here. Thank you.

Okay. Now we get to give accommodation to Creative Gardens. Come on down, CJ. Have a seat here for us. Then we'll let you say a few words afterwards.

Okay. All right, whereas strong communities are built through the generosity, vision and civic spirit of individuals and local businesses that invest in the wellbeing of children and families. Whereas CJ Sanders owner of Creative Gardens has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to our community through the generous donation of a new plague for Larry D. Johnson Community Center. Whereas this beautiful and thoughtfully designed play yard provides a safe, engaging and enriching outdoor environment where young children can learn, explore, play and develop essential physical, social and emotional skills. And whereas the play yard is enjoyed daily by children enrolled at the Small Wonders Learning Center Preschool, enhancing their educational experience and supporting the center's mission for providing quality early child education in a nurturing environment. Whereas CJ Sanders, Generosity reflects the spirit and community partnership and serves as an inspiring example of how local businesses can make a lasting and meaningful difference in the lives of our youngest residents. Now, therefore, Ed Lawson, Mayor of the City of Sparks, Nevada, do hereby extend sincere appreciation, heartfelt gratitude to CJ Sanders, owner of Creative Gardens for his generous donation of the play yard at the Larry D. Johnson Community Center and for his continued dedication to improving the lives of children and families throughout the community. Be it further proclaim that we recognize this lasting gift as an investment in the future of our children and express our deepest thanks to CJ Sanders' generosity, leadership, and commitment to service.

Give us your name for the record.

CJ Sanders.

Thank you. Do you have anything to add on that, CJ?

That was incredible. Thank you guys so much.

I'm a little long-winded in that.

Yeah, that was fantastic, Paul.

You're worth it. It's really cool what you guys did. Mason Spark.

Yep. There we go. That's a great name. I love it. You know, I'm really thankful for everything that you guys have done and approving this months and months ago and to see this thing come to life finally for us. I absolutely love Sparks. We reside here. We live in Sparks. My business is its home base in Sparks. um we do we love sparks so and we can do opening this uh this window i mean i'm gonna spread the love everywhere and try to get more small businesses to help kind of do things like this around because it's not a lot happening like that i was kind of shocked but so i was like you know what we're gonna do what we can do and when i saw the opportunity i thought it was just a tremendous you know um you know, thing to do for our community that does so much for us and the support of our small business here in Sparks. So it was the least I could do. And it just means so much that you guys appreciate it so much. And the kids love it. You know, Mason comes home and talks about it all the time and, you know, they enjoy it. And it's going to be here for generations.

It is for sure. It's all rocks.

Yep, exactly.

Don't kick the soccer ball. It's not really a soccer ball.

It's a solid granite piece of stone. And I'm fourth generation here in Reno, born and raised. I'm a native. I have the fifth generation, you know, four kids, my wife, my mother's still here. So we're, we're all, you know, my mother's third generation. So we're here and we love Sparks and we're here to stay. So.

Thank you for all you do for us too. Appreciate it. Yeah, thank you. Paul's going to come down and we're going to take a picture. Oh, you have, sorry.

CJ, thank you so much. It's beautiful. I wish we had taken one of our pictures that we took at the ribbon cutting last week to show how cool it is. We posted it, I think, on social media and just can't thank you enough. And I am one of your customers. I put a beautiful water feature with your black granite columns in my yard last year. So I know what an amazing business you have, just your beautiful products out there. So to see that come to one of our parks too, always glad to recommend you, support you, because you're supporting us and supporting kids in our community. So thank you so much.

Absolutely. Thank you. It's funny you say that because when I bought that piece of property on Stanford, six, seven years ago, and I had to sit with the, you know, all of the building department and talk to them about my envision of what I'm going to create there. And we pulled up the property and it looked like the property just before when there was like all the waste and dump. And now look at what we created on that corner. It's just incredible. So I appreciate even the lady before of what they're doing for our community. It's amazing. So thank you so much.

Anyone else? Okay. Yeah. Julie's going to take a picture of you. Oh, okay. With you and Paul.

Wish that you guys would take a picture with me.

Come on. That's my wife and my mother. Don't be shy. Awesome. Thank you CJ.

You don't have to stick around for the rest of the meeting.

I know you got to get back to work.

Thank you, guys. Thank you very much.

Okay, 7.3, presentation from Liberty Dogs. General Berry. You got one of your trainees with you. Me? Yeah.

Because I'm not doing a good job.

Just a full size.

Trying to get it to full size.

Just a... Is there a chair up there in the corner?

Just for the record, before I get started, I'm in Ward 4. We have no issues.

Thank you. Elbow Creek, all the way. You just made my day.

Yeah, yeah.

This is what she sent over. Let's try that.

Oh, there we go. Okay, thank you. Andre Berry. Oh, you can't see it?

Oh.

