Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Meeting of the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners to order on May 12th, 2026 at 10.02, please. Welcome, everyone. Mr. Brooks, would you be so kind with a salute to the flag? Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, Thank you. We'll move to roll call, please.

Chair Andriola?

Present.

Vice Chair Garcia?

Here.

Commissioner Hill?

Here.

Commissioner Clark?

Present.

Commissioner Herman? Here. County Manager Kate Thomas? Here. Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Large?

Present.

And Diane Yvonne Strickland, Deputy Clerk. Madam Chair, you have a quorum. Thank you. We'll move now to public comment.

Manager Thomas? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is public comment and comment heard under this item will be limited to three minutes per person and it may pertain to matters both on and off the commission agenda. Unused time may not be allocated to other speakers and the commission will also hear public comment during individual action items with comment limited to three minutes per person. Comments are to be made to the commission as a whole and virtual public comment may be taken when facilities are available.

First up is Tammy Holtz-Still.

Tammy Holt Still for the record. I am here this morning because of this right here you see, this primary ballot. I live in unincorporated Washoe County, as you know, and my ballot is as a sample ballot is showing the city of Reno and the city of Sparks on top of what I should be voting for. Now you talk about trying to confuse people, that's really gonna confuse people. I don't understand why your voter registrar's office can't do something correctly. As a candidate, One of the things, if I do not make it in that seat, I am going to be working on, because I understand now, that the voter registrar for Washoe County and Clark County has been changed from being something that is voted on. So there's an oath of office to do the right thing and make it come out correctly. It needs to go back to that. Every other county votes for their voter registrar. We need to get back to that. So whether I make it as commissioner, I will be working with legislature to change because it's supposed to be we the people and that's not what's happening here. Also the fact that in the offices that are nonpartisan, it used to be as you see like these right here There used to be an R, a D, an I, an L, so people could see. And it's not that difficult, but yet it was dropped. Elections, everybody has said there's been an issue with Washoe County elections. I can see why there's so many issues. Just with this piece of paper I got, I don't understand why it would stay this way, why you would allow this to happen, why you're not having your staff pay attention and do the right thing. Thank you. Thank you.

Terry Brooks.

Good morning, it's me Terry Brooks again, and today I have on my mind thoughts of discrimination against people who are blind. Many people who are blind often have a fear of falling into pitfalls that they have heard are near. If they fall in one because they are blind, then they really have a fear of being left behind. But just like other people who have lost one of their senses, the blind have learned to make good use of the rest of their senses. Even though they're blind and they don't have vision, they can use their sense of touch with accurate precision. They can use their fingers to read things written in braille, and they learn to do so with extraordinary detail. They have learned to use their really good sense of touch because they can't see, they depend on it so much. When they hear someone's voice but can't see them with their eyes, because they're depending on their ears, who they hear, they recognize. When they hear anything only with their ears, they can visualize what they hear as if it appears. They really know what food is good with their senses of smell and taste. They don't have to see good food, so that won't go to waste. So there are certain occupations that they could probably do a whole lot better than anyone else could do. They may need some help finding their way to work, but when they do so, then they do some extraordinary work. So anyone who discriminates against those who are blind and cannot see just might need to close their eyes and open their mind to see. I would like to thank you all for listening to me today, and I look forward to seeing you all when I return with a lot more to say. Thank you.

Heidi Soper.

Good morning. My name is Heidi Soper. I'm chairman of the Sun Valley Citizens Advisory Board, but I'm here today as a 38-year citizen of Sun Valley and would like to discuss item 13. As you are all aware, we have a terrible problem in Sun Valley with unauthorized occupants and illegal dumping on vacant lots that have either absent uninterested owners or deceased owners. Washoe County Code Enforcement has issued a complaint on the conditions of such lots on 5th Street, Quartz Lane and Gerd's Drive. These lots are in such terrible condition, they look like a war zone. They are a public and a health nuisance, as well as a major fire hazard. Incidentally, Sunday on Quartz Drive, there was a fire. And I don't know if it was on one of these lots or not. They are greatly impacting the quality of life in these neighborhoods. These lots are definitely noticed by the public and are a constant complaint in the public comments at the Sun Valley cab meetings. Quartz Drive and Gers Drive are in District 5. and Fifth Street is in District 3. I'm asking on behalf of Sun Valley that you acknowledge the complaint and approve setting a date for a hearing so that you can all see the pictures and hear the complaints by Code Enforcement Division and any property owners that may want to try to defend themselves. I'm hoping that the meeting date will be published so that all interested citizens can attend and voice their opinions and concerns. We are all working so hard to eliminate unauthorized occupants, illegal dumping of trash tires and cars throughout the valley, and this problem on specific properties has to be eliminated as well. As far as item 8B1, we are all thankful that the county now owns 520 Carnes Drive. And the unauthorized occupants will soon be removed and the property will be cleaned up. I know this all takes time and cooperation of many entities, but we are getting there. And this is just a start. Thank you for your help and cooperation. Steve Letty.

Good morning. My name is Steve Letty. I am Vice President of the Field Creek Homeowners Association. I'm here today on behalf of the homeowners and the tens of thousands of residents who have endured the failure of the Arrow Creek Soundwall. And to thank the Washoe County Commissioners for approving the repair of this eyesore. The repair of the Arrow Creek Soundwall after 20 years of being ignored, cast aside by previous commissioners, is now complete. So again, thank you. I especially want to thank Commissioner Mike Clark, who saw a wrong that needed action. He stepped to the plate, and in his own words, we are not kicking this can down the road anymore. He listened to his constituents, he understood the facts, and he simply went to bat for the people he represents. He is the essence of what we as residents want from our elected officials. Again, Commissioner Clark, thank you for your efforts in making this happen. Second, and he's not here, he went back upstairs, I would like to thank Dwayne Smith of the Washoe County Engineering, who over the last four years has worked to provide research facts, meetings, discussions, and finally an end solution that to my understanding came in under budget I have worked with numerous public officials over the last 50 years in construction and multiple jurisdictions, cities, counties, and states. Dwayne Smith has proven to be one of the finest I have ever worked with. He is an invaluable asset to Washoe County. And last, and maybe most important, Candy Ramos, whose single action of reaching out started the ball rolling and moving forward and constantly kept the parties well informed. Without her, this would not have happened. Thank you, Candy. Thank you, all of you.

Cynthia Cooper.

She has documents to distribute to the board. Good morning, commissioners. I'm Cynthia Cooper. I live in Reno. Commissioners, an investment in the libraries is an excellent investment in our community's public health. To make this salient, I'm going to compare what the library does for your brain versus what data centers and AI do to your brain. For brain health, Reading books helps to improve focus. And focus is important for slowing and warding off dementia. Surfing the web develops bad habits in the brain because people only spend mere moments on any internet content before they surf again. Increasing numbers of people are reporting having trouble focusing. For relationships and socializing, the library offers events like playing chess, book clubs, craft workshops, games and activities for teens. All these events provide opportunities for people to relate face to face. People who are more social are less likely to commit suicide Social media mediates relationships through a screen that distorts people's relationships. The business model of social media reinforces unhealthy concerns about image, about getting attention. For reasoning, the library has vast stores of authoritative books and access to vetted research databases Search engines track a person's time spent on search result websites and learns what keeps a person hooked. This is a technique similar to how casinos keep gamblers gambling. This business model results in Internet amplifying extreme, outrageous, vitriolic, and divisive content THINK HOW ALL THIS AFFECTS OUR CHILDREN'S DEVELOPING MINDS. THE FY26 LIBRARY BUDGET IS $17.6 MILLION. THE EXPANSION FUND YOU WILL BE CONSIDERING UNDER ITEM 11 IS LESS THAN HALF A MILLION. FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON, DATA CENTERS IN NEVADA ARE GETTING AN AVERAGE OF $5 MILLION IN A TAX ABATEMENT EACH This loss in tax revenue doesn't even take into consideration societal impacts down the road. Thank you. Thank you.

Cliff Nellis. Cliff Nellis, 52 year resident of Washoe County. I have a lot of things to talk to you guys about today. So let's start with number 11. I agree with that lady about AI data centers and 5G and 6G. But I disagree about the libraries needing more funding. We made a vote, we don't want that, any more funding to these libraries. And that was an extension of the tax increase there. And the reason why, as a resident, is because it's run by a bunch of LGBs, Marxists, and lesbians. And they won't get these filthy books out of the library. Then we'll get them out of the schools. We actually probably should consider shutting them all down. If you can't get the filthy books out of there and then on number twelve. They're not homeless, they're derelicts. They're vagabond brigands. I want you to learn those words. Those words are true. A vagabond is someone who doesn't want to live in one place, and a brigand is a thief. And they're running around robbing our neighborhoods, robbing our businesses because they refuse to work. What we need to do is we have a different program instead of wasting $5 million on this thing. We need to arrest them and have a work program where they maybe can clean up the river, clean up the city with some of these fine gentlemen behind me watching them, maybe with a chain on them. It's called a chain gang. Put them to work, make them sober up, and that's a Christian thing to do, to help them. People act on your kindness and your emotions. And really, it's the worst thing you can do for these guys because they need discipline, they need chastisement, just like a spoiled brat child. They need to be brought in line so they can be productive citizens of our society. And the other thing, too, I got a ballot, and the ballot, it wasn't even a sample ballot. What's wrong with your ROV down here? It's not even a correct sample ballot. I live in Washoe County, have a city arena thing on there. This is a huge mess. And like Tammy Holtz still said, maybe we need to elect our OV, but right now, and I've said this before, we need a hand count of the paper ballots. I talked to Sheriff Bianco about, or I'm not sure about that. Sheriff Bianco down in Riverside County, he took the paper ballots And hand counted them. And I don't know what the result of that is, but I'm sure it's going to show that they don't match the machine count. That's what I was asking you guys to do in 2022, I mean 2024. You refused to do it. There's no transparency. You can't see what goes on inside the machine. Everything else is great on the outside. But we know in those machines, it's fraud. It's fraud. Our whole voting system is fraudulent. Thank you.

Maureen McElroy.

Good morning, Commissioners and Chair Andriola. My name is Maureen McElroy. I appreciate this moment for public comment. My comment is regarding agenda item 11, which is a recommendation by county budget to approve augmentation of the fiscal year 2026 Library Expansion Fund budget in the amount of $457,956. These dollars will increase spending authority for our library system for the purchase of materials including fiscal and electronic titles. I commend the county budget for the recommendation and urge you, the commissioners, to approve it. Over the past several years, and especially these past many months, you and the Library Board of Trustees have heard public comment after public comment about how deeply valuable our library system and its resources are to our community. These additional dollars will give our Washoe County Library Collection Development Department a much needed infusion, allowing them to continue materials purchases that meet the ever-growing needs of our diverse community. These additional dollars will give our, excuse me, pardon me, on a related topic regarding the two upcoming Library Board of Trustee vacancies due to be filled by the BCC this June, I also urge this board to be sure to select candidates who truly understand the mission and the impact of a vital library system. Even with the library expansion fund infusion, our public library system is well below the 10 to 15% materials budget threshold the American Library Association suggests a public library's materials budget should be. I dare say Some of our current library board of trustee members still don't understand this or refuse to. Our community deserves library trustees who are committed to supporting a thriving, diverse, responsive public library system. I hope you will deliver this to us this June. Thank you. Oscar Williams.

