The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Board approves state funding for renovation of West Hills behavioral health hospital: The State of Nevada recently reappropriated unused Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and awarded $14.5 million to Washoe County for the West Hills Facility rehabilitation. In December 2022, the Board approved $4.8 million to purchase the shuttered 95-bed behavioral health hospital to address the pressing need for acute, long-term, and stabilization care for mental health services in the community. A minimum of 50 beds per 100,000 people is necessary to provide for minimally adequate treatment for individuals with severe mental illness; Nevada fails to meet this standard within Washoe County. By securing this facility and partnering with a provider, Washoe County can create a model that allows for Medicaid reimbursement and subsidies for facility costs, thereby improving mental health services coverage and reducing future burdens on County services. Today’s approval of state funds will provide the capital to complete the rehabilitation and re-opening of the hospital to provide critically needed psychiatric residential treatment beds for the pediatric and adolescent population, as well as services for youth with developmental and behavioral health needs.
2. Board approves funding for personnel for Jail Based Mental Health Program: The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office received $5.8 million from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to support the collaboration between Washoe County and the Division of Public and Behavioral Health. The program will introduce treatment at an earlier time in the assessment prior to adjudication of individuals with mental illness. Ten new deputy sheriffs and one full-time sergeant will be entirely funded by this program.
The overarching goal and expectation of this Jail Based Mental Health Program is to mirror the intensive therapy clients receive at Lakes Crossing Center, the only maximum-security psychiatric facility providing comprehensive forensic mental health services in Northern Nevada. When individuals are court ordered to Lakes Crossing Center, it is for evaluation and/or treatment for restoration to legal competency. This Washoe County Jail Based Mental Health Program will reduce the time needed for evaluation prior to transfer to Lakes Crossing Center for the treatment for restoration to legal competency.
3. Registrar presents vote center locations for the upcoming Primary Election: The Primary Election takes place June 11, with early voting from May 25 through June 7. The Board of County Commissioners received a summary of the vote centers for the election: 24 for early voting and 49 on Election Day. Vote centers are placed throughout the county including in Gerlach and Incline Village, and voters can vote at any center most convenient to them. Vote centers also each have a drop-box for mail ballots that are dropped off rather than mailed.
4. Commissioners receive briefing on Community Reinvestment Program: To manage the various grant funds and programs in Washoe County, Community Reinvestment Manager Gabrielle Enfield assembled a team to identify and address community needs resulting in lasting positive impact by convening and aligning new and existing resources to solve problems and fill gaps. The programs follow three strategic goals: create transformative change in key county strategic focus areas, build capacity and facilitate a community response, and educate the community about the available programs.
“We take our path from what the Washoe County Commission identifies as key county strategic focus areas,” Enfield said.
Enfield provided a briefing to the board on the newly developed Strategic Plan, as well as an update on the $91.5 million in ARPA funding that the county received and has only $3.4 million remaining to be obligated by the end of this year and spent by the end of 2026.
Projects that received federal appropriations through the Community Reinvestment program include Bailey Creek stormwater management ($1.9 million); the Sheriff’s Office rapid DNA program (just under $1 million); Lemmon Valley Heppner 5 stormwater improvements ($2.7 million), Nevada Cares Campus capital ($12 million) and the Sheriff’s Office Infirmary design ($2.3 million). Pending projects include emergency foster beds, operating costs for the West Hills hospital, Hidden Valley Regional Park wetlands, and Lake Tahoe water clarity project. These projects were sponsored in Congress by our state representative and senators, Rep. Mark Amodei, and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen.
The Community Reinvestment Program notably received approval in February for a new position to manage opioid settlement money through a new Washoe Opioid Abatement and Recovery Fund. Washoe County expects to receive $41 million in settlement funds over the next 40 years, and has already received $4.7 million. Washoe County is currently in the outreach stage to notify nonprofit organizations of the available grant funding.
5. Board approves contract for management of the Regional Shooting Facility: In July 2023, the popular Regional Shooting Facility in Palomino Valley faced intermittent closures due to low staffing and the retirement of both the range master and range safety officer. Washoe County Community Services Department (CSD)set out to determine if there was any interest in operating the facility by the private or non-profit sector. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was solicited on two different occasions, resulting in one proposal, submitted by Nevada Firearms Academy. Nevada Firearms Academy will manage full-day operations and maintenance, and will be opening the range seven days a week. The agreement is effective immediately and runs through June 30, 2029.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Commissioner Jeanne Herman said to CSD Director Eric Crump. “This is important. We’ve needed a more efficient way to provide this service to the people.”
6. Board proclaims Crime Victims’ Rights Week: The Board recognized the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, victim service providers, advocates, and other allied professionals with a proclamation declaring April 21-27, 2024, as Crime Victims’ Rights Week. As noted in the proclamation, in 2023, there were 3,851 domestic and elderly crimes, 2,444 violent crimes – to include murder, sexual assault, and robbery – and 10,828 property crimes in Washoe County. Crime victims’ rights afford victims the right to meaningfully participate and use their voice in the criminal justice process, provide an impact statement, and engage in creating responses and services that are credible, meaningful, and centered on individual needs.
“I want to thank you all for doing this proclamation today. This really is an important week for crime victims,” Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks said. “The primary goal is to bring awareness to crime victims’ rights and to challenge the barriers they face on a daily basis. Every moment that we can take, both as government, as law enforcement professionals, as policy makers, as our community as a whole, to reinforce our commitment to crime victims, not just this week but the other 51 weeks of the year, is immensely appropriate. Every day we do that, we chip away at the imbalance that exists in the system. We have to balance criminal defendants’ rights with crime victims’ rights and I’m happy to say in my career that I’ve begun to see a shift, but we need to keep moving forward with it.”
7. Commissioners approve donations to Human Services Agency: The Board unanimously accepted numerous donations to divisions within the Human Services Agency (HSA).
- Various donations to Homeless Services valued around $14,000, including hygiene kits, jackets, winter clothing, yoga equipment, books, a treadmill, and ice cream.
- Cash and various items to Child Protective Services including $5,280 from private donors and $4,370 from juror donations. Donated items include toys, clothing, shoes, blankets, haircuts, backpacks and school supplies, and many more.
- Cash and various items to Senior Services including $1,000 from Vanguard, fans, puzzles, books, canes, shoes, sanitary items, heaters and yarn.
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