Okay, there we go. Andre Berry, CEO of Liberty Dogs. This is Katie Freeman. She's our Vice President of Community Outreach. And she has Tahoe. And I hope Tahoe stays down there because if Tahoe gets up, nobody will listen to what I have to say. First of all, I thank all of you who have had the opportunity to come out and visit the property. It is just, it does us a hard good to know that we have potential collaborations and partnerships, and we're doing something we believe is really unique for our community. For those of you who don't know, the Liberty Dogs is the flagship initiative of the Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation. They so graciously wanted to create something where they could pair service dogs up with veterans. We wanted to give back to those who've given so much to this great nation, and the biggest Part of it is that no matter where they come from in the country, it is all paid for. There's no cost. And to include the health care of the dog, to include the feeding of the dog, and to include the transportation of the veteran, no matter where they're from. And one of the biggest challenges is it supports PTSD, which is one of the toughest areas, whether it be nightmare interruptions, anxiety, depression, what we're able to do there and what we know the research says about what you do with canines and veterans is just huge. We cannot be who we need to be without the support of the community. We just cannot be. And I'll talk a little bit about that here in just a minute. There's about 30,000 veterans who call Washoe County home, an estimated 8,000. I think it's a little bit higher. And I was at the veteran of foreign wars convention just yesterday and the THE LEVEL OF WHAT THEY ASKED FOR IN TERMS OF SUPPORT OF SERVICE DOGS, IN TERMS OF SUPPORT OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD WORK ON MENTAL WELLNESS IS JUST OVERWHELMING. ROUGHLY ONE IN 16 OF YOUR RESIDENTS ARE VETERANS. I THINK IT'S PROBABLY HIGHER THAN THAT. I GO BY MY NEIGHBORHOOD. SERVICE DOGS RESTORE SO MUCH BACK TO THE VETERAN AND THE FAMILY. It's a second, third order effect of that. I could talk all day about the impact of what veterans go through and suicides and things like that. So when the David Scholl Duffield Foundation so graciously want to put together a best practice, and there's nothing like Liberty Dogs in this world, nothing like it. It's a 27-acre campus in South Reno, about 200,000 square feet. It's purpose-built for canine training and veteran connection. I like to call it an experience. When they come out there, from the time they apply to the time they go through the interview process to the time they get selected to the time they come here, the time they spend here, when they go back and how we stay connected entrenched with them. And also one of the things I like to really talk about is we have a licensed clinical social worker, we have chaplains. And so all that makes a big difference in the wholeness of their life. The goal is to have about 200 veterans matched with a service dog. This is nationwide. It's not just for Washoe County. And the goal is to have another 180 veterans to complete our warrior wellness class. Coming into the door, I was looking at something we could do so it's not all on the canine. Also, what can the veteran do to get better mindset, heart set, skill set, tool set to improve their quality of life? 30% of our Liberty Dogs teams are veterans. So we hired those who have been through and served this great nation. When we talk about Liberty Dogs, we're creating a lifeline for a hero. And this is the first U.S. veteran service dog organization to combine service dog with wellness and education. Most of them just paired the canine with the veteran. We wanted to take it further in terms of, and I wish if we had time, I wish I could just read to you some of the letters, the literature, the responses from the veterans and what we received, not just from the veterans, from their families. Had one spouse tell me this is the first time her veteran had talked about his experience since the Gulf War. and said, and now won't shut up. They get connected. They have a tribe. They have a community of people that they can relate to. Every service dog is trained to the highest standards. That is critical for us. And one of the reasons we're taking a minute to kind of get really fully going is to make sure we have quality canines because of the attachment of what we want to build something. We want to be a schoolhouse. We want to be a research center. We want to go and help with legislation. We want to do those things that really impact those warriors who have served this great nation. And so when we look at the things that we're able to do, and right now we're preliminarily working with the University of Denver and University of Arizona researchers to look at what other things can we do besides working with the service dog. And when they talk about the enzymes and taking blood and stuff that's way over my head, but we want to see if we can accelerate to make the veterans better. So programs that power our mission, we have the Warrior Wellness I talked about. It's a three-day or one-day class. If you as a community, as a council said, we have 20, 25 veterans that we wanna put through, we'll come to a location, we'll bring them to the campus because we want to give back. and really take care of the veterans. Puppy raising, anybody can be a puppy raiser. So if anybody back there, I'm talking to you guys, sorry. We can't be successful without the volunteers as puppy raisers. You just cannot because it takes about 16 to 18 months to spend with the dog and a family to get them up to speed before they go to advanced training. So we have to have those partnerships, those relationships, and those community members that help us with puppy raising. We cannot be successful. I also will say that we're also working with the prison in Hurlong and in Carson City. We'll be in Las Vegas pretty soon and also Victorville because they're a big, big help to us. On August 21st, we will have our first local veteran placement with service dogs, where the locals will work with a service dog from seven months to a year, and they will get trained to have their dogs trained to be full service animals. And so that will be our first kind of placement of service dogs. The shelter foster program, and this is where we work with our rescue dogs, our dogs from the shelter. If you have an interest in that, we have a full shelter team. Prison-based, I talked about. Then the guardian home where we, this is actually, Katie is working as a guardian home in terms of raising Tahoe. Tahoe is expected to produce a couple of more litters. Tahoe doesn't know that yet, but so this is where we could really ask parks to come in. We know, and I wouldn't, We know that this is a very animal friendly, very dog friendly. Did I tell you guys I wore four sparks? Okay. So we, and I hit everybody in my neighborhood when they see me coming, they're like, oh man, it's the dog guy. So, but this is where we're asking you to adopt a service dog and training workplace policy. We have been successful with Washoe County. We're working with Reno. We're working with the state of Nevada. We're working with the city of Las Vegas. This is where we can really use the support is if you sign a policy that will allow the employees to be puppy raisers. I could give you research all day that talks about the impact of having a animal in the workplace. First of all, it does impact the ability to get work done because everybody wants to talk to the dog. but we work on things like that. It's a voluntary program for employees approved at each department's discretion. We work with them on a regular basis to ensure that they have the behavioral standards and safety protocols. They stay about 14 to 16 months, then they return to the campus for advanced training. Some people will say, you know, they wouldn't want to give the dog up. We said, THE TURNING IS REALLY IMPORTANT. IF YOU REALLY STRUGGLE WITH THAT, WE'LL JUST GIVE YOU ANOTHER PUPPY. AND A PUBLIC WORKPLACE IS THE BEST CLASSROOM AND A FUTURE SERVICE DOG. KEEP IN MIND, WE CANNOT DO OUR BEST WORK UNLESS WE HAVE SERVICE DOGS. is we have puppy raisers. We cannot. And our goal is to get to 200. Having 200 service dogs placed is almost unprecedented. And I had to, before I took this role, when I took this role, but afterwards, I wouldn't have had a chance to go and visit several service and canine organizations from around the country. There's nothing like this. The amount of funding, the amount of resources, the amount of support, the amount of the ability to not only do the warrior wellness, to do the pairing, to do the research, to be a schoolhouse. I wanna be having national conferences in Washoe County because we get a chance to learn, to research, to do things other organizations can't. And we don't have to go out and fundraise because we have a great support process. But it takes the volunteers to be successful without a doubt. No cost to the city because Liberty Dog covers every canine expense. So I know how budgets work, so don't worry about that. Washoe County has adopted this policy. Sierra County, California has done the same. Voluntary department approved, which is distinct from the ADA requirements in terms of you don't have to adjust the workplace. And the research links workplace dogs to lower stress and burnout. I'll just keep saying that. I would have everybody read that all together, but... BUT RESEARCH LINKS WORKPLACE DOGS TO LOWER STRESS AND BURNOUT. SO IF YOU WANT TO WORK ON RETENTION, YOU WANT PEOPLE TO STAY LONGER, WELL, MOST EMPLOYEES, THEN THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WE'RE JUST ASKING FOR DIRECT STAFF TO DIRECT YOUR STAFF TO DRAFT A SERVICE DOG IN TRAINING POLICY. From a legal review, we have it. We can just hand it to you almost ready to go. We will share Washoe County's framework with you. We're asking that you host a Liberty Dogs info session for city employees. We just ask that because that way there will be interest, but people really need to know what that is required behind having a, you know, being a puppy raiser. our foster, our guardian. They really need to know what that is, our puppy sitter. I heard from someone, I'm not sure how accurate this is, but I did hear that someone said that there's already a location in Sparks that is willing to have puppy raiser classes. I don't know where I heard that from, but I just, I don't know where that came from, but anyway. Okay. And we really, I am so hopeful that Sparks takes the lead in being puppy raisers or volunteering with our organization because there are other volunteer opportunities that we have out there. So having said that, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your time. This is by far one of the most groundbreaking things in our community. If you do not think this saves lives, I can tell you stories all day long. It has a huge impact of taking care of those who've taken care of this nation. And we're just looking forward to doing great work to ensure that our veterans have the support and the resources needed and their families in order to go forward. Stand by for any questions you have.

Questions from the council. Ms. Vanderwill.

First of all, I'm going to say thank you. And I did tour it and what a wonderful organization. And so you guys don't have to sit through all of city council. I'll be asking for this for dogs in the workplace to be on our agenda on August 10th.

So thank you.

That way you do not have to sit through. Okay. So, cause we already have the policy, but I highly support this and I think it's a wonderful program.

Thank you so much.

Anyone else? Go ahead, Paul.

Just wanna say thank you for the work you guys are doing, appreciate it. I know that there are a couple of us already from the city here that have made a commitment to help you guys out. And yeah, you guys are doing great work. The animals you're turning out, considering I'm only seeing them partway through the process, it's amazing. And the impact they can make. We lost a service member recently locally, and to think that if maybe one of these dogs can prevent that from happening, the whole program is worth it. So thank you for what you guys are doing. Thank you.

Anyone else? Joe, Charlene?

Thank you.

Well, I got to take a tour and have dinner out there. You guys got a first-class chef out there, too, that cooks for everybody who's there training with their dogs, so pretty awesome. Do you have something, Joe? I just want food.

I did get the tour of the facility. It's amazing. Like the mayor was saying, like the culinary, everything, it's actually probably a lot nicer than what we experienced in the military. So you need to add some, add water eggs, you know, to make it more like home. But no, thank you guys for everything that you guys are doing. And in general, it's phenomenal. So thank you.

If you ever want to have a city council meeting there, let us know. We can VTC it to the rest of the community. It's about big enough. Yeah, and we'll feed you.

