Top headlines from the Board of County Commissioners Meeting

by | Oct 25, 2022

The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:    

1. Board receives update on Nevada Cares Campus: Dana Searcy, division director, Housing and Homeless Services, presented an update on the Nevada Cares Campus and the current and upcoming construction there. She addressed six priorities to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness: centralized and shared client data; unified regional outreach; more rapid housing of clients; sheltering the unsheltered; accessible care for all; and a regional approach to affordable housing. She also highlighted an overarching goal: To lead the community to build a system that is capable of housing people experiencing homelessness, so that it’s rare, brief, and not recurring.

The Cares Campus is expanding in phases, adding permanent bathrooms and showers, a resource center, service buildings including a nurse station and cafeteria, a permanent Safe Camp, 50 supportive housing units, and more. The total budget for the campus is $78.1 million, much of which has already been spent or committed to this point. The campus costs will be funded by cost share agreements, federal funding, and private fundraising.  

For many experiencing homelessness, there are barriers to housing that makes the Cares Campus their only option. The Cares Campus allows pets, does not require ID or background checks, and does not have sobriety requirements or program prerequisites. 

Searcy addressed the cost to the community when the unhoused population is not cared for, such as emergency medical care, treatment, and law enforcement. She also talked about lessons learned and ways that the Housing and Homeless Services Department is supporting its partners and nonprofits to figure out what is needed to better support the community. 

“As a Board, we’re compasses, and a compass only knows north, it knows direction. It has no advice as to pitfalls or chasms or rivers or lakes or oceans along the way. That’s staff’s job to map that out, and staff has done a great job at that,” Chair Vaughn Hartung said.  

2. Board approves contract to Well Care to provide housing and services to the Men’s Crossroads Program: Crossroads is a program through the Washoe County Human Services Agency that provides housing and supportive services to men exiting homelessness and into a sober living community. New Hope Placement, dba Well Care Services, provides housing, property management, and supportive services to Crossroads, as well as primary care, psychiatric medication management, mental health, and pharmacy services. Today the Board of County Commissioners approved a contract with Well Care to offer these services through June 30, 2023, with a provision for four one-year renewals. The cost of the annual contract is approximately $1.4 million, pro-rated this year for the October start date, and increasing slightly with each renewal.

3. Community Reinvestment Grant Program funds 12 programs of nonprofit organizations, and two awards to General Improvement Districts (GID): The Board approved the allocation of Washoe County’s ARPA funding through its Community Reinvestment Grant Program in the amount of just over $1 million. Also awarded were the two remaining General Improvement District awards to the Incline Village and the Gerlach GIDs in the amount of $250,000 each. A total of just over $1.52 million was awarded in the following approximate amounts:

  • Incline Village General Improvement District: $250,000 for skate park enhancements.  
  • Options Veterinary Care: $100,000 to provide veterinary access to low-income residents. 
  • Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northern Nevada: $36,000 for mentorship of at-risk youth through the Bigs With Badges program. 
  • Community Foundation of Northern Nevada: $210,000 for caregiver education and resources. 
  • Project Discovery: $50,000 for youth programs related to attitude, behavior, and cognition.  
  • Friends of Black Rock High Rock: $50,000 for a hiking and biking program in the Gerlach-Empire region. 
  • Tu Casa Latina: $23,000 for immigration outreach efforts and resources. 
  • Incline Village Education Fund: $50,000 for Project Lead the Way Engineering equipment at Incline High School. 
  • Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts: $66,500 for arts programming for seniors.  
  •  Rebuilding Together Northern Nevada: $100,000 for home renovations for low-income households. 
  • Sierra Nevada Journeys: $177,655 to expand STEM education at three Washoe County schools. 
  • Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum: $100,000 to support a portion of the current interactive exhibit costs.  
  • Community Services Agency: $61,000 for Victims of Crime Support. 
  • Gerlach General Improvement District: $250,000 for affordable housing in Gerlach.  

“You can see how diverse these grantees are, and I’m excited that we’re able to support them because they’re supporting essential services the county can’t do,” Commissioner Alexis Hill said.  

In a related item, the Board approved the receipt of Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Funds (LATCF) in the total amount of $9.4 million, half of which has already been received by Washoe County. LATCF is a part of the American Rescue Plan Act but separate from the State and Local Recovery Funds that Washoe County has put into its Community Reinvestment Grant Program to subgrant to local nonprofits and programs.  

“These funds are very broad – we have more flexibility in the use of these funds and in the timing to use them,” Community Reinvestment Manager Gabrielle Enfield said.  

4. County Manager provides update on General Election: The General Election is November 8, and County Manager Eric Brown presented an updated during his Manager’s Comments agenda item. He reminded voters that mail-in ballots present a very heavy burden on the U.S. Postal Service, and that ballots cannot be mailed all in one day. He urged residents to be patient if they have not received their mail-in ballot yet. Voting in person is also an option, as there are nearly two dozen vote centers for Early Voting through November 4, and 66 vote centers on Election Day.

“We are working with the U.S. Postal Service representatives to figure out what’s going on, and they’re being very cooperative,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of mail that has to be distributed through various postal systems, and that appears to be causing us a delay. If people are concerned and you want to receive another ballot, you can contact Washoe311.”  

5. Board proclaims October 25 as Nevada Water Innovation Institute Day: Chair Vaughn Hartung read a proclamation naming today, October 25, 2022, as Nevada Water Innovation Institute Day. The Nevada Water Innovation Institute Day has been providing collaborative sustainable water resources for five years in Washoe County.