City officials said this week that they expect to receive $840,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which provides cities and counties with federal funds to accelerate energy and conservation projects.

"The city of Sparks has been active in sustainability programs and projects for many years, and these funds will advance numerous sought-after projects," Sparks City Manager Shaun Carey said. "The city's sustainability program not only helps preserve our environment and precious natural resources, but provides a cost saving to the city and its residents."

A number of projects are in the works or underway, including a complete energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunity audit on 11 city facilities. This audit will be the basis for future conservation and energy-generation projects.

Design will be started on several photovoltaic (solar energy) generation projects at numerous sites including Golden Eagle Regional Park. The city also anticipates installing photovoltaic panels on the roof at the Larry D. Johnson Community Center this summer.

An additional waste-oil heater will be installed at the city's maintenance facility. Waste-oil heaters use oil from vehicle oil changes to heat the facility in the winter months, thereby reducing the city's energy bill.

Stimulus funds will also be used to design boiler replacements for inefficient units at two city facilities and lighting retrofits for the Sparks Police Department, downtown parking garages, and numerous city facilities. The city plans to continue to upgrade transportation systems including replacing the yellow traffic signal bulbs and the pedestrian signal timers with Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology.

Sparks is also working with the city of Reno and Washoe County to apply for competitive stimulus grant funds for larger regional projects. The 2009 city of Sparks Sustainability Action Plan can be found online at www.cityofsparks.us and click on “Sustainability.”