Good morning, Oscar Williams. I'm here to lodge a complaint against Andrew McDonald for breaking three laws. First one is NRS 293-2546, clause 7, our right to an accurate sample ballot. You heard Tammy talk about it. You heard Cliff talk about it. It's a big deal. This is the sample ballot from or the booklet and sample ballot from the 2022, okay? This is from the general. And this is the pullout, right? This is what you call the sample ballot. See, it looks in size and form, it looks like a real ballot, right? It just has sample as a watermark on it and a little notch right there. I don't know if you can see the little notch on it. But otherwise, it looks like a real ballot. It says official, okay? But that's not what we got in the mail, did we? No, no, we got, gee, I'm in district 25, I believe, but then I got district 40, two assembly districts. Can you see that? Two assembly districts, there we go. Two assembly districts, two county commissions. I'm in district five, I'm in, geez, but do I now get to vote for Mike Clark or John Dillon? Is that what I'm allowed to do based on this information? I'm confused, and that's why we have to have accuracy. We need to fire this guy, arrest him, and then fire based on this alone. But there's more. There's more. He has us voting on a precinct tabulator scanner. We vote on the machine. We get our ballot. It's pre-filled ovals. We bring it over to the tabulator scanner, and we stick it in, and it goes to the ballot box, right? That's an illegal process. It violates NRS. 293.365, sir, which says the counting board shall count the paper ballots before all ballots are accounted for. Ergo, you must have the paper ballots to do that, to be compliant with that law. They have to have the paper ballots, not a digitized ballot that the voter scans and tabulates before the ballots are even closed. There's no provision in law that dictates that a voter should do that. It's an illegal process. And not only does it violate NRS 293.365, it violates the Voters' Bill of Rights again, 293.2546, clause 10, to a uniform statewide standard. You go to the polls, and the mail ballots are in a ballot box. The provisional ballots get a ballot box. In fact, my ballot gets a ballot box, your regular ballot. But it's got to go through that little scanner thing first. That's not a consistent, uniform statewide standard of counting votes. It's illegal. Three laws broken. Get them, guys. Take them off the jail. Thanks for your time.

Hi, Laura Wetherington for the record. Thank you for your public service and for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I'm a Washoe County resident and am here to urge you to vote in favor of augmentation of the fiscal year 26 library expansion budget. I value being fiscally responsible and I know that we are facing a budgetary cliff in the coming years. And that's why I support bolstering the collections budget while we still can. This is like squirreling away some nuts in preparation for the lean years ahead. Thank you. Ethne Barton.

Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Eithne Marie Barton. I am a Reno resident and my home library is Sierra View Library. Regarding your consideration of resolution number R2600009 to augment the fiscal year 2026 library expansion fund budget pursuant to provisions in the NRS and the NAC in the amount of $457,956.43 to support library services in our community by June 30, 2026. Please, by all means, approve this resolution. What a wonderful way to welcome our new library director, Lisa McClure, and to assure her support of our library system is strong in Washoe County. A bit of history regarding allocation of collection funds. According to a library staff report from November 2025, Nevada's minimum public library standards for collection spending require each library board to annually select one of three options in laying out the budget for acquisition and library collections. Way back in August of 2015, the Library Board of Trustees selected the third option as a long-term goal for the library system with an aim to reach the 10% minimum standard, meaning the library system would meet or exceed 10% of the adjusted total operating budget spent on library materials for collection funding by fiscal year 2017-2018. Here we are nearly 10 years later as we approach our fiscal year 2026-2027, and we have yet to meet the standard. Based on our current fiscal year 2025-2026 budget, the allocation for materials of $764,720 falls far short of that 10% goal and currently sits at 4.51%. With your approval of this resolution, we can close the gap and work to achieve the goal laid out by our Library Board of Trustees in 2015. Your approval sends a strong message and reflects our community's broad support for our Washoe County Library System. Thank you so much.

Marie Rodriguez.

for the record. I'm here with an invitation. I'm an author. Actually, if you go to the Barnes & Noble here in Reno, you'll find several of my books on the shelf. And we have pretty much been trying to support and promote the literary arts in Northern Nevada through the Sierra Arts Foundation. We actually have a group now called the Sierra Arts Literary Group, literary community, and this June is our second annual book fest, which will happen in Sparks. and is free, open to the public, and will feature many local art authors and poets, and will have activities for the family. So I'd just like to invite everybody here to this event to support it, to support the literary arts in the area, and there will be a wonderful raffle, and hope to see some of you there. Thank you. Penny Brock.

Penny Brock, for the record, I too agree with those that have expressed concerns about the sample ballot. On my sample ballot, Assemblyman Rich DeLong was left off. Yes, he's the only Republican running for the primary, but I noticed throughout the ballot, others were on the ballot where they were the only one there. So why was Rich DeLong left off? Secondly, I take issue with agenda item number 14. McDonald is going to do a presentation to discuss the data transparency project. Why aren't we allowed to speak after his presentation? There was no attachment for us to know what he's going to talk about. What is a data transparency project all about? We already know, based on the election since 2020, we do not have data transparency. Nothing has changed. There is not gonna be any true data transparency with this election. So why is he taking the time to be on the agenda and what's it all about? Secondly, you heard me speak. the Dropbox at the Cares campus. I've learned additional information. There were 23 voters from that area in 2024. Why are they getting their own Dropbox? It's not a polling location. That's an issue too. The voters in that area can mail their ballots. It's a prepaid envelope even. So why should we be spending thousands of dollars to have a drop box at the Cares campus? Who are gonna be the observers? The residents of the Cares campus? Are they even gonna be registered voters? Well, I'm sure McDonald makes sure they're registered. But this is a huge issue. It's unsafe, it's fenced, and it's homeless. Look at the picture around the Cares Campus. This has not changed. It's not a safe area. In the law, about a drop box, it says it must be placed in an accessible and convenient location. at a polling place in the county. The Cares Campus is not accessible. It's fenced. You have to show an ID to get in, yet you won't have to show an ID to vote. Think about that. Made available during hours when the polling place is open. Well, the Cares Campus is open 24-7. There will not even be a dedicated camera on this Dropbox 24-7. Dora Martinez.

Dora Martinez.

Good morning. My name is Dora Martinez. I was supposed to come and do public comment, but I couldn't access your agenda. Let me Excuse me for a minute. It would say click this link for an accessible agenda, and when I click on it, I think it's an image, and my phone or any screen readers with us who are blind, cannot read scanned documents or picture or image. So just 2022, we work with Jason Bockel and Joshua Andreas, I think, to make sure that the agendas were accessible. And I don't know what happened, because now it's not. And so now I'm just picking on for general public, because I didn't know it was on the agenda. So with that said, Back in the 81st legislative session, I advocated for the NV East, the Nevada effective absentee system for election for people who are blind and disabled. And that's when the pandemic started. So senior citizens who had the skill to vote online were able to because that bill passed. And I'm grateful for that because here in America, people should vote securely and independently. I don't want to go in a poll and have somebody hear my voting when I'm casting my vote because of not adequate equipment. But I want to thank. you all and whoever hired Scott Youngs through the Americans with Disability Act program with the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disability, because of him and others in your team or in this Washoe County staff, it's becoming more accessible. People who are American Sign Language users can vote independently and securely, because I checked out your machines and they even have, they're tactile, different shape, and somebody told me they're a color. So people who can use the colors, they can choose who they're voting for. um i also want to thank george and his last name escapes me and mr mcdonald for their cooperation in making this possible i know we get a lot of stuff saying it's not secured or something but all i care about is that i can vote we can vote my husband and i and other people who are disabled who are scared to come because of retaliation to voice out that they do appreciate that they can vote securely and independently. Thank you so much. Thank you.

We'll follow up on that as well. Jill O'Leary

Good morning, commissioners. My name is Jill O'Leary, Washoe County resident. Today I'm commenting on voter transparency. I've come across something that baffles me. No public record request is available to allow a voter to access their own voter history. Among all the other things going on with the ballots being improper and how the machines are changing, the registrar's office needs to be required to provide individuals their voting history in a public records request. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. We have nobody else signed in. Thank you so much. We'll go ahead and close public comment and now move to commissioners and county managers' announcements. Manager Thomas.

Thank you. This is Commissioner County Manager's announcements, reports and updates to include boards and commission updates, requests for topics or future agendas. I do have two quick things if I may. We have, as this is the meeting where we announce our open seats that people can find. fill with their applications we have the Board of Equalization and then we have the Deferred Comp Committee. So the Board of Equalization is seeking two regular members to fill vacancies that begin in January 2027 and are set to expire December 31st, 2030. They're also looking for an alternate member with the term that begins in January 2027 as well. It's set to expire on December 31st, 2027. Those county board hearings are held from mid-January through February and and one day in April each year, and members are required to appear in person, virtual participation is not allowed. So the deadline to apply for those three open positions is 5 p.m. on Friday, June 5th, 2026, this coming June. We do have an open seat for the Washoe County Deferred Compensation Committee, which is a pretty specific appointee that they're seeking. You have to be a retiree, so you need to be a Washoe County retiree participating in the Washoe County Deferred Compensation Plan, which is our 457B plan. or the Washoe County 401A plan so you can do either or both of those. The appointment is a two-year term and it begins on the date of appointment. So this board, the DCC, convenes on a quarterly basis. Meetings are open to the general public and the deadline to apply for that one is 1159 p.m. on Tuesday, June the 30th of this year. If you have any other questions or concerns on these, please contact Washoe 311 or you can dial 775-328-2003. Thank you. Thank you.

We'll now move to Commissioner comments. Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have no comments this morning. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to recognize that May is National Foster Care Month, and I want to recognize the county team. I forgot our last meeting to give them major kudos for our foster parent appreciation evening. It was a beautiful evening, and I think that many people think foster care seems like too much work or maybe something that they a scary experience but Washoe County is a place where we will help you through the process and we'll make it easy on you and there are so many kids who deserve a loving family and there's so many people who have a space in their homes, who have capacity in their lives, and I just ask that they consider bringing in a kid into their lives. You can also mentor these kids if you think that foster is too much, but I just ask that folks consider this because this is such a need in our county and our state, and I think that the county has really stepped up in the way that they support our foster parents, and I give major kudos to our manager who has made sure that we can really make sure that anyone who is part of the county's foster system is part of our big family. That's my only push for this month, and I just appreciate all the people who do foster. It was great to meet many foster parents at this event, and they're very inspirational, and they don't have all the money in the world. These are people who just want to help kids. And so if you're thinking about it, considering it, reach out to Washoe County. We will make it easy on you. So thank you.

Thank you. Vice Chair Garcia.

Thank you. Well said. I wanted to wish everybody a happy Mother's Day, including in that our foster moms, our adoptive moms, and moms that have informally taken kids into their homes. So thank you for teeing that up. I do have another thank you and one request. A special thank you to Code Enforcement, Washoe County Sheriff's Office, Hope Team, DA Large, and Manager Thomas. for agenda items 8B1, the forcible detainer on Carnes Avenue, and agenda item number 13 for the public nuisances listing various APNs. These are very complex issues with owners that are deceased. They're not easy to tease out. There are multiple touch points. I think the assumption is that the county care or that we're turning our back and that's not the case because if you look at any of these parcels they've had multiple complaints, multiple warnings issued. In many cases a lot of intervention has taken place already with removing vehicles and and cleanups but you just can't tell. Often cases these are so bad that those efforts go unnoticed so I just wanted to publicly acknowledge all the hard work that goes into addressing these and we're off to a great start so thank you. And then my request is a couple of months ago, the city of Sparks adopted some changes to their chapter 5.6.5. It was in relation to the massage parlors and services. So I pulled up what they had passed and they had strengthened things around revoking licenses, inspections, living or sleeping quarters. I pulled up our Washoe County Code 25.239 and ours looked pretty strong already. You know, we had already prohibited living and sleeping quarters. It had outlined grounds for revoking business licenses and grounds for denial. So all of that was in place in regard to our managing our businesses that are related to massages but I was hoping that we can strengthen the grounds for denial and revocation for those bad actors who have found the loopholes and so interesting Sparks was able to kind of identify you know folks that utilize a spouse a partner or stockholder to apply for these business licenses they sometimes will apply on the same physical address and complex even though they've had their license revoked. They would use the same ownership name and lease agreements when they've already had issues And I would like to see us denying anybody that's been previously employed by any of these bad actors. So just looking for some continuity across the jurisdictions, because as you know, what we enforce in SPARCS then can trickle into the different jurisdictions. So I just wanted to put that on our radar. And if we could open up Washoe County Section 25.239 for questions. just further review. Thank you.

Thanks. And thanks for your hard work on the property and trying to get everything cleaned up. And I think Ms. Soper, what you were talking about is exactly what the vice chair is talking about. So thank you. Commissioner Herman.

