The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Board receives overview of FEMA floodplain risk map projects: Washoe County Community Services Department (CSD) is undergoing several floodplain map revisions in areas throughout Washoe County. These maps identify areas within Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplains. The maps are tools that graphically show the risk of flooding in particular areas and require periodic updating.
Director of Engineering and Capital Projects Dwayne Smith presented the map projects currently underway. He importantly noted the definition of the “100-year flood risk,” which is not that an area is likely to flood only once per century, but rather that every year, there is a 1 percent chance of flooding.
“If you have a 30-year mortgage like I do, you actually have a 26 percent chance of being flooded in that timeframe,” Smith said.
The maps are being updated using LIDAR, newer modeling techniques and updated trends and changes in land use and weather in order to provide residents with more accurate information on their flood risk. FEMA requires Washoe County to update the maps periodically.
CSD is currently working on updating three areas of Washoe County: north Spanish Springs, known as Boneyard Flat closed basin; South Truckee Meadows around Whites, Thomas, and Galena creeks; and Lemmon Valley around Swan Lake. Future map projects will occur in Hidden Valley and Sun Valley.
Washoe County will be holding a public meeting on January 29 from 4:30-7 p.m. in Lemmon Valley to help educate residents on the map update process affecting that area.
“On one hand, we have fires to worry about, and on the other hand we have floods to worry about. It doesn’t take much to figure out when you look around where we live, we’re surrounded by mountains, and if we get a heavy rain and a cell that doesn’t move… floods can happen anywhere,” Commissioner Mike Clark said. “We need to make sure the public is aware of flood risks as much as they are concerned about fire risks.”
2. Board hears annual report from Washoe County UNR Extension Programs: UNR Extension Northern Area Director Holly Gatzke and Washoe County Coordinator Abbey Pike presented an annual report on the programs, which are funded by the ad valorem tax. These programs focus on: community and economic development; health and nutrition; agriculture; natural resources; youth, personal and family development; and horticulture.
UNR Extension runs Living With Fire, which provides practical, research-based recommendations on preparing for wildfire and reducing wildfire threats to homes and communities in Northern Nevada. In the last year, LWF:
- Shared resources at 14 community events in Washoe, where they directly interacted with 671 adults and 51 youth.
- Hosted 14 workshops, where they shared information with 591 adults and 40 youth.
- Hosted the Fire Adapted Nevada summit at UNR, with 106 attendees.
- Taught 68 classes on Fire Science at Academy of Arts Career and Technology. 14 students joined local wildland firefighters in a “Mock Fire” drill near Hidden Valley.
“A lot of people don’t realize that you have the opportunity and the power to make your home more fire-resistant,” Gatzke said. “That doesn’t mean it won’t go up in a fire that’s serious but there is a lot you can do to actually make your home more fire-resistant and that information is on our website.”
3. Board awards contract for Riverbend Trailhead project: The Riverbend Trailhead Project provides a new public trailhead and access path at Riverbend Open Space along the Truckee River in Verdi. The scope of work includes construction of a ten-space parking lot and loading zone, construction of an access path with two pedestrian bridge crossings, installation of a kiosk and entrance sign, site clean-up, and installation of a portable restroom enclosure and other park amenities. The board approved a contract for just over $403,000 to Frank Lepori Construction Inc. There were seven bids to consider, and staff recommended the lowest base bid.
4. Board receives overview of Housing Court Pilot Program: Reno Justice Court Hon. Judge Kendra Bertschy presented a collaboration of the Reno Justice Court (RJC), City of Reno Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND), and Nation’s Finest to address evictions in Washoe County for non-payment of rent cases. Housing Court is a pilot eviction diversion program to provide a streamlined way for tenants facing eviction to access rental assistance funding and other resources available in the community. Housing Court works with tenants, landlords, and community partners to keep people housed. Starting in August 2024, through November 2024, Housing Court was able to keep 167 individuals in their homes.
Housing Court is a specialized problem-solving court to promote sustained stability in housing. It targets tenants who are facing eviction due to unforeseen financial hardships, and helping to solve housing disputes before tenants face homelessness.
“You’ve built something so powerful in such a short amount of time and you have shown the results,” Commissioner Mariluz Garcia said. “To me, this is not only proactive but also encapsulates the holistic model we should be striving for. It’s beneficial to the individual and the family and the land-owner as well. Everyone is getting a helping hand and streamlining these processes.”
5. Board presents proclamation acknowledging the work of front-line individuals in homeless services: Commissioner Mariluz Garcia and local poet and homeless advocate Terry Brooks read a proclamation to “acknowledge and honor the essential work of homeless services front-line workers.” Numerous individuals were present to receive the proclamation, including staff from Nevada Cares Campus, Our Place, CrossRoads, Karma Box, Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, and Volunteers of America.
