Douglas Voelz was told by acquaintances that his first foray into Sparks public office eight years ago would be fairly easy. They were wrong.

As Voelz took the commissioner's seat at his first Sparks Parks and Recreation meeting in 2000, the crowd was teeming with tension. The commission was deciding on a new name for a renovated refuse pit off of Interstate 80 and McCarran Boulevard: Helms Marina or the Sparks Marina.

Now, as Voelz takes his seat at the city's planning commission Thursday, he will be voting on the extremely controversial Lazy 8 casino project. Protests are planned.

Voelz recently was selected out of a pool of 20 applicants to fill a vacancy on the Sparks Planning Commission. According to Voelz, he just wants to contribute to his community.

"I just figured it was an interesting thing to do and I live here, so I might as well do it," Voelz said.

The Wingfield Springs resident, who is a self-proclaimed city council and commission watcher, said he had been considering applying for several years but just didn't think he had the time.

"I wasn't sure I was willing or had the time to devote," Voelz said. "But in the past few months I just decided it was the time. I've been active in all the communities in which I have lived."

In addition to his seat on the planning commission, Voelz is a member of the local service organization Sparks Sertoma as well as the Northern Nevada Community Housing Resource Board. While Voelz still holds his position on the Parks and Recreation Commission, he said that he will be formally resigning soon.

Voelz moved to Sparks 10 years ago with his wife after the brokerage firm he worked for in Columbus, Ohio was bought out by a large midwestern bank.

"It pretty much changed from a small family-owned brokerage firm to a very small part of a very big bank," Voelz said.

After the buyout, the company also asked him to move to Cincinnati if he wanted to keep his job. But that just wasn't going to happen.

"If I was going to move I was going to retire and move somewhere that I wanted to live for the rest of my life," Voelz said.

So the couple picked Sparks, mostly for its proximity to outdoor activities like hiking and snowshoeing, as well as its future promise.

"We decided on Sparks because it seemed like an interesting growing place and because it seemed like a place that could really be something over the years," Voelz said. "And it has been. We have enjoyed living here."

As he considers planning decisions, Voelz said that he supports growth, but only if it is done right.

"I think it is important that someone be participating in the process and doing (planning) as right as it can be done," Voelz said. "If you know you are going to have growth, which we clearly are, it is just a question of whether it is going to be good growth or bad growth and if the community is better after it is done or not."

Upon returning from a vacation last week, Voelz was greeted by a packet in his mailbox about 3 inches thick.

The commission is scheduled to vote on a change in land use designation, which would bring the Lazy 8 casino project closer to breaking ground.

The Lazy 8 project will eventually plant a mix of resort, residential and commercial development on Pyramid Highway, just north of Lazy 5 regional park.

The item could change the land use designation in the area from general commercial to tourist commercial (TC), potentially making way for a casino.

The 20.5 acres of land in question is located north of Lazy 5 regional park and east of the Pyramid Highway.

According to city of Sparks senior planner Tim Thompson, the agenda item would move an already approved TC land use designation from its current location on Vista Boulevard and Wingfield Hills Road to the spot on the Pyramid Highway.

"I just got back from a vacation, so this is hitting me square in the face," Voelz said.

The commission exists to review and submit recommendations of approval or disapproval by the city council for tentative subdivision maps, rezoning cases, annexations, Master Plan amendments, Title 20 zoning ordinance changes, regional plans that concern Sparks’ regional transportation as well as review and approve or deny variance and certain special use permit applications.

Before Voelz filled it, the planning commission seat was left empty after former Sparks mayor Bruce Breslow had to give up the commissionership for a spot at the head of the State's Nuclear Projects Office.