I'm going to repeat what's been said about cleanup and thanks to any help we can get because it sure has, it's been, worked on by our sheriff department for years and years and by this board. And so I appreciate you following through on it. Thank you. Thank you.

I have a couple things. One, Manager Thomas, would you address the sample ballot? There were several folks during public comment, and if you could please help. clarify that?

Sure so thanks to folks that came forward with that information the sample ballot is booklet is not unique to precincts so that's by design so for example those that live in unincorporated Washoe County have all races that are showing in their party. We do have a very cool spot online that When it came out, I jumped on there just to kind of see what my ballot would look like. It's a specific race to you. If you go online to washoecounty.gov backslash sample ballot, you can see what your actual ballot will look like with all the races that pertain to you. So I apologize if that was confusing, but we certainly have information for you. And I know Registrar McDonald will be here later this afternoon, and he can certainly address that as well.

So I hope that helps. Thank you. The only item I have is that on the 15th of this month will be the deadline for any feedback for the Citizens Advisory Board's bylaws. That's been a process that's been worked on by a lot of staff, so thanks in advance to all of that, but all the folks that have been working hard to, hasn't really been looked at since 2021, and so bringing it up and recalibrating and putting it as a priority, obviously, for all the citizens to have a voice is important. So I hope everybody can go online and offer their feedback. Last I checked, there were like 123, I believe, people who have commented. So that's pretty good. Hopefully we can have everyone look at it. So hearing no other comments or manager Thomas. Oh, go ahead.

Madam chair, if I may, I wanted to mention an ongoing effort with, as I mentioned last week at the board meeting in regard to correcting any legal issues. DURING PUBLIC COMMENT AS I MENTIONED AT THE END OF LAST MEETING THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME ONGOING CONFUSION REGARDING THE LOCATION OF DROP BOXES AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE BE IT BALLOT LOCATIONS THEY ARE NOT PURSUANT TO NRS 293.269921 SUBSECTION 3 WHILE EACH POLLING PLACE MUST HAVE A DROP BOX. The ROV may establish a ballot drop box at any other location in the county where mail ballots can be delivered by hand and collected during the period for early voting and on election day. There's no requirement that those other places be ballot locations. Thank you.

All right, we're going to move now to proclamations. The first proclamation is going to be Commissioner Herman, and it's a proclamation for the week of May 10th through the 16th, 2026 is all police week. And I think we have some folks here that Sheriff Balaam and company.

I'm so lucky I get to do this honor.

The Board of County Commissioners have made this proclamation, which is signed by our chair.

Whereas And I want to compliment, before I start, on whoever wrote it, because it's really well written. And I agree with it. Whereas, each day, public safety officers rise to meet a calling greater than themselves to protect, to serve, and to stand as a shield between danger and the innocent. They do so with unwavering Resolved, knowing full well the risks that they face and the sacrifices they and their loved ones may be asked to make to protect our communities, to uphold our rule of law, and ensure our neighborhoods remain safe and secure. And whereas Washoe County stands united in deep admiration and eternal gratitude for the brave men and women of law enforcement. We honor their extraordinary courage, their steadfast commitment to justice, and the ultimate sacrifices made by those who laid down their lives so that others may live in peace and safety. And whereas While we can never fully repay our law enforcement officers for their selfless service, we must continue to provide them with the training, the tools and support necessary to carry out their duties so that they may return home safely at the end of each shift to the families who hold them close in heart. And whereas Washoe County owes a deep debt of gratitude not only to those who wear the badge, but also to the families who stand behind them, offering unwavering strength and support. When officers are injured or lose their lives in the line of duty, it is our solemn responsibility to care for their loved ones and honor their sacrifices. And whereas During Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, we reflect on the bravery and dedication of our law enforcement professionals and express our enduring appreciation for their service. We mourn those lost, we stand beside the families who grieve, and we lift up every officer who continues to walk the path of duty. Let us never take their service for granted. And let us always remember that the peace we enjoy has been hard won by the bravery of others. Now, therefore, the Board of County Commissioners does hereby proclaim the week of May 10th to 16th as Police Week. And as I said before, Clara Andreola, our chair, has signed this.

Yes. Good morning, Sheriff Balin, for the record. Thank you, Chair and Commissioners. I appreciate the commission for all the support that you guys do throughout the year for the minimum of the Sheriff's Office and in our entire region. And for those that did give their ultimate sacrifice, thank you for acknowledging those families. As we go back to D.C. and we have a little contingent back there this week, recognizing them. not just our men and women, but everybody across the nation. So thank you for your support. And with that, we're going to end and I will let the commission know we have a tragic incident at a school. No threat to other kids, but we are all headed there. So we will make sure we get the community information out, but want to let you know since we're standing here.

Thank you. And can I also say thank you, too, for this celebration, the remembrance celebration at the sheriff's office last week. It was really beautiful to actually see not only all the families that were there, but even the candles and the representation of those handmade candles. It was really moving. So thank you for that. And thank you for everything you do. Better let you get to work. Thank you. We'll move now. Oh, was that in the form of a motion?

Yes.

Okay. Thank you. Do we have a second? I'll second. All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Herman and a second by Vice Chair Garcia. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. We'll now move to 5A2, which is a proclamation for the month of May as Treatment Court Month. And Judge Burski is here, and Commissioner Hill will be reading the proclamation.

Can you see this? You want me to put that?

I saw that. It's a pecan punch.

The Board of County Commissioners proclaim, whereas, according to All Rise, treatment courts are the most successful justice system intervention in our nation's history for reducing crime by addressing substance abuse and mental health disorders. And whereas, treatment courts save an average of more than $6,000 for every individual they serve. And whereas, treatment courts provide a range of significant expectations. economic benefits by reducing court and incarceration costs, saving taxpayer dollars, promoting family reunification, reducing the foster care placements, and decreasing victimization-related expenses. And whereas treatment courts combine accountability with evidence-based treatment, and whereas, according to All Rise, treatment courts significantly approve substance abuse mental health disorder treatment outcomes and prevent fatal overdoses. And whereas local treatment courts refer more than 1,500 people each year to lifesaving treatment and recovery services while facilitating community-wide partnerships that unite public safety and public health efforts. And whereas treatment courts facilitate community-wide partnerships bringing together public safety and public health to enhance compliance and community safety. And whereas treatment courts demonstrate that when one person rises, we all rise. Now, therefore, the Board of County Commissioners does proclaim the month of May as Treatment Court Month, dated this 12th day of May. And this is signed by our chair. And I will have Judge Birchke come up and tell us a little bit about her treatment court.

Good morning, Kendra Birchie for the record, and I am a Justice of the Peace in Reno Justice Court, and I have the privilege of presiding over our co-recurring treatment court, our CAP court, as well as our newly formed STAR court, which we have all been working on together, and I appreciate the county's support with that. Just for some basic information, your county has done an excellent job of If you haven't listened to the Washoe Life podcast, we have several podcasts that explain a lot about treatment court. So I would encourage people to learn more information about that program there. And again, just thank all the county commissioners for how you have been working diligently at implementing the SIM model. Treatment court is specifically one of those intercept models. And so I just want to acknowledge that. And just for the record, that is the sequential intercept model. This year, it is the first year that I'm really excited to say that we have had every single treatment court in Washoe County to be able to join in on this proclamation. And so I just wanted to make sure that you all were aware of our coordinated effort that we are working with within the county. I am so grateful for members of different agencies and different courts. who were able to be present here today. I know that there were other judges who unfortunately were in their treatment court or had other courts that were not able to be here today, but also wanted to thank the county for your hard work in ensuring that our needs are met within this county to ensure that we are actively working at best efforts to address the substance use issues, mental health issues, and ensure that victim rights are protected and that our community is safe. So thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you for all you do.

We appreciate it. And did you get, oh, she's there. I was like, did she get the picture?

In the form of a motion, Madam Chair.

Thank you. So we have a motion by Commissioner Hill. I'll second. Second by Vice Chair. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Thank you so much. By day, a judge, and in the evening, a professor. Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll move now to item 5A3, which is a proclamation for the month of May as Educator Appreciation Month. And we have former county manager, Ms. Holland. Oh, come on up. Come on up.

Yes, you got to come on up. And before I start, I just want to extend my profound gratitude for these two incredible women for your dedication and service on the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees and also former county manager. So thank you for being here today. All right, so this is the Board of County Commission's proclamation number two, or number three, so, whereas educators play a fundamental role in shaping the future by educating and inspiring students to achieve their highest potential, and whereas,

Educators dedicate their time energy and expertise to fostering a love of learning critical thinking personal growth among students of all backgrounds and abilities and whereas Educators often go above and beyond their professional duties by serving as mentors counselors and role models who provide guidance and encouragement beyond the classroom and whereas and The impact of a dedicated educator extends far beyond a single school year, influencing students for a lifetime and strengthening their entire community, and whereas.

Educators have demonstrated extraordinary resilience, adaptability, particularly in the face of challenges such as technological advancements, shifting educational standards, and unprecedented circumstances affecting the learning environment, and whereas.

It is fitting that we recognize and express our deepest gratitude for the contributions of educators in our community and beyond and whereas.

We're almost there.

The Washoe County Commission proudly honors and expresses profound appreciation for the educators in our schools, the educational institutions, acknowledges their invaluable contributions in shaping the future of our community, commits to supporting initiatives that promote educational excellence, and encourages residents to express their gratitude and support for educators' ongoing efforts to foster acknowledge, creativity, and leadership among students. So now, therefore, the Board of County Commissioners does hereby proclaim the month of May as Educator Appreciation Month. Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you, Christine Hull, for the record. I am the trustee for District A, which is South Reno, Incline Village, Washoe Valley, and Hidden Valley. But more importantly, I am an educator. I have wanted to be an educator since I was five years old, and I was so blessed to have my own kindergarten teacher swear me in as a trustee, and that tells you just how important a teacher is for every single student, every educator, and every person who works in our buildings. And I just want to thank the commission and all that you do to support our schools and our teachers in this community, especially several of you serving on committees that help us do our jobs and do better for our students in this county. And I just also wanted to share a spark of an idea from my very good friend, Katie. um that this is a great opportunity may is very very intense in schools and so this is a great opportunity to pay it forward in our community just say thank you to a teacher if you have an educator in your family just let them know that you're thinking about them and that you appreciate the work that they do in any way that you can a quick simple message a text a phone call they appreciate it so I encourage everybody to take that just little step to thank them, especially in this final month of school, as we wrap up the school year and head into summer. So thank you so much for this proclamation, and I will be sharing it later at our board meeting. And I, too, have to go, because our board meeting starts early today. But thank you again for this.

Thank you. Madam Chair, I move to approve. Thank you so much. We have a motion by Vice Chair Garcia. Do I have a second? Second by Commissioner Herman. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you so much.

Madam Chair, before we leave item five, can we open that for public comment?

Yes, we can.

There's nobody signed in. Thank you.

All right, we'll move now to item six, 6A1, Manager Thomas.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a presentation and an update on the fiscal year 26 third quarter status report of the Washoe County Regional Detention Facility to include security of the jail, conditions of confinement, staffing, and medical care of inmates housed at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. We have Captain Stewart here with us today.