All right.

If we pass these out to, because I just know there's so much interest out there now.

We just hand it to our clerk and she'll.

Thank you.

Yep. Thank you, guys. All right, let's move on to consent items. Anyone wish to pull a consent item? Not? I'm looking for a motion. What are we audibling? Consent. Okay, so I'm looking for... Mr. Rodriguez.

I move to approve consent agenda items 8.1, 3.7 as submitted.

Mr. Abbott. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. Okay, 9.1, consideration, discussion of possible appointments to the Truckee Meadows Housing Authority, or TMHA, from the following pool of applicants listed in alphabetical order. Donald Abbott, Paul Anderson, Charlene Bybee, Ed Lawson, Joe Rodriguez, or Diane Vanderwill. Does anyone have the, I haven't talked to anyone prior to this. Does anyone have a burning desire to sit on this board? Ms. Vanderwill? Anyone else have a desire? So will one of you eliminate yourselves then? We're gonna Rochambeau. Just one.

Oh, is there two?

Okay, well, perfect. Let's hurry up and vote. We got two volunteers. All right, so look.

All right, so.

Now you've got me confused, which isn't hard, by the way.

Two positions, two different terms.

Oh, one in a two year. Okay. All right. Okay. All right. So I'm looking for a motion. Ms. Bybee.

I move to appoint Diane Vanderbilt for a two-year term ending November 30th, 2028, and Joe Rodriguez for a three-year term ending November 30th, 2029 to the Truckee Meadows Housing Authority.

Mr. Anderson. Second the motion. We've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Who's not voting? There we go. You got a vote, sir. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. And it's good to have representation on that board. 9.2 consideration discussion possible approval of an interlocal agreement AC6205 between the City of Reno and the City of Sparks Fire Department shared leadership and operational coordination establishing a shared fire chief model under which the Reno fire chief provides executive oversight of both fire departments along with a framework for operational coordination and regional cost sharing. Chief.

Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and council members. For the record, my name is Derek Keller. I'm the division chief of operations for your Sparks Fire Department. The item before you is an interlocal agreement between the cities of Sparks and Reno that formalizes a shared fire chief model while maintaining two individual independent fire departments. This agreement does not merge the fire departments. Each city retains its own budget, personnel, labor agreements, stations, and governance. The city managers and the city councils continue to have full authority over their respective organizations. The agreement allows SPARCS to share executive leadership with the Reno while creating a framework to improve regional coordination, resource deployment, and operational efficiencies. It also establishes accountability through regular performance reporting and oversight by both city managers. From the financial standpoint, Sparks will reimburse Reno for 25% of the fire chief's salary and benefits, reducing executive overhead while allowing these savings to be redirected towards operational priorities. Staff believes this agreement strengthens regional collaboration, improves service delivery, preserves local control, and positions both departments to better serve our community. For those reasons, staff respectfully recommends approval of this interlocal agreement. I'd be happy to answer any further questions. Okay, questions from the council.

Joe, you got anything?

A bunch of questions. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. With this MOU, would this look at potentially combining any full-time positions or anything like that or? Can you elaborate a little bit more like what this might look like?

This is an interlocal agreement. It'll establish the leadership of it. And there will be opportunities to evaluate how this is going to affect, you know, if we could combine anything further than that. But right now this is for the shared leadership for a fire chief.

So specifically for the chief's position, nothing up and down or anything like that. I could jump in there on that. The initial one is for the chief, but as we have other management positions come up, we would look at it and evaluate to determine, hey, what's the highest and best use of the dollars we have. If it made sense perhaps to combine another position or share another position between the two, we would do that. If it didn't, we would keep it independent, but all those would be value-based decisions on what they were providing. Do they have the capacity? Does it make sense for us to do it financially and operationally? Thank you, man. Thank you, chief.

Mr. Rabbit.

Mr. Keller, looking at the, I think it was 75-25 is what we're looking at for the split between the two of us, between Reno and Sparks. One of my questions, I guess, what would we be seeing on our side of Sparks? Are we getting a chief for, yeah. Is he showing up to Sparks on a couple of days?

Is there, what is the conversation there? I can talk a little bit about Wayne's available for the financial piece of it. I can talk a little bit about what that might look like. And I think it'd be the same as with any department head. You're going to have designated time problem. And you're also going to ebb and flow based on priorities, based on what's happening, based on different things that are occurring. Obviously we'll evaluate that, make sure that we're, we're receiving what we're looking for. And we have the support for our troops and, folks out there but at the same time too we recognize that you know that is it is shared and that's why the agreements structured in a way to that provides both parties flexibility for us to evaluate this and see if there's models and things that we can improve upon things that maybe work exactly how we'd hoped and things that maybe there's you know opportunity to improve so we would look at that but there is no set Mondays he's here and Tuesdays he's somewhere else. It would be dynamic in that what's happening, where are things occurring that require his attention and he would meander between the two as appropriately.

Mr. Vanderwill, I think Wayne. For the record. Sorry.

For the record, Wayne Weber, accounting manager, budget division, Mayor Lawson, members of the city council. We project estimated savings about $245,000 just on this project. initial position. And once again, that's just as we start the process.

And that's with the 25%?

Yes. Okay. So that would save us $245,000. Thank you.

Mr. VanderWaal.

Thank you. And this is probably for the city manager also. On the management committee, it says city managers of both parties will be there. And mine may be twofold. Have we discussed maybe expanding that a little and having a representative from HR for both the City of Reno and City of Sparks on there also?

We haven't, but I think the agreement is written with the framework as such that we can bring in various resources as we would need them, whether that be HR, whether that be perhaps finance in some cases to talk through different stuff and how some of those might make sense with how a resource was considered to be used moving forward. But I think the agreement that's in place provides that flexibility and allows us to accommodate things such as that.

Okay, great, and this is just a follow-up to it. How will the cities know how this agreement is performing? Are you gonna come back to us in like 60 days, 90 days? So this way we can show the community, hey, we've done it and it's being successful.

Sure, I think we'll evaluate based on the cadence we've put forth, which we talked about, which Chief Keller brought up with regard to the quarterly reporting. We'll use those reports as an opportunity to maybe not always bring it to a council meeting, but maybe it's shared publicly through some of our website and different things like that. The idea here is transparency. We have our new performance portal up right now that will showcase a lot of how we're using our resources on the fire side as well. So we can look at some of those and how are we performing, how are resources being used, et cetera. But we would intend to absolutely report back to council on some type of cadence based on the information we're receiving in those quarterly meetings.

Perfect, thank you. Ms. Spivey.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Couple questions. So this is a one-year contract? with a 180-day buyout, or we can give, if we decide it's just not working at all, we give a 180-day notice to go back to what we were doing before, correct? I know that's for you, Rodine.

That is correct.

So it's not, we're not locking us, this isn't locked in for eternity. It's a one year to kind of see how it works and if it's giving those efficiencies. And I think at the end of the day, to me it's more than just cost savings and obviously the time we're at right now. with our chief just having retired gives us the luxury of doing this at this point of time, especially as we look at possible fire consolidation on a bigger scale. This is not consolidation, but this I think comes at a good time. But for me, at the end of the day, cost savings and saving taxpayer dollars is always top priority for me. But even more important is going to be efficiencies and at the end, and really service delivery. So are we providing top service delivery of fire, of EMS to our residents in the most efficient way and getting to fires and to medical calls most quickly and even our training and hazmat and all those other things that we're the highest level. So all of our, to even increase where we are on, on the quality of service we can provide, because that is, public safety is our number one responsibility. It's where the majority of our funds go to, so I think this gives us an opportunity to maybe enhance that, and I support it for that reason. I think that is something that makes sense to me at this point, thank you.

