The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Emergency Manager provides update on Davis Fire: Washoe County Emergency Manager Kelly Echeverria presented an overview of the Davis Fire, which broke out on Saturday, Sept, 7, shortly after 2:30 p.m. and continues be an active event as it burns into its fourth day south of Reno. The fire crosses jurisdictions in county, city of Reno, and National Forest land, and last night a Type 1 Incident Management Team (IMT) assumed control of the fire response with extensive support from Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and others.
As of this morning, Echeverria reported, the fire had grown to 5,596 acres with zero percent containment. Fourteen structures were lost, and more than 3,000 residents are without power. She described the burn area that tore through residential communities in Galena and St. James Village, but damage was largely limited to wildland and landscaping
“They have done a phenomenal job in keeping houses and structures intact and fire-free,” Echeverria said.
The IMT is providing daily updates, but Echeverria cautioned residents to be patient and wait for verified, official updates and limit misinformation.
“Most of our incidents are fast-moving and we get a lot of information in a short amount of time. This is a larger, longer-lasting incident, so as quickly as we can receive relevant information, we push it out to residents.”
There will be a community meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at Depoali Middle School, located at 9300 Wilbur May Parkway in Reno. Evacuations and road closures can be easily viewed online at www.perimetermap.com, and fire updates are posted at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nvhtf-davis-fire.
Board provides direction on reinvigorating Citizen Advisory Boards: Unincorporated Washoe County has eight Citizen Advisory Boards (CABs) that have historically seen low turnout to meetings. CABs have undergone a variety of iterations since the first one (Incline Village/Crystal Bay) in 1975. In 2021, Washoe County introduced Neighborhood Development Meetings, requiring developers to seek public input earlier in the planning process. By empowering residents to provide input early in the development process, location-specific topics not having to do with development waned, and attendance at CAB meetings decreased. The Commissioner Support team conducts about 72 CAB meetings each year that, in 2023, served less than a quarter of one percent of the population of greater Washoe County. Today, the team provided attendance statistics and community survey responses to the Board and sought input and direction from Commissioners on how they would like to reinvigorate community engagement.
Commissioner Clara Andriola suggested moving the meetings to a quarterly basis and taking a deeper dive into the role of CABs and community outreach at the Board’s October 29 Strategic Planning meeting.
Chair Alexis Hill suggested combining CAB meetings with City of Reno’s Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) meetings in the Verdi area, while Commissioners Jeanne Herman and Mike Clark advocated for the status quo or a move to town hall-style meetings.
The way that CABs are currently established, they are subject to open meeting law, requiring a quorum of members, conversations restrained to only what’s on the agenda, public comment limited to three minutes, and minutes produced after the meetings.
Chair Hill praised the courage of staff to provide the presentation, sharing, “It’s our role to continue to see, how can we best serve the public? It’s good to always assess how we do things and see how we can make sure we support all of the community.”
Commissioner Garcia said that her chief complaint with the current outreach meetings are the restrictions placed upon attendees of CAB meetings, saying, “My biggest problem with the CABs is the Open Meeting Law restrictions. That structure sometimes limits that authenticity and that genuineness that you can really reach at that of level of engagement that we miss the mark on sometimes with the structure that we have.”
Commissioner Andriola added that this presentation is an opportunity for creativity, reiterating the title and message of the presentation, “Your title of reimagining the CAB, needs to be where I am coming from. It’s not disbanding the CAB, it’s reimaging how to be more effective, how to be more impactful, how to give, as best as one can, the information that can benefit the residents.”
Board approves Washoe Opioid Abatement and Recovery Fund recommendations: Grants and Community Program Analyst Lauren Beal presented recommendations to receive Washoe Opioid Abatement and Recovery Fund (WOARF) grants totaling just over $4 million.
- $1 million to Human Services Agency – CrossRoads Families – to provide therapeutic living community to families impacted by Opioid Use (OUD) to engage in recovery together.
- $984,000 to Northern Nevada HOPES to establish a new opioid treatment program at the East 4th Street Clinic.
- $300,000 to Ridge House Inc to support providing outpatient and aftercare service to uninsured and underinsured Washoe County Residents.
- $523,400 to Northern Nevada Harm Reduction Alliance to support comprehensive harm reduction strategies, community engagement, and policy advocacy, led by the expertise and leadership of individuals with lived experience.
- $250,000 to Join Together Northern Nevada Inc to provide support and resources to bridge transportation and resource gaps in Washoe County for individuals who are unhoused and at-risk or in current use of Opioids.
- Just over $952,000 to Bristlecone Family Resources to support the building of a medical detox facility.
Projects were ranked according to five priorities: Increasing access to treatment for uninsured or underinsured; emergency department buprenorphine and care navigators; overdose prevention and education; child welfare best practices; and increasing bed space for detox.
“I want to thank you for your enthusiasm. It’s clear that you care about this process and it being equitable,” Commissioner Clara Andriola said to Beal. “I think all the programs really fit the priorities. It’s so encouraging to hear about keeping the families together, it’s so critical to the success of everyone. Pulling one person – a child or wife or dad – that pulling apart is almost unimaginable trauma, added to the existing trauma.”
4. Washoe County Comptroller’s Office receives prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 42nd consecutive year: The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is given to government entities whose annual comprehensive financial reports achieve the highest standards in government accounting and financial reporting, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate the County’s financial story.
This is the 42nd consecutive year that the Comptroller’s Office has received this honor, which could not have been accomplished without the efficient and dedicated services of the entire Comptroller Department accounting staff and support staff. Staff directly involved in the year-end audit and preparation of the ACFR for fiscal year 2022-2023 included: Robert Andrews, accounting manager; Russell Morgan, accounting manager; Susan O’Haro, senior accountant; Asta Dominguez, senior accountant; Rebecca Mosher, senior accountant; Cris Shimkovsky, senior accountant; Michelle Glodt-Mikoliczyk, accountant II; Joyce Garrett, accountant II; Na Na Huang, accountant II; with administrative assistance by Vicki Stebbins.