Good morning commissioners. Thanks for having me, John Stewart for the record, captain over detention services at Washington County Sheriff's Office. Our third quarter report for fiscal year 25-26. Go through our medical refusals at 56, grievances at 71, complaints at 111, ER referrals at 134. Something to note before we get too far into the stats is that as spring picks up in summer, We have the expectation that we're going to have more population in our care and custody at the jail. That just tends to happen with the weather. People are out and about and doing different things. And we've always seen a rise in the population during the spring and the summer. So oftentimes, whether it's medications, whether it's grievances, all of those will go up a little bit as well. And then we see them come back down in the fall and the winter. A couple of things that I wanted to talk about specifically was, we'll get to the slide in a minute, but this will go through our dental visits. Nothing in here is out of the ordinary. If we see that, I will absolutely bring it to your attention. And we will start looking into why something is an anomaly or greater than usual. So this is ADP, which is our average daily population. So we use a lot of acronyms. So I will try and break those down for you. So our average daily population actually went down in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. We'll see here in a minute. So that final number at the bottom right is 15.91 days on average per inmate that we house. When I looked this morning, we're currently at 1,217 inmates. And so on average, they'll spend about 15.91 days there. And then it goes through our total average daily population for each one of the months. So you can kind of look through there. Our bookings and our releases. Our bookings have gone up since the second quarter. For reference. For reference, in the second quarter, our bookings, if we read left to right for total bookings, were 1327, 1192, and 1287. So like I said, when we see the rise in the spring and the summer, that's expected due to the weather conditions. And our releases are keeping up just about with our total bookings. So that's good. I did see Judge Birchie and Court Administrator Alicia LaRue. And I gave them a kudos because I believe the courts are working more diligently or getting through more cases. And that's why we may be booking more people, but we're seeing a decrease in the average daily population or the average length of stay. And so here's for our quarters. Again, second quarter, we were at 16.3 for ALS, or average length of stay. And quarter three, we went to 15.91. And obviously, that all converts to how many people we can house. So it's better if we can do an average length of stay that is smaller. Some of our stats of battery by inmate. So we're up from 21. Typically, when we're housing more inmates, our spacing is less. Our goal is to get the inmates out as much as they can, whether it's programs. I've seen a lot of you guys at the programs and seen what we're doing in there. or to even get out and be on the kiosk to talk with their families, watch movies. It keeps that stress level down. I don't think anybody enjoys being there, even though the food's really good, as Commissioner Clark has talked about before. I don't think anybody enjoys being there. So we do try and get them out as much as we can, but the limited space that we have and the growing population, especially in the spring and the summer, can often create more stress, which sometimes leads to a little bit of rise in fights, which we're seeing here. Uh, it made for staff the exact same and the fights averted went down by about 5. 204 were placed on suicide watch. And we intervened at 21 of those. And what what that means is that somebody was actively trying to. do something, whether that's a torn sheet that they're tying around, you know, making into a noose or whatever they may be doing. That means that we interacted prior to them being able to do that. Uh, the suicide watch placements could just be somebody verbalizing that, you know, they, they want to self harm or they want to, they want to harm themselves. And then we place them on suicide watch to, to be sure that they can get the medical needs, um, uh, to counteract that. So is the IAP program, um, Jail days saved through quarter three is $5,355, which comes out to about $867,000, which is good. So these are all the resources and programs. working with the courts, whether they get into Salvation Army or whatever that may be. I don't know if I've gone over it before, but specifically in IAP, we saw in the past, if we release an inmate out onto the streets from the jail and said, hey, you got to go to this program, you got to go report to it, there's about a 70% failure rate from when they walk out of our facility and they don't make it to the program that they're approved for. And so what our M8 assistance program started doing is they actually transport them, they physically transport them. So they actually put them in the car and make sure they get there. So there's some cool things that we're trying to do. I think they did last year somewhere around 600 transports. So they're moving and grooving. And that's all I have for the slideshow at the moment. And I'm open for questions.

Thank you, Captain Stewart. Commissioner Herman, do you have any questions?

No question. Just thank you for what you do. And thank you for your report. We enjoyed it. Nice to hear from you. Commissioner Hill.

Thank you. Thank you for your work in the jail. I know that you have a passion for helping inmates. So thank you for that. And I think that leadership, I see it when I go down to the jail of that care and understanding that these are our neighbors and that mutual respect and making sure that everyone in the jail is successful in whatever they choose to do. So when they come out, they're ready to be productive members of our community and I WAS WONDERING TWO THINGS. THE RTC BUS SITUATION WE HAVE GONE BACK AND FORTH ON AND I KNOW THAT WE NOW HAVE A SYSTEM WHERE WHEN INMATES ARE that we call the hotline and you get a micro transit bus there and I haven't heard any complaints from neighbors or property members nearby that I was receiving complaints from of inmates who were walking in the middle of the night and looking lost and being cold and all those things. But I just want to make sure that the system is still working or if there's anything that Commissioner Garcia and I need to know as RTC

I THINK IT'S A FLEX RIDE.

YEAH.

AND THEY COME THERE, AND IF THEY NEED A BUS OUT OF THERE, IF THEY DON'T HAVE SOMEBODY PICKING THEM UP OR MEETING THEM ACROSS THE STREET, OFTENTIMES THEY'LL GO ACROSS THE STREET, THEY WANT TO GET STUFF AT THE CONVENIENCE STORE COMING OUT OF THE JAIL, AND THEN THEY HAVE THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS PICK THEM UP OUT THERE. BUT, YES, WE ARE STILL WORKING WITH THAT PROGRAM.

Okay, good. Well, just keep us posted if there's any problems or any issues you're running into. And then last time you came, I still am waiting for the information on ICE detainees, the costs that we received, the reimbursement we received from the federal government, and the real true cost to the Washoe County residents. And I still have not received that information.

Yes, I was under the impression that the chief and the sheriff, as we were working through some of those numbers, it's very intricative as far as when we went through that contract with the feds, with the federal government, with the marshals. They took into account all kinds of different pay all the way up through the ranks because a portion of that is attributed to what the cost of the jail would be to include, you know, the food or the central control people running the doors and stuff like that. We can't find a more finite or accurate. way of figuring out that number than that. We went through taking some of the budget line items and dividing them by how many inmates and how many days and everything else, but that's not a true and accurate picture in our opinion. The one that we utilized with the federal government, we actually went through a summer rule law group, and they do that for many jails across the country because so many things are taken into account to figure out how much cost per day is. So we can keep trying to find a better way to do that. But that's going to be, in our opinion, that's the most accurate number that we came up with in that contract as far as the cost per inmate per day.

Sure, and I just want to see something. I have literally received no information on my request, and I asked in January, and so I think there's an opportunity that whatever you've got, I think it's helpful to share. I have constituents who have concerns about this, so I just want to be responsive to them and make sure we're being transparent to the taxpayer. Okay.

All right, thank you. Thank you.

Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for your report, and it's good to hear that the food is still good at the jail. Thank you. Thanks for your good work there. Thank you.

I just have one quick question. When you had mentioned the IEP and that, obviously, before the transportation opportunities were offered, that there was a 70% increase, decrease, if you will, in folks actually going to various places. And so have you seen, and what is that percentage now?

I'll have to get with my detention services unit sergeant to see what that is now. I just know that there was a 70% failure rate of them getting out of the facility and getting to the program. So only about 30% were actually getting to the program at the time.

It might be interesting just to see if that failure rate actually improves in terms of Them you offering that whether it's rideshare or or whatever other means you're using that would be helpful And then I just really want to thank you for your presentation. I think it's helpful. I also Am appreciative of you talking about why the numbers were higher because that's what I was going to ask. Why are the numbers higher? so thanks for being proactive and anticipating that and And also to everyone, you and Judge Burski and the entire community, Washoe County, the CARES campus, our place, and really implementing the sequential intercept model and seeing the success of that. So everyone in an integral way is making things better. So really want to thank you for that.

Yes, ma'am.

Yep, thank you.

Thank you.

All right, we'll now move to donations. Vice Chair Garcia.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move to approve a generous donation of $18,500 to support Rancho San Rafael from Paul and Gwen Leonard Charitable Foundation and also move to approve the monetary donations, food and treat donations, and various goods to Washoe County Regional Animal Services with special thanks to Serving Our Communities Foundation for a generous $15,000 donation and $885 from Petco Love Stipend Donation.

Thank you. Do we have any public comment?

We have nobody signed in.

Thank you. So we have a motion by Vice Chair Garcia. Do we have a second? Second by Commissioner Herman. Any further discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, you can press or say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you so much. We'll now move to the consent items. I do want to highlight 8B1 in terms of the Vice Chair and also DA Large and everyone's hard work on this. Thank you for doing all of that. Appreciate it. So if anyone has any questions or wants anything pulled, I'll entertain a motion for the consent items 8A1 through 8B1. I1. So moved. We have a motion by Commissioner Hill. Do we have a second? Second. Second by Vice Chair Garcia. Is there any public comment? There is nobody signed in. Thank you. Any other questions? Yep. Commissioner Clark.

Thank you Madam Chair. I would like the DA to give us his opinion on how long it would take to initiate the forcible detainer action. What time frame are we looking at before we can EVICT WHOEVER MIGHT BE OCCUPYING OUR PROPERTY?

MICHAEL LARCH, FOR THE RECORD. GREAT QUESTION, COMMISSIONER. BEFORE I LEFT THE OFFICE TODAY, I HAD MY STAFF START BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING THE FORCIBLE DETAINER NOTICES THAT WILL BE GIVEN AND SERVED BY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES ON ALL SQUATTERS THAT ARE ON THE PROPERTY AT 520 CARNS. They will have five days to initiate a judicial proceeding. If they do not do that, so within five days, then we take the next step of being able to get them off of the property. Hopefully that all of them will vacate the property at that juncture. If they do initiate a judicial proceeding, it may take a few weeks to a month to finish that up, but those have expedited review. So we're hopeful that we'll have them off before the end of June off of the property.

So the slow wheels of justice, but when do you think your office will have your paperwork filed and served?

We will have it ready to go by tomorrow, and we will have it to the sheriff's office by either late tomorrow or the next day in terms of service.

Do we have any contacts there where we can expedite this? to the sheriff's department?

Yes, we will be utilizing the HOPE team who has been instrumental throughout this entire process. This project in terms of all of the public nuisances and this item would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office HOPE team and Vice Chair Garcia. This has been a lot of moving parts, but we're very hopeful this will be an expeditious process.

Good work, I salute everyone that was involved in getting this moving forward, thank you.

Any other discussion? So we have a motion, we have a second, we have no public comment. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously, thank you. We'll now move to Block Commissioner Herman. Commissioner Herman, I think your mic, no, that's okay.

11, 12, and 13, and that is in the form of an emotion, not emotion, but motion. Thank you.

Is there any questions on any of the items? We have a motion by Commissioner Herman. Do we have a second? Second. Second by Vice Chair Garcia. Any further discussion?

Madam Chair, with regard to item number 13, pursuant to Washoe County Code, we need to set a date for the hearing, and I believe that with the noticing requirements, which are going to take, we have to publish twice, and we have to provide personal notice to all of the owners that June 16th looks like a really good date for those public hearings, and with the the clerk and the chair's approval. I'd like to make the notices for that date.

Great. Commissioner Herman, will you modify your motion to include what DA included in terms of date at this point for June 16th? Yes, I appreciate it. And I'm guessing, Vice Chair, you're okay with that? Thank you. So any other further discussion? All those in favor signify. We do have public comment. We have public comment. Thank you. Penny Brock. Thank you.

June 16th.

June 16th. Yeah. Yeah.

That's stuck on there. Penny Brock, for the record, I am confused. You've got your consent block and then you've just blocked 11, 12, and 13. So I had filled out a card to address both 11 and number 13. So am I now to address just one of the items?

If you wouldn't mind, that would be lovely.

Could you please restart the clock because I need a clarification, thank you.

So just quickly on number 11, I strongly object that you blocked that. This has to do with an item that we the voters voted on pertaining to the library, it was defeated, and now you're gonna fund it. This is not right. Okay, dealing with number 12, I'm also shocked that you blocked this because this deals with this safe camp contract now to be under rise. We don't even know who these people are. I don't know that they're here to give a presentation. I guess not because you've blocked this and there won't be any. There's a lot of problems with this. In 2023, you gave Safe Camp $4,693,132. We as taxpayers came forward and on all these ARPA items that you funded, our concern was once the funding ran out, you were going to put the added burden on the taxpayers forever. So this is what we see happening with the Safe Camp. With the Safe Camp program, We do not understand why the Volunteers of America are not overseeing Safe Camp and the Resource Center and everything. Why a separate contract? Also, where is Grant Denton going? Is the Rise Group a front for Grant Denton? We don't know where he's going. You can't tell me he's just gonna go away. I found that he does have some kind of a contract with Sparks, the city of Reno. But where's Grant Denton going? So the problem with Safe Camp is there was a huge blow up in 2024 over nine women coming forward. They'd been abused by Grant Denton. There's been other problems with issues at the Safe Camp staff. What's also coming to light is that these homeless shelters, are now being investigated for fraud. We as taxpayers have asked for an outside independent audit of the CARES campus and the whole homeless funding issue. Supposedly, there's only 1,400 homeless in Washoe County, and yet we as taxpayers spend millions for that population. That population is increasing, not going down. So it appears that the priorities that you set down for the homeless issue is not going away. It's not getting better. In fact, it's getting worse. So we would like to know how the Safe Camp, how are they helping with this issue? Why are they living in their individual little pods or whatever you call them? Do they pay rent? Do they eat the food at Cares Camp? We don't understand.