Mr. Rodriguez.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is one thing I would like to get on the record, and this might be a question more for 731, but just for like the public, like making sure that our staff, our firefighters are working this every day, feel like they're supported, and make sure that our partnership with Reno is in the best interest of not just, you know, communities, but obviously for our line staff. So maybe if 731 or someone can weigh in on that, like kind of the pulse of the Sorry to drag you up. Good afternoon. Dan Tappy of president Reno fires, bringing sparks, fire fires, 731.

Um, yes, we, we are looking forward to this. I think it's, it's going to be, it's going to be a good thing. It's definitely worth trying. I think it's a step in the right direction as far as, uh, um, like a regional type look. I think that this is, this is, it saves in a lot of ways, as far as the firefighters are concerned, you know, 731, we came together as a, as a group, Reno sparks firefighters a couple of years ago, at least now. So we're, we're on board. We're looking forward to it. We want to see how this thing is going to work. I have high hopes. I think it's going to be good. Did I answer that? Sorry. Is there any more for the labor side?

I'm glad to hear that, you know, our firefighters are not dragging their feet on this or, you know, the pause of that look. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Elliott.

Bonus one.

Okay. It's not only because you came down. So just, so speaking, you know, 731 as a whole, you said y'all are, I think, supportive of this.

Just to get on the record, that's the Reno side, the Spark side, correct? As a whole, I would say yes. I haven't talked to every firefighter yet. I know this is fairly new and it's come out fairly recently. Maybe surprising, actually, to some. But from what I am hearing, and I will do more, we're about to have a general membership meeting as well and discuss this in detail on our side. But from what I'm hearing, yes, it is being, it's supported by the labor. Okay, thank you.

And I do have a normal, not a normal question, but one not for you, Tapia. That was, yeah, Tapia showed up and got my question. Gears turning. So one that I have for you, officer, would be, And, you know, thinking, you know, the Sparks Fire Department, we historically, I think until our most recent chief, have been, we've always promoted from within over the years. Is there an opportunity, if we were to keep this agreement, let's just maybe, I'm sure Cochran might retire, let's say next year. I don't know what your retirement plans are, but we'll just say that. Could someone from Sparks Fire apply, or maybe even someone that's working through the line staff up,

you know have an ability to apply to become the the chief of both cities or is it only available for Reno on that side it might be the weeds I'm just I'll take that one and the answer we've actually had some of those conversations not specifically about the chief but just as we evaluate some of these management positions how do we ensure that there's an equitable process where the Sparks folks, the Reno folks, everybody gets a fair look. And, you know, I think based upon those conversations, I feel pretty confident that everyone who's qualified will get a look and the most qualified person will win. And now competition may be higher just because the pool's a little bit bigger, but I think that's a good thing for the community and the region when you're getting that best, most qualified individual in the seat. So do I think that, you know, somebody from Sparks Fire could at some point perhaps be the fire chief? Sure. There's no guarantee that that's the case, but I do think that could be possible down the line if and when Chief Cochran retired, that we would have somebody in house who would compete well.

Okay, thank you.

And I may add too, if I could, Mayor, if you're okay. I think a couple things of note here. Number one, these are both proud, high-performing departments. This is not being done because somebody is not performing. I think the second piece of that, it's no secret we are, both organizations are challenged financially to find ways to deliver a service. This is a key critical service to our community. This is us re-imagining if you will, a first step of how we might do that. I think there's been questions related to why could you just do some of this without doing this? And the answer is we could. But I think what this does is two or threefold. Number one, I think it expedites how fast some of those things can occur that we've outlined. Because you have one person with that 360 vision where they're seeing both departments. Number two, I think it makes you much more agile and nimble because you have that better understanding and are able to see and process that and you control both ends of that. And then thirdly, I think the vision piece of that, when you start to educate yourself on both and you have that totality of information, when you're talking about what the future is and let's use dispatch, I think that is something that without question, consolidated dispatch can produce the best possible returns for this region. And I think this is a... great opportunity to take the next step on that front. But I want to emphasize, this is not being done because either department is not performing. Both are high performing, high achieving, proud departments. This maintains that, but I think gives us a chance to reimagine how we're doing and providing that service more and forward. Because at the end of the day, as Council Member Bybee said, it's about how do we get those resources there in the most effective, efficient manner? And this is what we believe a good way and good start to taking the next step on that journey. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Anderson. Yes, actually, I'd like to talk to the gentleman that we're all discussing. So, Chief, would it be all right if I ask you for a question? First, I wanna say thank you for your willingness to step into this role. I truly appreciate you being willing to do this. My question is the old saying that you can't serve two masters. How do you see that you're gonna be able to walk that tightrope of taking care of Reno and their goals and objectives, as well as those of Sparks, being able to walk that line between them?

Thank you for those comments, Steve Cochran, Reno Fire Chief temporarily, maybe not temporarily. I understand the idea, but I think what I bring to the table is the benefit of having been in this area, my experience in this area specifically, and bringing that to the region and understanding that they are two different departments. We're not, as it's been said a couple of times, it's not a consolidation, it's not a merger, maybe sometime down the line that will happen, but that's not now, that's not today. Today is bringing that leadership piece I've experienced not only in this area, but having interacted with both departments, interacted with command staff in both departments, and being able to recognize this is something, maybe it'll work for Reno, but understanding it won't work for Sparks. So how do we blend those two and get to something that will work for both of them? with the goal really of, as Dan Tapia said, this is kind of that first step forward in a regional approach. And, you know, kudos to all of you for having the courage, the type of courage to say, we're going to try something. It's unusual, but it's a step in the right direction. And we want to see if that will get us down that path to better regional collaboration. If you can control, manage is a better word. all the pieces, you can understand how to more effectively deploy them and get that more effective response, get that best response, get that best service from all the pieces and not just one department or the other or one department at the expense of the other.

Excellent. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions? Okay. Well, with that, then I'm going to call for a motion. Ms. Pipey.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

I move to approve the interlocal agreement AC6205 between the city of Reno and the city of Sparks for fire department shared leadership and operational coordination, establishing a shared fire chief model under which the Reno fire chief provides executive oversight of both fire departments, along with a framework for operational coordination and regional cost sharing.

Mr. Anderson. I'll second the motion. Okay, I've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. We'll see you on Wednesday. Very good. Thank you. Thank you very much. I know it's a little controversial, but at the same time, if we can provide these in better operating condition and better service to our citizenry, that's what we're really after. I think it's worth taking advantage of. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you too.

