The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Board confirms county redistricting map: In a second hearing to revise the county ordinance related to voting districts, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the recommended district map. Per Nevada state law, the county must review voting districts after the decennial census in order to ensure comparable population among districts. Washoe County’s population grew by about 65,000 residents from 2010-2020. A first reading of the ordinance was held on Jan. 11, 2022.
“I want to make a thank you to staff, to all involved in producing the maps to identify and process this information,” Commissioner Bob Lucey said. “As we’ve pointed out in numerous meetings, we’ve increased our population by more than 60,000 people, and it was a very long and arduous process, so I’m happy to motion to move forward with this ordinance.”
2. Board conducts second reading of ordinance to abolish office of Incline Village Constable: After a review of duties and responsibilities of the office of constable in Incline Village, the board voted 3-2 to abolish the office. Other constables’ offices in Washoe County were abolished in 1998 as their roles in civil cases became obsolete with the expansion of local law enforcement. Most duties of the constable are routinely conducted by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, including executing warrants, arresting offenders, and issuing citations. The constable also collaborates with the Incline Village Justice Court to monitor and administer substance abuse tests to pre-trial defendants, and conduct civil services such as evictions, temporary protection orders, and red flag legislation.
The office will close when the current constable’s term expires, Jan. 2, 2023.
3. Contract for distribution of sample ballots awarded to Metro Mailing Service Inc.: The Board today awarded the contract for the distribution of the Washoe County sample ballot to Metro Mailing Service Inc. in the amount of $500,000. The bid amount includes the cost of postage and freight, and it was the only proposal received.
4. Board approves agreement for music festival to be held at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park: A two-day music festival called Battle Axe and Tracks will be held at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Oct. 1-2, 2022. The festival was previously canceled in 2021 and rescheduled to 2022. The agreement approved today, in the amount of $16,000 to Washoe County Parks & Open Space, outlines that the event promoter will provide most of the support and require minimal staffing from the county.
5. Commissioners support district-specific projects with District Special Funds: Commissioners are each able to allocate money to support nonprofit organizations and projects that benefit their respective districts. Today Chair Vaughn Hartung, District 4, allocated $5,000 to support the Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue and its Ash Can Program. Ash cans are fire-safe metal containers that can help reduce the risk of fire from hot ashes.
“I hope the Board will be supportive of this. I’m very proud of the Ash Can Program,” Chair Hartung said. “We don’t know how many houses we’ve saved, but we know we’ve saved some because we’ve seen incidents of BBQ ash and fireplace ash fires go down since we’ve implemented the program.”
Commissioner Kitty Jung, District 3, committed $1,000 from her fund to cover the cost for residents to file a form with the Washoe County Recorder’s Office to disavow racist and discriminatory language in their home records. The County Recorder’s Office, by state law, must charge a fee to file records, so the fee cannot be waived. However, Recorder Kalie Work advocated at the State Legislature to make a way for residents to disavow the racist language included in some property records. Commissioner Alexis Hill previously committed $1,000 to cover the fee, and today Commissioner Jung matched the allocation from her District Special Fund.
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