Thank you. There's nobody else signed in. Thank you. Manager Thomas just for clarification would you please clarify on item 11 that that is not new. That is an accounting function. The library is not an expansion. It's actually an accounting function. So would you be so kind?

Yes. Yeah. This item is simply an augmentation that moves the funds to the appropriate location so that we can allocate those resources. This is not what was purported in public comment. Thank you.

I appreciate it because it is not any new money. Essentially it's existing money. It's an augmentation to the budgets and accounting function. Um, could you also share just in terms of clarification that the, um, uh, guidelines that are in place procedurally for, um, all bidding and item 12 and why that was, um, met, met those requirements.

Sure, so this resulted, as you know, per state law, we are required when contracts end, unless there's an extenuating circumstance, we do an RFP. And so the county issued an RFP for the operations of the safe camp, and through a competitive bidding process, the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality was awarded that. They are deeply involved with the county, have been. They run our Crossroads program currently, have run Our Place. We've had a long-time affiliation with RISE, so. I hope that's helpful.

Yeah. Thank you. Any other questions or discussion? All right. We have a motion. We have a second. We have no further public comment. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Or pressing appropriately. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you so much. And thank you, Manager Thomas, for the clarification. We'll move now to item number nine. And if I could have that read, please.

This is a first reading. This will be bill number 1948. Amendments establishing a density incentive for small dwelling units under 1,200 square feet.

Thank you. Ms. Oakley.

Morning. Good morning. I hope we would wash up county planning. I'm here today to talk about one of the last in our series of housing related development code amendments and this one focuses on a density incentive for small units. To provide a little background on why we are looking at the topic of unit size and incentivizing units of a smaller size. I'm going to share with you some information about household and housing trends that we've talked about before. So we've seen that the trends in housing supply, the units that are coming on the market and in household size have been diverging for quite some time. If you look from 1970 to 2022, housing unit size has gone up consistently. And just using the medium density suburban or MDS zone as an example, In that time period, it's gone from 1,266 square feet to 2,231 square feet. So that is almost a 1,000 square foot increase. And in the meantime, in the United States, the mean household size has decreased from 3.14 people to 2.5 people. So we're seeing smaller households needing to move into or try to afford bigger houses. And so there's a mismatch there, right? And if you look at Washoe County households right now, 63% of our households are one or two person households. So these are folks who are needing to pay for more than they need in some cases. And so that's why we're looking at the need for a larger variety of housing types and specifically looking at that issue of unit size. We expect this trend to continue. Again, we've talked about this before, but that figure on the right shows the household, different types of households that make up the United States. And you can see that that traditional nuclear family two parents, a kid or two, that's a minority of household types out there, 20%. And in the much bigger groups are single people living alone, couples, as well as adults sharing with other adults. So that could include multi-generational family living arrangements or roommate type arrangements, and then single parent families as well. So a wider variety of types of households, but not necessarily a variety of housing units to serve those households. And then looking into the future with the Washoe County consensus forecast up to 2044, we expect the percentage of households that are headed by seniors to increase or the number of seniors to increase to make up 20, about 21% of our population instead of 19 as they do now or in 2024. And then person increase of 30,000 people in the senior population. So 30,000 more seniors than we have today in 2044. As age increases over a certain point, average household size decreases. So again, we expect this to contribute to a continuing trend of smaller household sizes. So we need to make sure that on the market, there are the housing units to serve those folks now and into the future. So that's why we're proposing a small unit density incentive to create more of those affordable by design rather than by deep restriction or other mechanism units on the market. How are we doing this? As you all know, we recently activated Article 336 for housing incentives in the development code. And so we're proposing to add a new section to establish this incentive. It would specify a 25% density increase for units under 1,200 square feet. So that's that kind of traditional three bed, two bath starter home that really is not being built at this point in time. Allowing that to be used in our suburban urban and commercial zones outside of the Tahoe Basin So this would not apply to our rural zoning districts in those Areas of the county that do have more large lot type development patterns, but looking at our suburban and urban areas We're also establishing the needed regulations around the use of this incentive so specifying that that maximum unit size must be met at the time of the initial certificate of occupancy and specifying that any approved tentative maps or specific plans that wish to use this incentive would need a new approval so that we would be able to assess and account for potential impacts from that change. And then specifying that no variance can be requested to the section. So somebody could not, for example, ask for a variance for a 1,400 square foot maximum unit size instead of 1,200. So there's some other provisions as well that I'm happy to get into more detail on if the board requests that. But in terms of how we came up with this number, of course, the goal here is to increase affordability. And we're looking at, again, that market side. And so the intent of this incentive is to create more affordable by design units. But we also wanted to make sure that we were considering and accounting for impacts from that incentive in an appropriate way. And so we looked at a couple of those key impacts. One of those is traffic. There's a bit more detail in your staff report on this, but in general, we looked at three different kind of model neighborhoods. One would be a 100-unit average Washoe County neighborhood that reflects average Washoe County statistics, including as it relates to household size. And then two small unit neighborhoods that are receiving this 25% density increase. So there's 125 units in each of these neighborhoods. And because of that unit size, we used different types of census data to estimate what the average household size for those units or for those the units in those neighborhoods might be, and then from that, the overall number of residents. Again, I'm happy to dig into any of this as needed, but essentially we came up with those estimates and then used two different traffic generation techniques to try to understand the potential traffic impacts. One of those was the ITE resident-based traffic generation estimates, and then also information from our recent 2024 RTC household trip generation survey. So some good LOCAL DATA FROM THAT TO COMPARE WITH AND IN ALL CASES WE FOUND THAT WE WOULD EXPECT A SMALL UNIT NEIGHBORHOOD EVEN THOUGH IT HAS MORE UNITS TO HAVE IN LESSER POTENTIALLY LESSER TRAFFIC IMPACT AND SO THIS IS AGAIN THE INTENT HERE IS TO GET THAT AFFORDABILITY BENEFIT AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PURSUING BUT TRYING TO ALSO BE MINDFUL OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS PROPOSING A NUMBER OF 25% THAT IS more conservative than the most conservative of those traffic estimations to make sure that the impact there we think will be negligible. Also worth noting that any proposed development using this incentive or not using this incentive would be required to conduct traffic impact analyses based on our standard practices. That is the case now and will continue to be the case for these developments as well to make sure that we're requiring appropriate mitigations for traffic impacts. We also wanted to look at building bulk as a potential impact when we're allowing more units. And that's, in this case, we analyzed it on the basis of the overall square footage, right? And so looking at, again, that small unit neighborhood, since there's a maximum home size in that neighborhood of 1,200 square feet, we're going to assume that's the average, 125 units. And that gives us a total building bulk of 150,000 square feet. If you compare that to some average neighborhoods, looking at the average MDS home size for homes built between 1970 and 2024, that's 1,865 square feet. And so you get a total building bulk for a 100-unit neighborhood not receiving that 25% increase of 186,000 square feet, about. And similarly, if you look at just those newer MDS homes, so what's being built now, a much bigger average home size of 2,261 square feet, Again, for a 100-unit neighborhood, you find over 200,000 square feet of building in that neighborhood. And so for this, again, we find that a small-unit neighborhood would have a much lesser impact in building. So there would be more homes in these neighborhoods, but visually they would be much less impactful. There would be just much less building out there. And so that's how we kind of got at considering the impacts and thinking about this incentive. We presented this proposal to the Planning Commission in April. They voted unanimously to recommend approval and could make all four of the findings. They only needed to make one. It's also worth mentioning that we did a couple public outreach meetings before going to the Planning Commission. We had about eight folks attending those meetings. All who attended were supportive of the proposed incentive. The Planning Commission's recommendation is to introduce and conduct a first reading of this ordinance, and I am happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Anyone have any questions or comments for Ms. O'Faith?

Thank you. This is, uh, I don't even know what package this is that has come before us. Eight, eight. Oh my gosh. And we started this journey, I think in,

Three years ago.

Three years ago. Yeah, amazing. Thank you for continuing to move the needle on this issue. And did you get inspiration on this density bonus from other communities? Are Reno and Sparks doing this?

Cataly for the record. So Reno does have a similar type incentive specifically for multifamily housing. And focused on average unit size, so not a maximum, but an average, which works well for multifamily, but not so well if it's a single-family development. But really, this is, from my research, a pretty unique approach to this issue. Reno's really the only place I've seen it, but the reason we thought it was worth pursuing was, again, because we're seeing just the fundamental disconnect between what's happening on the ground and what people's needs are, and so this was a way where we could try to get directly at the issue that we're seeing. So it is a bit unique, but we are optimistic that it might yield some positive results.

Absolutely. And your development, I know you have a little group of developers that also give you advice on what it looks like and penciling these developments. Did they say that this was something that would make it a little easier for them to pencil?

Yeah, so this idea, we actually started talking about it a couple of years ago now and talked to some developers at that time. And yes, they are interested in it partially because since there is not that age restriction element, there's not that kind of administrative overhead needed. It's a market rate type environment which appeals to more developers. So we've heard some interest in it. We'll see when it comes down to a piece of land. if people choose to use it, but the impression that I have gotten is that the developers I've spoken with are optimistic about being able to use this.

That's great. And we heard at C-HAB yesterday about a project in the city of Sparks that is about to be done, a permanent supportive housing, and they had to go through a master plan amendment through the Reno Housing Authority, which took a little bit PROCESS LONGER AND IT'S QUITE AN EXPENSE AS YOU KNOW. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU NEED TO FIX THIS BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING TOP OF MIND FOR ME AND FOR THE BOARD JUST TO THINK how can we reduce the barriers when these are the housing pieces and products that we need to ensure that we get special needs people housed or like you're saying this missing middle housed and why we make our development community jump through hoops and take additional time and I think this is just like a really creative way of going around those regulatory requirements but doing it in a sustainable way and a thoughtful way and so as you move through this process because I'm hoping that our board is continuing to be supportive that you just let us know if there's other barriers that we can reduce as well on that piece.

Thank you. And I'll just mention there's one more package coming your way very shortly. And I think it really gets at exactly the issue that you've just brought up. So I won't give any spoilers, but yeah, keep your eye out.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Vice Chair Garcia. Thank you. All these housing-related amendments throughout the years have been just so inspiring that you've thought outside the box. And what I really like about your presentations is you're always basing these ideas and suggestions on population growth projections. You're looking at what's actually trending right now in terms of our American households. And I think that's really important that we have codes on the books that reflect the reality that our constituents face every single day. So I always get a lot of I get really excited when you come in and you've made so much progress. I was going to piggyback on what Commissioner Hill was saying, you know, that over the years. to increase availability and affordability with our senior housing, missing middle, small lot and infill, ADUs, and now the small unit and density incentives. So there's been a tremendous amount of work you've done. And so into the future, I know you said we've got one more package coming forward and we're expecting to be kind of closing this housing chapter. Okay. My request in the future would be if once things are all implemented and on the books if we could maybe six months or a year from that date, if we could get an update on how it's going on the implementation side of things, I'd be really curious to see how these things that we've passed are helping move the needle. And just a little bit of a recap or an update from your team would be really nice to have in the future. Thank you. Any other questions?