All right, moving on to 9.3. CONSIDERATION DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE APPROVAL TO CHANGE THE CITY OF SPARK GROUP HEALTH PLAN BENEFIT TO INCLUDE CURRENT HEALTH PLAN AND TWO ALTERNATIVE PLANS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027. ALL RIGHT.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. SHAWNA HALTERMAN, HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR FOR THE RECORD. During the 2025 labor negotiations, let me get rid of this thing here. The city's labor teams used a total compensation approach, which included benefits such as health insurance in the calculation. During discussions, employees stated that they valued the city's health insurance, but those who had little utilization of the health insurance wanted some options besides the current single plan. Working with our consultant, LP Insurance Services, various options were devised and presented to the group healthcare committee meetings in March and May of this year. Also 11 sessions were held throughout the city in June to educate employees on the different options that were presented. These options included different plans as well as varying options for calculating the city's portion of the health insurance. At the July 9th, 2026 group healthcare committee meeting, the committee voted to recommend to city council plan offering B, I'll discuss that in just a moment. Plan offering B doesn't make any changes to the calculation or the amount that the city uses in the total compensation comparisons. However, it does offer employees the choice to select from the current plan or to choose from two other options. Our current plan is the PPO 200 plan. This plan offering B will add option one, which is a PPO 400 plan, has a higher deductible, higher out-of-pocket costs. However, it has some flat rates for, in the blue, primary physicians, specialist physicians, urgent care, and lab, without having to meet the deductible first. Option two is a high deductible healthcare plan, which has even higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, but a much lower cost. This is plan offering B. And as I said, the city's portion doesn't change. So the amount that the city is putting in towards each employee is unchanged. Current plan is the PPO 200. It's a $200 deductible plan. And to give some examples, employees only currently, the city covers 100% of that. So at the bottom where it says their cost is zero, For option one, it is a higher deductible but lower cost premium cost plan. So the city in red would put $1,128 into an HSA for that employee. Excuse me, let me take that back. An FSA for that employee for option one. FSAs need to be spent by the end of that calendar year. The other option an employee might have as an employee only is option two, a high deductible health care plan. The amount in red of $1,992 is the amount that the city would put into an HSA for that employee. An HSA health savings account does not need to be spent by the end of the calendar year. It could stay in there. It's also portable if they separate from the city. It's theirs to keep. They can use it. now in 20 years, whenever they would like. In addition, the employee spouse, employee children and employee family sections, you can see, for example, employee only in the current plan, the employees out of their paycheck pay $437 a month. An employee would have the option of switching to option one at $190 a month, or option two at $2 a month. So employees would see savings right out of their check and the difference in what they're paying now if they choose those other options. They could take some of those savings in option one and put it into an FSA, or they could pocket the difference or put some into an FSA. In option two, anything in red is the city's portion that's getting put into an HSA. In addition to that amount the city's putting in, the employee could put some of their savings and premiums into an HSA as well. They have an option. In short, all of this offers employees with exactly what they have now, or they have two other options depending upon what works for their family and their situation. They will make selections during open enrollment. We'll be having group and individualized meetings for people to help figure out what's best for their individual situation. And then they have the option to change every year during open enrollment. So maybe one of these plans works well for them now, their situation changes in a couple years, they could pick a different plan. But overall, it at least allows options. And I really appreciate the group health care committee's willingness to work with us on this. They asked a lot of really good questions. They went out to their people and tried to get a feel for what they needed and ultimately did vote for this as a recommendation to council on July 9th. And if approved, this plan document would be revised with UMR. It would be effective in January 1st of 2027. And I'm open to any questions.

Question from the council. Ms. Spivey?

I wanna thank you. This was a tremendous amount of work for you, for your staff, the group health committee. Appreciate it because it gives people options. So it gives our employees or maybe young, single, they don't have a couple of kids, they don't have the medical needs that they will when they're my age. And so really for them to be able to not pay as much per month, to put that into an FSA or HSA, gives them that flexibility, or even monthly less would come out of their paycheck, and then they're seeing that in their paycheck as they try to meet monthly expenses. I really like, I like the options, and we're not, our current plan is amazing, and I think people should know how good our healthcare coverage is. It really is quite extraordinary, but I really like the two options that you've come up with, and I thank you for all the work that you and your staff has done to put this together, thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, there's no other comments, then I'm looking for a motion.

Mr. Anderson. I move to approve the proposed change to the City of Sparks Group Health Plan benefit to include the current health plan and two alternative plans effective January 1st, 2027. Mr. Abbott. Second.

Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. Thanks, Shawna. 9.4, consideration discussion of possible approval of a reimbursement agreement AC-6208 between the City of Sparks and the City of Reno requiring the City of Sparks to pay for a proposed pre-construction services agreement amendment for the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility dewatering building project in the amount of approximately 11 million, $11,772,340 and requiring the city of Reno to reimburse approximately $8,079,357 of those costs. Casey.

All right, well, good afternoon, Mayor Lawson and members of council. For the record, Casey Mentzer, treatment plant director at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility. So this is another item related to the ongoing effort for Tumworth to construct a new dewatering building. The dewatering building is currently approaching the 90% design stage and our delivery method for this project has been to utilize a construction manager at risk or CMAR. As a quick reminder, our CMAR PCL construction was hired through a pre-construction services agreement in November of 2024 and has been involved in the design since the 30% design stage. Once all of the engineering is complete, PCL will give us a guaranteed maximum price known as a GMP to go forth and build the dewatering facility. It has become apparent throughout the course of this project that it would be tremendously beneficial for the schedule as well as the overall costs to begin ordering some of this equipment that has an exceptionally long lead time. So as such, PCL is proposing basically two parts of this project. The first would be an early procurement package where we could go forth and buy those items that have a really long lead time, such as electrical switchgear that might take 50, 60, 70 weeks to fabricate and ultimately procure. And the second part would be that production of the GMP, the guaranteed maximum price, to go forth and do the rest of the construction The City of Reno is looking to amend their existing pre-construction services agreement with PCL to incorporate that early procurement package. However, Reno desires to utilize a state loan for their portion of the project, which can only be applied to the construction GMP. As such, what this agreement is looking to do is it proposes that SPARCs pay for all of the costs incurred by the early procurement package. As a positive note, one thing that we were able to obtain a couple years ago, we actually got a $3 million federal grant And we're able to apply that towards the early procurement package. And so it would be for all of the costs incurred for the early procurement minus that $3 million grant, which gives us that $11,772,340. What would happen then would be that Reno would then credit Sparks that money against the construction GMP, effectively reimbursing us during the construction phase of the project. This agreement does not have Sparks pay more than our ownership share. Sparks will still only pay for 31.37% of the total project costs. And this agreement slowly changes the cashflow of each city so that Reno can utilize their loan to the fullest extent. Our chief financial officer has reviewed the cashflow model and it is staff's position that the proposed agreement does not negatively impact the city of Sparks. One last point, Sparks is not financing any portion of this project and will not be charged any interest related to the city of Reno's loan. Staff recommend approval of this item. With that, I'd be happy to answer any and all questions. Questions from the council.

This is unusual for us. We've never done this before, but will we just turn off their sewer? Right. What's our leverage? being a good neighbor. No, I think it makes sense. It makes sense to pay cash for it too. All right, so we're looking for a motion if there are no discussion. Mr. Anderson.

I move to approve the reimbursement agreement AC-6208 between City of Sparks and City of Reno requiring the City of Sparks to pay for a proposed pre-construction services agreement amendment for the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility Dewatering Building Project in the amount of approximately of $11,772,340 and requiring the City of Reno to reimburse approximately $8,079,357 of those costs. Ms. VanderWaal?

Second.

Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Thanks, Casey. 9.5, consideration discussion of possible approval of an interlocal agreement AC6210 between the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, the Reno Police Department, and the Sparks Police Department by and through their respective governing bodies to share total compensation of a sheriff's work crew supervisor to aid in cleanup of unhoused site cleanups in an amount not to exceed $178,140 and 38 cents for fiscal year 26, 27 at the spark share being 59,380 and 13 cents. 13, you gotta get that 13 cents in there, Tara.

Good afternoon, Mayor Lawson and members of council. For the record, Deputy Chief Tara Edmondson. Before you today with an interlocal agreement with the Washoe County and the City of Reno to share services provided by the Sheriff's Office inmate work crew supervisor to conduct area cleanups with focus on abandoned camps left behind by the unhoused. The agreement will split the cost of the crew supervisor that manages and supervises the inmates. The total cost for this fiscal year, as Mayor mentioned, is just over $178,000 with the SPARC share being just over $59,000. The agreement is for one year with the possibility of renewal. And just historically, the work crew has been extremely effective, and this agreement will ensure dedicated time to our city, which in turn will reduce the demand for our employees and free them up for other city priorities. This agreement will also allow for the work crew to be utilized elsewhere in the city, as agreed upon within the agreement, and the work crew supervisor will coordinate with the Hope Sergeant. The Washoe County Sheriff's Office will build the city quarterly and will provide a record of services rendered within our city. Staff recommends this approval and I'm available for any questions.