I, too, want to thank you. I think it's great. I think, you know, looking at this next passage, whatever the surprise is, but the reality is that this really speaks to the governor's initiative of AB 540. That's what this is about. This is about what we can do to address the housing crisis, not only in Washoe County, but in the state. but also looking at streamlining. And I too am aware of you meeting with groups in terms of soliciting feedback, soliciting ideas, and looking at creative ways, and this is a reflection of that. So I think that as we can continue to look at how we can streamline, and how we can have it be not only targeting like you're doing here, which is great. I think it's also interesting. Again, I bring up NACO a lot because NACO does talk about housing and some of the crisis. It's everywhere. It's everywhere. I mean, I've been here almost 40 years. Who would have thought Elko would have a problem other than when they did when mining was taking off and people were shipping mobile units so workers could stay? But this is not about that. This is about a permanent solution to a crisis that we have. So I really want to thank you and the team and really that continued effort of feedback of what we can do to possibly modify things. especially on the streamlining, because I do hear a lot about that, and I think as this becomes more implemented more, I think we'll actually learn a lot as well, because it's great as you're talking, and to Vice Chair's point, looking at it coming back might be helpful for us to be able to be nimble, and thanks for being nimble. That's not something government does, so thank you very much. Do we have public comment on this? We do. Pat Davison? Miss Davison, how are you? Housing and Davidson, I think they go together.

Thanks for that.

Well, it's true. And thanks for all your hard work and always helping the county be the best it can be.

Good morning, Chair Andriolo and Commissioners. My name is Pat Davis and I'm a president of District 5. Happy to see this new incentive for small units come before you today. A small unit neighborhood envisioned by this incentive screams first time home buyer or senior empty nester. The demographic background provided by staff is revealing. Houses are getting bigger while households are getting smaller. That means we need more units to adequately house the same number of people when compared to years past. Kudos to staff for the traffic and building bulk analysis. Not only is it a brilliant move to inform the public and decision makers, but it proactively addresses some of the major concerns usually voiced by a project's neighbors. Keep in mind that any project with this increased density will still have to analyze impacts. There is no get out of jail card with this incentive. This incentive is another in a series designed to be as flexible as possible, taking a somewhat free market approach without compromising quality of life. The county's residents get what they need while a developer gets needed return on investment. I was expecting a deed restriction to be part of this package to limit occupant income or size, but can support the proposed change without a deed restriction. If we get some cottages, or duplexes or other units which are attainable for buyers or renters, then the flexibility is worth it. Something is better than nothing. This small unit incentive could be the one that will get a developer's attention and result in some units being built. With that goal in mind, I strongly urge your support. Thank you.

Thank you. And thanks for your education on how it really works. A lot of misunderstanding about that. Any other discussion or questions? This is a first reading and I'll entertain a motion at this time for bill number 1948.

Move to approve, is it 1948? It's 1948. 1948 and scheduled for the second reading.

Great, we have a motion by Hill and that is all we need for that item. We'll move now to item 10, We could have that read, please.

This is a first reading. It will be bill number 1949, amends the regional road impact fee general administrative manual and the RRIF capital improvement plan with revised fees.

Great. Does anybody have any questions about this? Oh. Yep. Herman. Oh, Commissioner Herman. Yeah.

You know, I get, am I on? Okay. Yes. I get confused sometimes, even after all the years I've been on board. When we have a word like first, along with reading, what constitutes a first reading? Is there a law, is there a description of it?

Yes, yeah. Michael Larch for the record.

Thank you.

Michael Larch for the record. I may bungle this because it's been a little while since I reviewed it. What you've done at this point with an introduction is to open the, you've instructed staff to open the county code and set a hearing on this. So they've come forward with this. You've now designated it with a ordinance number, and therefore you've introduced this. Then it gets set for a first and a second reading down the road. That's how we introduce code. Sometimes we do a first introduction and a first reading at the same time. And that can bypass it. But on stuff like the housing, we've been doing it with the introduction and then the first and second reading.

And they're treated differently?

They're treated differently.

Okay.

All right.

Yeah. On this one? Can you give me where to find it?

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Okay. Great. Any other questions? Hearing none, is there any, well, this is actually a first reading, right? I got, I was so listening to Commissioner Herman. So this is bill number 1949. Do we have a motion? Move to approve 1949.

Okay.

So we don't, Mr. Smith, should we ask you a question? Just, I don't know. Do you want to offer any words of wisdom? Came all the way here, might as well. And you got huge accolades a little bit ago, so we should give you the floor.

Good morning. For the record, Dwayne Smith, Director of Engineering. This is a standard item that comes before you in the cities of Reno and Sparks. The last time we were here, I think, was in 2021. And so periodically RTC, along with us through the interlocal agreement, updates the general administrative manual and the program of projects for the regional roadway projects that are led by the Regional Transportation Commission. These are funded and paid for through RIF fees, regional road impact fees. And so, again, periodically we go through, we update the manual, we update the projects, we bring those to the board and to the commission and to the councils for review and approval. This time, it's just a little bit different in that we're also bringing forward a business impact statement process. So, the last legislative session, I believe, 8444, placed that additional requirement on us to go through a business impact statement. I think this is good. It gives the community insight and transparency. into the processes of selecting which roadways, how that funding is applied. And so I certainly appreciate your support in this item.

Great. Madam Chair, I was hoping that we could just amend the original motion to include and set a public hearing for possible adoption for May 26, 2026.

So moved. Okay. So the motion was amended. That's all we have for that item.

Public comment?

Is there any public comment? I don't see it lit. Is there any public comment? We have nobody signed it. No public comment. Now that's it. So what we're going to do is we're going to take a break and come back at one. So I'm going to recess at 1151. I'll see you at one. Afternoon, I'd like to call the meeting to order back to order at 1pm. Thank you all for indulging us for a quick break. So we are now on item. which is a presentation by the Registrar of Voters, Andrew McDonald, to discuss the Data Transparency Project. And if I could, I'd like to take a moment just to have an opening remark to this. And in the beginning, really thank everyone for all the hard work that's been put into this project. But I think we all know that recent national polls show that Americans have decreasing confidence in the way elections are conducted. And certainly we all can agree that no one wants that to happen. This must change for the sake of our civil society and for its continuing existence. I want everyone to feel comfortable knowing the election system works as it should. But with each election, We see claims of fraud and unfairness. We see court challenges to election results. We see claims of technical malfunctions or tampering or malicious interference with those claims with the devices that produce election data. It seems to me the problem is this. The election industry has not provided a reliable way to judge whether the many components of our election system are performing as they should. Please note, I did not say voting machines. It's more than that. We now have a complex system of electronic components coming from dozens of vendors, performing a lot of unrelated tasks, working all year long. And there's been no reliable way to monitor and prove what they are doing and to further prove there's been no tampering, no fraud, no irregularities. With that in mind, I'm anxious and I think we all are to hear what the registrar voters through the leadership of Andrew McDonald is doing. Mr. McDonald has been leading the development of an election security pilot project called Project Plain Sight. It's ready to launch this week. I'm very excited about this. It's about a year and a half in the works. or more because it will start to answer the problems that I also laid out here in terms of the claims and actually not having proof. Imagine having proof, proof of performance. And it will lay out the groundwork for greater confidence in future Washoe County elections. So with that, I welcome the registrar voters, thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair Andriola, Vice Chair Garcia, and members of the County Commission. For the record, my name is Andrew McDonald, and I'm the Registrar of Voters here in Washoe County. I'm joined today by Ira Victor, President of Discovery Technician, a Nevada digital forensics firm, and he's a Nevada ambassador for the Center of Internet Security. Justin Warren, the ROV business technologist, is also here, and Josh Franklin, senior cybersecurity engineer with CIS. In partnership with the Nevada Secretary of State's Division, Washoe County's Technology Services, and the Center for Internet Security, our team has developed a public-facing voter data transparency pilot tool, otherwise known as Project Plane Site. With Washoe County's voter registration now centralized under the state's top-down system, the question really is how we ensure continued public confidence that Washoe County's voter rolls remain accurate, complete, and free from errors and unintended additions. This tool is designed to directly address that question. enhancing transparency, enforcing election integrity, and strengthening public trust by enabling independent public validation of voter data. Before I turn the presentation over to Ira, I want to acknowledge Chairwoman Andriola for first raising and encouraging the concept of this project, which my office took seriously and worked to develop. Thank you, Chairwoman. With that, I'd like to turn it over to Ira.

Thank you, Mr. McDonald. For the record, Ira Victor. And due to the constraints of time today, I am going to be reading my statement. Thank you very much, Commissioner Andriola, for the privilege to be here today. I've been in the data security field for over 31 years. If you told me two years ago that a county government would launch this kind of pilot program, I wouldn't have believed you. Kudos to Andrew McDonald and his team. Going forward, the Center for Internet Security will be here to help. I'm the Nevada Ambassador for the Center for Internet Security, and I want to emphasize that it is a 100% volunteer position. If help is needed, I am the local helping hand. And I'm doing this because I have experience with the Center for Internet Security Controls, and I believe in them. I know there are questions that will not be fully answered in the 10-minute presentation today. If anyone in the room wants to know more, please follow us out into the hallway after this presentation, and we'll stay as long as we can to answer questions. Finally, I want to acknowledge Commissioner Andriola. She studied the election problem. She found people that could help her understand it. Then she took the initiative to push for this pilot program. I hope she gets the credit she deserves. Thank you.

we sat down to design the project plain sight we anchored the work and can you just state your name for the record i apologize that's okay my name is justin warren i'm with the register okay thank you when we sat down to design the project plain sight we anchored the work in three pillars everything you'll see in the next several slides is built to serve them the first is accountability we are publicly committed committing to a verifiable record that of what our voter rolls look like day to day. It's meaningful commitment and the kind of commitment a citizen is able to hold us to. The second is data integrity and we're giving the public a mathematically sound way to confirm that the record they're examining hasn't been unexpectedly altered by anyone at any point. And the third is public trust. There's an old principle in security work, trust but verify. It's not a cynical phrase. It's a recognition that durable trust isn't asking the public to take an institution's word for it. It's giving them the means to confirm it for themselves. That's what the first two pillars exist to support. Accountability says, here's what we published. Data integrity says, here's how you can prove it hasn't changed. Together they turn trust from something we have to ask for into something that the public can independently verify. With these three pillars in mind, let's look at how the portal actually delivers them to you. When you visit the project plain sight web page on our office's website, you'll see three core components within the record section. The first is the date of record. This tells you exactly when the snapshot of the voter roll was captured. Every snapshot is date stamped, so there's no ambiguity about the date the data reflects. The second is the SHA hash, I'm sorry, SHA-256 hash. I'll explain what that means in more detail in just a moment, but for now, just think of it as a digital fingerprint, which is a string of characters that uniquely identifies the snapshot. And third is you can download this snapshot. The data itself contains, excuse me, the actual data file itself, and it's made available to anybody who wants to download it on demand. So what's actually in the snapshot? We give you your voter ID, your name, first, middle, last, as well as your suffix, a political party code, county ID, your jurisdiction which in this case is your precinct, your status as well as your zip code. I want to be very clear, there is specific data in this and there's specific data we have left out on purpose. You'll notice that there's no address or identifiable numbers such as social security numbers, driver's license numbers, et cetera. We've deliberately scoped this snapshot to keep public, I'm sorry, voter information secure and safe. So in practice, how do you use it? To begin the Registrar Voters Office, we capture a snapshot, a point and dime export of those 10 fields from our voter registration system. We generate a SHA-256 hash of that exact file, and that hash becomes the file's fingerprint. Finally, we publish both the file and the hash on the project plain sight page, along with the date of the record. These are the components that will be used by the public to verify the snapshot. And next, let's look at how the public might verify that snapshot. So to start, you're going to access the registrar's page. That's where you're going to actually see all the content and the instructions. Next, you locate the records, the snapshot file, and the published hash for the date that you're interested in. After that, you're going to download the record, meaning the snapshot itself. Once done, open a command prompt or terminal on your computer. Every modern operating system has this tool available to you, so you should be able to just use it with Windows, Mac, OS, or Linux. Excuse me, once opened. You'll generate the hash yourself by running a command. We'll dive into what that looks like in just a second. But you're gonna run that hash command on the file you downloaded. And last, you're gonna compare those values to each other. So you'll take the locally generated hash that you generated and compare it to the registrar voters hash that was generated by our office. If they match, the file is genuine. If they don't, that's how you know something's wrong. I'll tell you what each of those outcomes means in just a moment here.

So here's how you're going to actually hash it.

On Windows, you're going to utilize the certutil function, which is going to allow you to use SHA-256 to essentially do math against the snapshot that you downloaded. Alternatively, you can choose to use Mac or Linux and use the SHA-sum command. And finally, if you would prefer a graphical GUI, solution to run the shock check. You can use gtkhash.org. That's when we've tested and verified that it works well and is reliable. So if you prefer that type of tool, you can always reach out and grab that. So here's what the hash looks like. You'll notice there's a slight difference in these two values. There's a 0x on that published value. That's just indicating that this is a hexadecimal value. But after the X, you'll see zero, E, CC, et cetera, et cetera, and then the last five characters of this are A, B, B, three, two. I've double-checked. This entire string matches one to one, and that's the goal of this project is to make sure that this number matches what the Registrar of Voters has published to ensure that the record has not been altered. So what do you do with the results? There's two possible outcomes. First is there's a match. That confirms data integrity and every character of the file you have on your computer is identical to the file that the ROV published. You have a genuine, unaltered copy of the official record. Otherwise, there's no match. That tells you something's been changed between the file we published and the file you're holding, whether through modification, corruption, maybe the download didn't complete, whatever the cause, doesn't matter. It's not a valid copy of the official record anymore and you should not treat it as such. Instead, you're going to want to report that to the registrar voters office. You can do that via phone or form. We're going to be adding a form onto the website. It unfortunately has not been finished yet, but we will put that towards the bottom where you'll be able to submit a form to our office and we can and hopefully provide some evidence of what you walked through for the check. And we'll be able to verify maybe where the breakdown happened and communicate with our. Communicate breakdown there. This is the part of the project that delivers on all three pillars at once. The public can independently verify the record, and if anything ever looks off, there's a clear path to bring it to the ROV's attention. With that, I'll hand it over to Josh Franklin from CIS, who's going to walk you through some of the security perspective.

Thank you so much. Howdy, everyone. My name's Joshua Franklin. I'm a senior cybersecurity engineer at the Center for Internet Security. Yeah, it's been wonderful to be a part of this project and definitely appreciate everyone letting us participate. CIS is a nonprofit based out of Albany, New York. We own and operate the CIS controls, which are a list of best practices organizations can use to just make themselves safe and secure. um in any country they're typically from you know the most popular to like the third most most popular framework um you know hospitals use them uh you know you know schools nations um so yeah for this effort we are basically applying the cis controls to project plain sight um it's been Very interesting, we've been focusing on things like device hardening, vulnerability scanning. Also just since CIS has been involved since the inception of the project, just kind of making good cybersecurity decisions and good decisions about network architecture, that sort of thing. Yeah, for some of the types of decisions we were sort of working on was basically like the types of information that we are pulling or not pulling from the voter registration system, the need for having some sort of double store for the information that gets posted to the website. And then there's a cryptographic need and or question, which is this SHA hash that Justin was just talking about. I'll stop for a second and say that we have been here on site to do an assessment of the system and some of its documentation, but we haven't actually done like hands-on hacking. I didn't bring hacking tools in my backpack or anything. I don't know what TSA would say about that. So I was asked to talk a little bit about SHA-256. This is a, basically it's just a mathematical equation and you put data in and you get a digital fingerprint out like we were hearing earlier. This is standardized by the US government. NIST, they're the same folks that do like voting standards but also Kevlar vests. The toilets on the ISS, space station, peanut butter. I'm not joking. You can look it up. There's no known attacks against the SHA algorithm, so it performs well. It's widely known to be secure, and it's built into most modern operating systems. It's free, and it's out there, and everyone can just use it. I'll just say it's awesome that Washoe is doing the whole building security in from the outset versus tacking it on afterwards. That's the approach here. It's absolutely awesome. I am done.

Well, thank you. Thanks for traveling here to come and do this presentation. It's probably great to meet everybody in person that you've been

It's been months.

Speaking with online in various capacities. I'll open it up to questions. Commissioner Clark. Commissioner Herman. Vice Chair Garcia.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for your leadership in bringing this forward. We're always looking for innovative ways to improve the services and the transparency and the communication we deliver to the public. So thank you for thinking outside the box and for you all convening and the miles that it took for you to get here. So I'm looking at CIS as a world-renowned best practices kind of hub. This is the first county registrar office to partner with CIS, correct?

On this sort of project, yes, ma'am. We have like the EI-ISAC, which is a group of election offices that kind of work together to disseminate election best practice, but we've never done anything like this. It seems absolutely novel to me.

Okay, great. And, you know, it kind of has remnants of the checkbook a little bit. You know, it's uploaded every day and, you know, it's easily accessible, public facing. And I regret kind of not asking about the costs associated with that when we rolled out the checkbook, because inevitably there is time. There are staffing that is required and the maintenance of this new infrastructure adds yet another item to your plate, Registrar Andrews. So I just wanted to kind of ask, you know, CIS at looking at your website, people can purchase and subscribe to certain services you provide. That's how you make money, right? You bring in revenue.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. So is this going to cost us something?

Thank you for the question, Vice Chair Garcia. No, there's no cost to the county. There are some infrastructures. You mentioned some servers. But this really is just staff time that needed to get the project off the ground. CIS was flown out here on their own dime. We did not pay for them. We have not paid them a dime for any work they've done on this project, and we will not pay going forward if they need to consult with us.

Great. And then this will live, like, on the Registrar Voters website, I imagine, like, on a separate tab?

It is on our website today, right now, yes.

Okay, and how do we access that? I see results dashboard, register to vote, voting, election workers, elected offices. Oh, more, okay.

There should be a data section. We have a lot of stuff.

Okay, so you click more.

Data transparency should be an option in there.

Data transparency.

And that should bring you to the webpage.

Okay, thank you for showing me that.

I do want to apologize that we didn't do a live demo. It's just in case technology wasn't working. We wanted just to do some screenshots.

Yeah. No, I understand. Great. So back to my question to you, Mr. Andrews, is you've got a small but mighty team. You're in the middle of an election year. You juggle a lot. You've brought on new initiatives like the curbside ADA program. voting, you're moving into a new building, you're collapsing, and there's a lot of moving parts going on in your world. So from your perspective, it sounds like this is a worthy effort, that you are 100% behind, that your team's behind. I just want to make sure that you have the capacity and not overextend yourself moving forward because we're not in a position to be adding new programs or adding new staff. We just can't, budgetarily speaking. So I just wanted to ask you on the record if you're okay with this.

Yeah, thank you for the question, Andrew McDonald, for the record. Yeah, I mean, we push the boundaries now in Washoe County and Red Shore Voters Office. Innovation is part of the mission statement. It's the last word in the mission statement. So when I came here, I wanted to push the boundaries of making sure that we could give the public what they needed, confidence in the election process, integrity. And this tool, they can actually go out and do the work themselves and verify it. So yeah, while it tacks on a little bit more, I think it's worthwhile every cent, yeah.

Great. And then what happens if the system goes down? As we've seen with the live stream cameras, that has created some issues for us. So how do you plan to handle that? Knock on wood. Hopefully nothing happens. But how would you address a potential incident like that?

Yeah, I mean, if the system goes down, we would obviously need to put something on our website stating, you know, what happened. And that would be part of just the overall COOP planning, if you will. We have backups, right? And maybe the architecture, I don't know if we have a backup of the backup, but can you speak to the... Yeah.

Yeah.

The weight.

Excuse me.

The way it's been constructed is there's an immutable ledger that we are constantly writing to, and that cannot be modified in any capacity. The only thing you could potentially do is delete it in its entirety. That's how we get the reassurance that the data that we're going to compare to, say someone finds some malicious action or something like that in the data, We would compare that to our immutable ledger so we can identify why, and that's the main thing. Let's say also we have an outage instead, to your question. We have scripts that are running automatically. For specific days, if it is down, we will not be able to capture data for that day because we will not capture it literally on, let's say, the ninth we had an outage for 24 hours. We would effectively have to skip that day. The next day, we will take a snapshot as soon as service is restored. And that's literally the best we could do due to just the availability of that database.

Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman. Ira Victor for the record. One of the important elements of the Center for Internet Security Controls is that it is built by a consensus of people that work out in the field in information security. And one of the three key pillars of information security is availability, that those who are authorized to access a resource or allowed to access a resource can access those resources. And therefore, woven throughout the entire book of protocols for the Center for Internet Security are elements that make it less likely a system goes down. I have been using these protocols and its predecessor, it had a different name, but it was the same family of protocols, for over 25 years with my clients. And I can tell you from my anecdotal experience, it makes a dramatic difference. Either there are no outages, or if there are, they're minor, they're short-term, and they come back up. And so that will have a meaningful impact on the ability for this area of the website to stay up.

OK. And then I'm so I'm asking so many questions.

I'm so sorry.

No, it might be directed to somebody else. And so I can't remember who said it. If there is a discrepancy between, you know, day one and day two, there is a forum or a chat. You said that a constituent can reach out to the registrar voters. And then can you talk to me about what that communication looks like? Is that email communication? Is it a phone call? Just so we can know what to expect.

It's going to be so it'll be a Microsoft form, actually, which will come directly to the registrar voters office. We're going to have an email group that that's attached to, and many people will be monitoring that. So once you send that in, that email group will get notified that there's been a new submission. We'll review it if it's bad, good, whichever direction. But that's how we'll become aware, and then we're going to ask you to provide contact information or whatever means we might want to get a hold of you. That'll allow us to communicate with you in case you did find something bad. So we can give the public reassurance that individual who is worried now, some reassurance that the problem is or is not apparent.

Okay.

So both modes would actually work, email or phone call. Yeah. This is Andrew McDonald for the record.

Great. I THINK YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST INTENTIONS WHEN YOU BRING INNOVATIVE IDEAS FORWARD AND I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS REALLY GOOD IDEAS HAVE THE HOLES POKED INTO THEM NOT RELENTLESSLY AND THE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT UNDERGOES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SCRUTINY. I'm trying to ask the questions in anticipation of some of the fears or the concerns. I mean, you're bringing forward this platform, this public-facing tool, but at the same time, that unfamiliarity of rolling something new out can kind of do the opposite. It can create more distrust. So I'm asking these questions on the record today, and I don't want it to sound like I'm not supportive of it, but just in anticipation of another tough year, especially.

Yeah, thank you, Andrew McDonnell, for the record. I do want to say it is a pilot program, right? And nothing's perfect in the beginning, right? We wanted to escalate this project and get it done even faster many months ago. But I wanted to make sure if I'm putting my name on it, even though it's a pilot project, that it's as good as it can be at the time. We know it can get better and it'll get more refined. But I do want to say again, it is a pilot project. If it doesn't make sense for the public, it doesn't make any meaningful impact, then we'll disband it in the future. Okay.

All right. I think that's all the questions I have. Great presentation. I'm very supportive of this. Thanks.