All right, questions from the council. Mr. Rodriguez.

Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Chief. Just a quick question. Have we had this contract like this before with the Sheriff's Office or is this new?

We have contracted differently as a whole with the work crew. This is a different funding mechanism that we are specifically helping support the supervisor that runs the inmate crew rather than just a total contract for the work crew services. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. And if I remember, past contracts have been right around $60,000. So this is really same, same. Yeah, it's apples to apples, I think. All right, anyone else? If not, looking for a motion. Mr. Rodriguez.

I move to approve the interlocal agreement AC 6210 with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the Reno Police Department and Sparks Police Department. by and through their respective governing bodies to equally share the total compensation for our work crew supervisor in the amount not to exceed $178,140.38 for fiscal year 2026 through 2027, the SPARC shared being $59,380.13. Ms. Spivey. I'll second the motion. We've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously.

Thanks, Tara. That was painless. Madam Clerk, 10.1, public hearing.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is public hearing consideration discussion and possible approval of a memorandum of understanding MOU AC 6123 with Sparks Police Protective Association to provide law enforcement services at the special event overtime rate for athletic or sporting events held at city facilities for which the permittee will reimburse the city for the overtime costs.

Okay.

Hello again. For the record, Deputy Chief Tara Edmondson, the item before you today, as mentioned, is a memorandum of understanding with the Sparks Police Protective Association to add language to their current collective bargaining agreement related to special event overtime. If approved, this would allow our police officers to provide law enforcement services to athletic and sporting events who have obtained a permit from the city at the agreed upon special event overtime rate. This option requires the permit holder to pay the cost of the officers at this rate, meaning that there is no additional cost to the city. Staff recommends approval and I'm ready to answer questions.

Question from the council. Okay, looking for a motion then. Mr. Abbott.

I move to approve a memorandum of understanding EC-6123 with the Sparks Police Protective Association to provide law enforcement services, excuse me, at special event overtime rate for athletic or sporting events held at city facilities for which the permittee will reimburse the city for the overtime costs.

So I should have done a public hearing first. So public hearing, any one in the public wishing to speak on this item? Any none, we'll bring it back. Mr. Rodriguez. I'll second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you all. 10.2, public hearing, amount of clerks.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is public hearing, consideration, discussion, and possible approval of the City of Sparks Language Access Plan for FY27 and FY28.

Good afternoon, Mayor Lawson and City Council Members. For the record, I'm Allison McCormick, your Assistant City Manager. Today I'm seeking your approval of the city's language access plan for fiscal years 27 and 28. As the council may recall in 2023, the Nevada legislature adopted assembly bill or AB 266, which requires the city to develop a language access plan, update it every two years and file it with the governor's office for new Americans. The purpose of a language access plan is to lay out how the city will ensure that people who communicate in languages other than English can still access city programs and services. More than 20% of our residents here in Sparks speak a language other than English at home. So making sure that they can access our services, even if they don't speak English well, is extremely important to serving our whole community. City staff sought input on the updated plan at the most recent Spark Citizens Advisory Committee meeting and made revisions based on the committee's feedback. Staff also posted the draft plan on the city's website for public comment. Staff received two emails in response to that posting, neither of which provided substantive feedback. This item is also agendized as a public hearing to create more opportunities for public input. Staff recommends approval and I'm happy to answer any questions. Questions from the council?

Seeing none, public hearing, we'll open it up to the public. Anyone in the public wishing to speak on this item? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the dais and I'm looking for a motion. Mr. Anderson.

So public hearing, consideration, discussion, and possible approval. It's not showing a motion.

That is probably a copy-paste error on the drafters part. So I apologize for that.

So just so you can do approval, start with approval.

Okay. I move to approve the City of Sparks Language Access Plan for FY27-28. There we go.

Ms. VanderWaal.

Second.

Is there a motion and a second? Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Most passes unanimously. 10.3, public hearing, Madam Clerk.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is public hearing consideration and possible approval of a bill draft request to amend the Washoe County Taxes on Transient Lodging Act of 1999 to enable the Sparks City Council to adopt an ordinance to add a surcharge of up to $10 per night to the rental of transient lodging within the city of Sparks.

Thank you, Mayor Lawson. For the record, I'm your assistant city manager, Allison McCormick. I'm seeking your approval of a bill draft request or BDR for the city of Sparks for the 2027 legislative session. At a workshop in June, city council gave direction to prepare this BDR for submission to the legislature. If enacted, this BDR would enable the City Council to adopt an ordinance to add a surcharge of up to $10 per night on room nights that are subject to transient lodging tax or room tax within the City of Sparks. This is an enabling legislation, not mandatory. As drafted, the surcharge could be used for any government purpose so that visitors to Sparks are directly supporting the public amenities and services that they use, such as parks, roads, and public safety services. Staff anticipates that this could generate approximately $5 million annually based on fiscal year 25 room night data. Nevada law does require a public hearing before city council approves a BDR. Staff recommends approval and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Any questions from the dais? Mr. Rodriguez.

Thank you, Mayor. Just for the public, in case they didn't watch our budget workshop or BDR workshop or anything like that, I know our council and staff have discussed a variety of different ways to see about What can we do to generate revenue while not putting too much impact on our citizens and community and try to capitalize on tourism and stuff like that? So can you kind of just like a quick recap again for a million viewers that we have on YouTube, like some of those discussions and maybe like what is Reno or some of our other neighboring cities charging as far as room tax?

So a few staff looked at and presented a few options to city council at that June workshop. changes to property tax were discussed, and potential changes to C-tax were also looked at. The political realities of getting something like that through, in staff's view, those changes would be unlikely to be adopted by our legislature. So in staff's view, this was the... the most practical of the options that we identified and hopefully would be supportive by our legislators as it would impact visitors much more than residents.

And if I recall, like again, just like for the record and for this council and our viewers, This is something that we know other cities have implemented and successfully navigated through the political waters from a city submitting a BDR to legislators to actually being signed off and voted on and everything else by the governor and whatnot. So this is something that actually could generate revenue for our city while not having a huge impact on our citizens directly.

Absolutely, and other cities and locations have certainly adopted similar surcharges.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Anderson.

We heard a comment about getting our fair share of the funds that come into this region from what's currently being charged. Can you please explain the process of that? And if we were to be successful, how would we go about doing that?

That would have to be a legislative change as well. Currently, the city gets a portion of room tax through RSCVA, the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitor Authority for the millions of viewers on YouTube. The Sparks portion of those room taxes is relatively small. However, to change that formula requires legislation and would put the City of Sparks at odds with our regional partners, Washoe County, Reno, and RSCBA. So adding a surcharge is in staff's estimation, the more likely option, more likely to succeed because we won't be fighting those regional partners.

All right, thank you. Anyone else? Okay. And this is a public hearing. We'll open it up to the public for comment. Anyone in the public wish to speak on this item? Ms. Raulston, come on down. And just fill out a card for us after.