Thanks. Well, I hope that doesn't happen. I'd hate to end on that note. Because the Center for Internet Security has a long history of actually the protocols and the controls that give assurance of proof It's not buying something. It's not adding another layer onto something. It's not another machine. It's actually controls and standards that are globally, if not here in the United States, recognized by those folks in various capacities in terms of not just elections, but anything that has to do with really assuring validity, credibility, and if there is a cyber attack or hacking, that it can be identified and the anomaly either can be explained or addressed in some way. So I think that's really important to clarify. I also really want to thank, oh there he is, Bizaad and his team for helping to contribute to the project as well. I really honestly would like to thank the county manager for the support of understanding how important this is, not only for elections but for the county as a whole. So really, thank you to everyone. I'd like to go on record with this prediction that I truly believe that Washoe County is about to change the course of history. Election security challenges in this country are never solved because every attempt to solve them has failed. The attempts have failed because they've lacked something critical, proof of performance for election systems as a whole and a focus on process and people and not products and not products. You just can't throw money and then expect to have a result because then there's another layer of a need for protocols and controls. The election industry has hundreds of products to sell, hardware, software, subscriptions, gizmos, gadgets, but Mr. McDonald's project is putting our eye on process-oriented monitoring and reporting. It makes so much sense. So I want to thank the Center for Internet Security for their help with this project. I'm grateful for their involvement and very grateful for how much I personally have learned not only from them but about them and about data security and everyone understands the need for protecting data and cyber security and attacks seem to be in our everyday almost discussion in one way shape or form. So I said earlier that Mr. McDonald and his team are laying the groundwork for greater confidence in the future of Washoe County elections, but I truly believe, and I mean this with my heart, when this pilot has been proven, And when it's been extended beyond just this pilot phase and when it's been applied to the entire election system, this project will echo all over Nevada and across the entire nation. I believe we've started something here that will have a huge impact. So thank you, Mr. McDonald. Thank you for the team. Thank you, Bizaad. Thank you for your team. Thank you for Ira Victor. Thank you for the Center for Internet Security and really officially adopting Washoe County as a pilot program. So thank you so much. And that is all we have, unless anybody has anything else they'd like to say. Nope. Well, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Okay, we're going to close that item and move to item 15. And 15 and 16 are going to be read. Evidently, there are two items, but it's going to be read in one motion. Is that right? No. So 15 is going to be read as a first reading of the ordinance. So the notes, I'm just reading notes.

This is a first reading. It will be bill number 1950, amend section of Washoe County Stormwater Drainage and Flood Control Service Ordinance number 1552 by modifying the amount of the stormwater management fees.

Great. So does anybody have any questions about this or any details? We've heard this already. This is a first reading, so I'll entertain a motion at this time. Oh, sure, of course. Yes, please.

So what we're planning on doing eventually with this is lowering the cost. And at the time, we got into a big argument about the price of this, you know, 931. I kept saying, way too much money, way too much. And that was right. So I just wanted to say that. Well, it's lowering.

When we go through the official process, but is there any public comment? There's nobody signed in. So I'll entertain a motion this time for bill number 1950.

Madam Chair, I move to hold the first reading of bill number 1950 and set a future hearing to, or possible adoption on May 26, 2026.

Thank you. Thank you. We'll go ahead and move now to item 16.

So this one is the item that has the two readings. Thank you. You're on it. You're on it.

You're good.

This will be bill number 1951. All right. An ordinance amending the boundaries of Washoe County, Nevada, district number 24, groundwater remediation.

Great. So the and part of this is going to come later.

Right after the motion or after the introduction.

Is there public comment?

There is not public comment.

Okay. Does anybody have any questions about this? All right. I'll entertain a motion for the first reading.

Madam Chair, so move and set the second reading and possible adoption on June 16th, 2026. Great.

Now we'll move to the second part.

Okay. So thank you. This will be bill 1952. an ordinance levy a fee in Washoe County, Nevada, District number 24, groundwater remediation, ratifying action taken by county officers and providing other matters related thereto. And there is no public comment for that.

Thank you. Any questions? I'll entertain a motion at this time. I'll so move as presented in the staff report. Great. So we'll go ahead and close item 16 and then move to item 17. WHICH IS A SECOND READING.

OKAY. THIS WILL BE ORDINANCE NUMBER 1755. AMENDS WASHOE COUNTY CODE CHAPTER 110 DEVELOPMENT CODE AND ARTICLE 302 ALLOWED USES AND ARTICLE 406 BUILDING PLACEMENT STANDARDS AND ESTABLISHES NEW ARTICLE 403 TO ALLOW MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL USE TYPES IN COMMERCIAL REGULATORY ZONES AND TO PRESCRIBE REQUIREMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR SUCH PROJECTS. This was formerly bill number 1946.

Dr. Young is in the house.

Good afternoon, chair, commissioners. As the clerk described, this is public hearing for a second reading of another development code amendment related to housing. As we heard a little bit earlier today, we have been undergoing A SERIES OF HOUSING-RELATED CODE AMENDMENTS PER YOUR DIRECTION IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE WASHOE COUNTY MASTER PLAN. THE PROGRESS ON THAT ENTIRE SERIES IS UPDATED ON OUR MASTER PLAN. YOU CAN GO TO A SECTION ON OUR MASTER PLAN ON THE PLANNING HOME PAGE CALLED MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND SEE WHERE WE ARE ON ALL OF THESE HOUSING AMENDMENTS. I think as was earlier mentioned today, you saw one of them, and then there is another one coming after the one you heard today in this one. This particular one was at your direction to explore the possibility of allowing residential uses in commercial areas. That was part of the original housing direction to staff. And that is consistent with our master plan to allow more flexibility in zoning and land use regulations. But as we were considering this, the state began to consider it as well in their 2025 legislative session. And what they determined to do was to require all of local jurisdictions, counties and cities, to allow residential multifamily and mixed use and commercial zoning by right. So a lot of the thoughts that staff was pursuing and mulling through in the development of something to bring forward at your direction, This really focused what we were able to do by the state's requirement that all of these uses, multifamily uses, be allowed simply by right. And without a requirement for a mixed use component. We are allowed to have mixed use. And so we wanted to make sure that that option is available in our proposal. Our proposal. HAD TO ESTABLISH SOME DENSITIES SINCE WE HAD NO DENSITIES FOR OUR COMMERCIAL ZONES EXCEPT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL WHICH WAS REALLY KIND OF A SINGLE FAMILY DENSITY AND REQUIRED A SPECIAL USE PERMIT WHICH WE WOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE. SO WE PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO WHAT THE DENSITY SHOULD BE AND WE DECIDED TO TAG THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DENSITY TO OUR HIGH DENSITY And we looked at our commercial and tourist commercial and decided that those most closely matched on average are low density urban designation. So that's how nine units per acre for neighborhood commercial and 14 per acre for GC and TC came about.

I think it's important to know that we didn't just make those up.

We also established some minimum percentages for commercial use types and mixed use projects. The reason for this, and I believe the Planning Commission concurred on the importance of this, is you're not required by the state in our new code to have any commercial component. You're not required to do mixed use. But we're concerned that if you do do it, you should make an honest stab at it. You should make an honest attempt at it and not devote too small of a portion of your project to commercial. So we wanted to establish a minimum percentage in order to really give that commercial component a more viable chance to make it. One of the concerns in mixed-use projects is that one or the other component doesn't make it. We also established that you can do civic. We think that certain civic use types may be appropriate, but we put a maximum percentage on how much can be devoted to civic. Of course, we had to develop parking and landscaping standards. At the direction of the Planning Commission, we established a maximum height of 35 feet for residential and mixed use projects without a special use permit. The neighborhood commercial, all the commercial districts have a higher height limitation than 35 feet. So the Planning Commission wanted to make sure that in residential projects and mixed use projects that they are capped out at 35 feet. A 35-foot standard is something you may be familiar with from Sun Valley and some places where the county has established that as a maximum height. Then, of course, we have a requirement for municipal and wastewater services. This is what it looks like. If you go and look in the new code, it's simply removing any references to not allowed or special use permits and putting in that it's allowed. Here's what it looks like when you look to see what the allowed densities are. Thank you. That's what I have for you today. I can answer any questions you might have about this new proposal. And in the meantime, I do have a motion for you to consider if you'd like.

Thank you. Does this satisfy then 241? Is this the last step for AB 241? Yes. Yeah, that's what I thought.

Vice Chair Garcia. Thank you, Madam Chair. I know we're required to update our development code according to AB 241, but I didn't want, you know, during the first reading, I didn't bring this up, so I just wanted to bring it up in the second reading and put it on the record that When this legislation was being discussed during the last legislative session, the county, with the help of our legislative affairs gal, Cadence Matijevich, had raised some concerns that the by-right multifamily option could diminish or even diminish eliminate real essential services in our unincorporated neighborhoods and communities and that is still a fear of mine and as I was talking to Ms. Mullen thank you Ms. Mullen for answering my question it's really as a commission we don't really have any guardrails or anything that we can LEAN ON TO PREVENT US LOSING ANOTHER GROCERY STORE OR LOSING AN IMPORTANT RESTAURANT OR ANY OTHER SERVICE THAT OUR UNINCORPORATED NEIGHBORHOODS NEED BUT THE ONLY THING THAT'S KIND OF SAVING US REALLY IS THAT ANYTHING TRIGGERS ABOVE THAT 35-FOOT WILL TRIGGER A SPECIAL USE PERMIT WHICH THEN HAS TO GO THROUGH THE PUBLIC PROCESS. IS THAT CORRECT?

YES.

Well, it's still a concern. It is what it is. The county tried to raise and sound the alarm back during the last legislative session, so thank you to staff for elevating that. It kind of fell on deaf ears, and I'm just hoping that, again, this is a well-intended piece of legislation that could have negative impacts on our unincorporated communities. So I hope that's not going to be the case. I know it's out of our control, but I just wanted to put that on the record.

Any other questions? Do you have public comment? There's nobody signed in. Thank you. If there isn't any further discussion, I'll entertain a motion at this time.

Madam Chair, I did not get the ordinance number.

1755. Okay.

I move to adopt ordinance number 1755 as presented in the staff report. Do we have a second?

Commissioner Herman, thank you so much. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you so much, Dr. Young. 241's behind us. One more package. What will we do? What will we do? Thanks for all your hard work. We'll now move to public comment.

Manager Thomas. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is your final public comment, and comment heard under this item will be limited to three minutes per person, and it may pertain to matters both on and off the commission agenda. Unused time may not be allocated to other speakers, and comments are to be made to the commission as a whole.

Penny Brock. Thank you.

Agenda item number 14. I find some humor in this when ROV McDonald wanted to discuss the data transparency project and yet there was no transparency by putting an attachment for his PowerPoint presentation. I find that really strange. Talk about lack of transparency. So we've got some huge issues with this. First of all, the Save America Act is pending in Washington, D.C. 83% of Americans, that includes all voters, independent, Democrat, Republicans, want the Save Act passed. They want paper ballots. They want hand counting. They don't want this electronic voting equipment. As you may remember, I hope, when it came up in November for you to approve the ballot marking devices they gave you a paper that had been prepared I don't know two or three years ago by a group out of Berkeley and what they found with the ballot marking devices is they are not secure. We already know the Dominion voting system is not secure. So when you say that this CIS proposal, transparency project is going to bring confidence to our Washoe County elections. I'm here to tell you no. It's just adding another layer on the poor voters. Some of your voters don't even have access to the internet. A lot of them don't want to be bothered by this convoluted whatever it is. So this is just a bunch of nonsense. I research other voting right groups throughout America. And if they thought this was a great idea, you can be assured they would have adopted this. We know that McDonald's background is IT. He loves anything IT. He's just wanting to put more and more IT nonsense on the voters. All we want to do is go vote with a paper ballot and hand count and have the election results by the end of midnight on election day. We don't get that. We get extended voting for seven or eight days Trump won Washoe County in 2024 on Election Day, and yet when they kept voting for seven or eight more days, he lost Washoe County and Clark County. Something strange went on. So I will do more research on CIS. I know I've read a lot about it, and I will be back to talk about CIS and why this is really a bad idea. Thank you.

We have nobody else signed in. Thank you. We'll close public comment and move to agenda item 19, commissioners and county manager announcements. Manager Thomas.

Thank you. These announcements include reports and updates to include boards and commission updates, requests for information or topics for future agendas.

You don't have anything? Commissioner Clark. Commissioner Herman. Vice Chair Garcia. Well, I only have one thing I wanted to just mention. I don't know if everyone is aware, but in April, I don't remember the exact date of 2026, so recently, the MIT actually, they always do research on elections and Nevada as a whole moved from position 13 to position 2. So I thought that would be something else that you might find interesting. And that's, again, independent MIT. So I don't have anything else. If we don't have anything else, I'll go ahead and close the meeting at 1.48. Thank you so much.