Thank you, Mayor and City Council. This is Wendy Rawson for the record. While I understand that it's maybe not doable to be able to take it to the legislature, it's definitely worth a fight trying for it because I just recently stayed at the Nugget. I stayed three nights and it was just last month and I spent over $112 just in current taxes and fees on the room charge of a $40 a night room. And so now if we are asking to pay $10, which yes, that would bring in 5 million more dollars, but if you have to go to the $10 a night additional tax to be able to get that $5 million. If you do the $5 additional tax per night, that's a million dollars. If RSC VA is receiving over $6 million, then we should at least be trying to fight for that additional million dollars. That it's not a tax, it's already revenue that's coming into our community. And it's just as simple, let's fight for what we're already receiving. It's money, it's revenue in our city that we should be fighting for a better allocation for. So that's my stance on that. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Come on down, Shawn.

Hey there, Sean Sullivan for the record again. Yeah, I also am opposed to new taxes. Our main industry has been tourism for a long time. It's still a big chunk. I know our GDP is growing here in Nevada, but that is a result of data centers that are valued at 200 times price to earnings ratio, which is about 10%. times normal market rate. In other words, our GDP is being inflated by the data center boom. So it looks like our economy is a lot better than what going as much as we can. When I first read this, when you say transient housing, that initially made me think of homeless people and like the week, I thought of like weeklies and things like that. And initially it came across as like a tax on the poor, but now I understand this is more related to casinos and whatnot. Still opposed to taxes. I think fighting for more money. The fact that the state keeps giving away all our tax money with the tax abatements for all these data centers that are overvalued coming here. I understand that really wrecks our budgets. And I don't know. I hope we can figure out all these issues. And I think we need tourism to still be a part of it. Thanks.

Thank you. Anyone else in the public question to speak? All right, we'll bring it back to the dais. And any questions from the council? No, I'm looking for a motion. Mr. Rodriguez.

I move to approve the bill draft request to amend the Washtenaw County Taxes on Transit Lodging Act of 1999 to enable the Spark City Council to, it's moving, sorry. to enable the Sparks City Council to adopt an ordinance to add a surcharge of up to $10 per night to the rental of transit lodging within the city of Sparks.

Mr. Abbott? Second. We've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Most carries unanimously. Madam Clerk, 10.4.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is second reading public hearing consideration discussion and possible adoption of bill number 2858, an ordinance amending Sparks Municipal Code section 13.27.080 appeals to update the sewer bill appeals process and providing for other matters properly related there too. I'm just gonna keep on going. Please. Thank you. This is Lisa Hunderman, your city clerk for the record. Section 13.27.080 of the SPARKS Municipal Code governs how sewer customers can dispute their sewer bill. It has not been meaningfully updated in over 20 years. Currently, there is a $150 threshold that separates staff level review from formal committee review, which no longer reflects current billing amounts. The appeals process is also currently fragmented. The finance director role that is referenced in the lower tier actually no longer exists in our administrative structure. And the department is currently under the city clerk's office. The ordinance that is before you today replaces Section 13.27.080 in its entirety. The two-tier structure is preserved, but it has been updated, and under the new threshold, appeals under $1,000 would go to the city clerk for review, and then an appeal of the city clerk's decision would go to the city manager for final review. And then anything over $1,000 would still go to the Sewer Appeals Committee and that they would provide a recommendation to the city manager. The city manager would make the decision and then appeals of the city manager's decision would still go to city council. There was some additional changes that were made in the code. Previously, there was documentation requirements that were scattered throughout the section with no clear statement of what a petitioner should bring to or provide for an appeal. So the new code consolidates all of the requirements into a single subsection. And there is also an additional purpose statement that was added that clearly defines when a sewer bill could be adjusted. and that any granted adjustment could be approved in full, in part, or not at all. The restructured process is expected to reduce staff time on routine billing disputes by keeping low dollar amounts at the administrative level, and staff does recommend the City Council adopt the ordinance amending this section of Title 13 as presented. As a reminder, this is a public hearing, and that concludes my presentation, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Questions from the Council. Mr. Abbott.

A COMMENT SOMEONE HAS HAD THE PLEASURE OF SITTING ON THE SURE APPEALS BOARD HIGHLY SUPPORTED THIS FOR FOR NOT ONLY OUR OWN TIME BUT FOR STAFF'S TIME EVERY TIME SOMEONE APPEALS IT'S NOT JUST A SIMPLE ONE PAGE IT'S THEM GOING THROUGH ALL THE HISTORY GETTING THE REASON. It's a lot of work, and they're averaged from seven to 15 every once a month, so definitely big time savers. I think it'll also be great for our citizens, too, that show up. We've had a variety of people show up over the years where some people are probably more stressed than they need to be over a sewer appeal, but if we can take care of maybe some of these appeals process at the customer service counter and help people get their cases resolved instead of waiting for the next sewer appeal. So highly support it. I love it. I know we've talked about it for a while. Just the advocacy for it as well. So

If I could piggyback off of what Councilman Abbott said, the eight to 15 or so that you get on a monthly basis, we've calculated it out and that'd probably go down to about eight a year.

Okay, anyone else? All right, so public hearing. Anyone in the public wishing to speak on this item? Then I'll bring it back to the dais and we are looking for a motion. Mr. Abbott.

I move to adopt a bill number 2858, an ordinance amending the Sparking Municipal Code Section 13.27.080 appeals to update the sewer bill appeals process and providing for other matters properly related thereto. Ms. VanderWaal.

Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. 11.1, second reading.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is second reading public hearing discussion and possible adoption of bill number 2857 to modify a final approved plan for the Kiley Ranch North plan development. Kiley Ranch North phase three final handbook to one, modify the parking ratios applicable to medical uses. Two, revise sign standards related to medical campus signage in Village 25. And three, modify parking area landscaping requirements when covered parking is utilized in Village 25. and on an approximately 98.4 acre site, generally located east of Pyramid Way, west of David Allen Parkway, south of Wingfield Hills Road, and north of Sparks Boulevard, Sparks, Nevada. APNs 08302418, 08302419, 08302422, 08303074, 08302422, and 08383075 in the NUD New Urban District, Kiley Ranch North Phase Three Plan Development Zoning District.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Again, apologies for the length of titles. Did you write that for us? I did. Thank you. So good afternoon, Mayor Lawson, members of the City Council. I am, for the record, Dani Rae, Senior Planner, here to present this item to you today. So on this slide, you can see the boundary of the approximately 874 acre entire Kiley Ranch planned development, which encompasses 12 planned developments. And it's outlined in blue. Outlined in red is the 98.4 acre Kiley Ranch North phase three planned development. Generally located east of Prater, excuse me, Pyramid Way and west of David Allen Parkway, south of Wingfield Hills Road and north of Sparks Boulevard. City Council initially adopted the Kiley Ranch North phase three development handbook in 2007, which established residential, commercial, community and park and open space land use categories and most recently an amendment that modified floor area ratio and some architectural standards and trip allocation. The amendment was requested by Renown for the Renown Medical Campus, but some of the changes will impact the Greater Village 25 and the Kiley Ranch North Phase 3 plan development. So this request seeks to amend the handbook by modifying parking ratios that are applicable to medical uses in the KRN Phase 3 PD, decreasing the overall parking counts for the medical campus in Village 25, modifying medical campus signage to reflect renowned branding changes to provide more flexibility for signage design. And by removing parking area landscaping requirements when parking areas are located under shade or photovoltaic or solar structures. Of note, staff are currently reviewing a companion administrative review to construct a 125,203 square foot, three story medical office building on an approximately 11.5 acre portion of Village 25. The medical office building, which will include an ambulatory surgical and treatment center, as well as an urgent care facility is identified as phase one of the medical campus. And it's shown in yellow on this map. And a hospital and two additional medical office buildings are identified as phase two. They are not presently included in the administrative review. And approval of the administrative review is contingent upon approval of this request to amend the handbook. So for parking ratios, this request seeks to modify the minimum parking ratios for certain medical uses to align with the Institute of Transportation Engineers or ITE parking rates as shown on the table here on the screen, which will decrease the overall parking count by only 45 spaces from that is currently required in the handbook. Staff supports modifying the parking ratios as requested because the ITE parking demand rates are based on peak parking demand data collected at multiple hospital and medical sites, and these rates will support development not only of Village 25 with envisioned medical uses, but also medical uses in other portions of the Phase 3 handbook. And for modifications to signage, the handbook contains specific signage standards related to the medical campus land use category that no longer represent the renowned branding. This request seeks to remove the illustrations related to renowned branding from the handbook, as well as certain standards related to materials and dimensions of the medical campus, providing additional flexibility within an established framework. In addition, this request proposes to modify sign standards to change an electronic message gateway sign for an internally illuminated LED sign, increase the height of a gateway sign and increase the maximum square footage of buildings. And this request also seeks to modify the language in the handbook related to parking area landscaping. As proposed, requirements for landscape islands and tree plantings would not apply under parking shade structures, including those designed to support photovoltaic systems since a lack of direct sunlight would impact the sustainability of landscaping and plantings. So according to the fiscal impact analysis for the project area between 2026 and 2039 the project is proposed to add 228,590 square feet of medical office space. a 595,000 square foot hospital and a hundred, excuse me, 125,000 square foot parking structure and is anticipated to generate a revenue surplus in the amount of $33 million over the 20 year analysis period. However, the analysis only pertains to Village 25, which is a part of the Greater Kiley Ranch North plan development that has historically been utilized to analyze fiscal impacts for the development, plan development. When analyzing the impacts of a potential medical campus project in conjunction with the Greater Kiley Ranch North plan development, the analysis shows a remaining net surplus of $65.4 million. This concludes the background and analysis portion of the presentation. An amendment to the plan development has 10 required findings that must be made by the city council. So for findings PDA, PDB, and PDH, the requested modifications to development standards are consistent with the comprehensive plan and surrounding land uses, because they will facilitate commercial development in an area planned for commercial uses, promoting compact development and development flexibility. in a location where infrastructure such as sewer, water, storm drains, and police and fire services are available, and providing potential for the continued growth of the Kiley Ranch North community for residents and businesses, supporting goals MG1, MG11, goals CC1, EV1, and EV2. Pursuant to the 2024 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, the phase three handbook has a tier two land use designation and is located within the Truckee Meadows service area and supports construction of suburban type medical uses. The proposed amendment does not alter the type or amount of development permitted in the phase three handbook and would permit greater flexibility and implementation of the allowed medical uses that are already permitted in the handbook. For these reasons, the reliance of residents and owners upon the provisions of the plan will not be materially impaired supporting finding PDH. And analyzing the impacts of the potential medical campus development across the greater Kiley Ranch area, the fiscal impact analysis prepared in support of the proposed modifications finds development will continue to generate significant positive revenue for the city's general fund estimated at $86.1 million over the 20 year analysis period. This general fund surplus is sufficient to cover the $20.7 million deficit in the road fund. with an over $65.4 million net surplus revenue remaining to fund expenditures throughout the city supporting finding PDC. For findings PDD, PDE, PDF and PDG, the proposed amendment modifies parking area ratios and landscaping design standards as well as signage standards for development within the community commercial medical campus land use category. This amendment is intended to support the potential construction of medical campus uses in a manner that is consistent with the original intent of the plan and further some mutual interests of residents, property owners, and the public by supporting updated construction plans consistent with that plan. And finally, for findings PDI and PDJ, as proposed, the changes will allow any interested party to pursue development within the Kiley Ranch North phase three plan development in accordance with the handbook. Public notice was given as required on May 5th and a total of 91 notices were mailed to all owners within the development and within 750 feet of the boundary of phase three. as well as published in the Reno Gazette Journal. As of noon today, there has been no public comment on this item. Staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval of this item to the City Council. As a reminder, this is a public hearing. I'm available for questions, as is the applicant, and this concludes my presentation.

Okay, questions from the Council? Okay, well, it's a public hearing. Anyone in the public wishing to comment on this item? Now we'll bring it back to the diets and I'm looking for a motion. Mr. Rodriguez.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm happy to do this. I know this community has been looking for something like this a long time. So with that, I move to approve bill number 2857 to amend the final approved plan for the Kylie Ranch phase three plans development to one, modify parking ratios applicable to medical uses. Two, revise sign standards related to medical campus signage in Village 25. And three, modify parking area landscaping requirements when covered parking is utilized in Village 25. on an approximate 20, or I'm sorry, 98.4 acre site in Sparks, Nevada. APNs 083-08, or I'll start that over, APNs 083-024-18 and 083-024-19 and 083-024-22. almost there, 083-083-74 and 083-083-75, based on the findings PDA through PDJ. And in fact, supporting those findings has set forth in the staff report.

Did I get that right?

No?

Mr. Mayor, no, he, yeah, yeah.

the two APNs at the end. Okay, so friendly amendment to this motion. So APNs 083-08. 830, thank you. 830-74 and 083-830-75. Thank you. Can we get them all in there now? Yes.

Okay.

May I second the motion?

I want Councilman Rodriguez to relax a little. That was a hard one to get through. Yes, you can second it, please. All right, and I do. All right, any further discussion? Seeing none, please vote. Motion carries unanimously. All right, Madam Clerk, do we have any public comment?

We do not, Mr. Mayor.

Okay, announcements from the Mayor, City Council, City Manager. Anybody have an announcement? Yes, you have an announcement.

All right, well, I have a request. If I can please request on our August 10th, 2026 agenda, the policy for dogs in the workplace that I know the language from Washoe County was provided to us. So I'd like to see if we can get that on our agenda and get it passed.

Will do, thank you. Thank you, anyone else? All right, then we, you got anything, Mr. City Manager? We are adjourned. Now we got redevelopment. Redevelopment.

Yes.

We'll call today the freshman development agency meeting of Monday, July 27th. Not two o'clock, at four. At 3.52 to order with a roll call, please.

Chair Abbott.

Here.

Agency members Lawson. Here. Bybee. Here. Vanderwell. Here. Anderson.

Here.

Rodriguez. Here. Chief Legal Officer Duncan.

Here.

Chief Administrative Officer Lawson. Here. We have a quorum.

Awesome, thank you very much. Public comment, any public comment? I see none. We'll close that item, go to 4.1, approval of the agenda. Looking for a motion. Okay. It's fine, time isn't real. Agency Member Rodriguez. Thank you very much. Agency Member VanderWaal. Second. Perfect, we have a motion and a second, please vote. Passes unanimously. Item 5.1, consideration, discussion, and possible approval of the minutes of the Sparks Redevelopment Agency meeting for June 22nd, 2026. Looking for a motion. Agency member Anderson.

Move to approve the minutes of the Sparks Redevelopment Agency meeting for June 22nd, 2026.

Thank you very much. Agency member VanderWaal. Second. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Please vote. Passes unanimously. Item 6.1, consideration of possible exceptions of the report of the claims and bills approved for payment and appropriation transfer for the period of June 9th, 2026 to July 14th, 2026. Looking for a motion. Agency member Bybee.

I move to accept the report of claims and bills and the appropriation transfers for the period of June 9th, 2026 through July 14th, 2026.

Thank you very much, agency member Rodriguez. Perfect, we have a motion and a second, please vote. Passes unanimously. 8.1, comments from the public. Any public comment? I see none. We'll go to 8.2, announcements from the agency and chief administrative officer. Last chance. Hold your peace. Okay, we will adjourn at 3.54.