• The Western Regional Water Commission needs a representative from the Sparks City Council to serve on its board and they have selected Ward Three representative Ron Smith as their candidate. The council ratified Smith as WRWA Commissioner and Ward Two Councilman Phil Salerno as the alternate commissioner.
The council also ratified Mayor Geno Martini as the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility Commissioner to the Western Regional Water Commission.
The Western Regional Water Commission is the coordinating authority for water decisions in the greater Reno/Sparks area.
• Shelly Park is one step closer to being the property of the City of Sparks after Monday’s meeting. The grassy patch south of Baring Boulevard that lies between North McCarran Boulevard and North Truckee Lane was being leased to the city by the Nevada Department of Transportation. The Nevada Department of Transportation has decided that the land is no longer necessary for its needs and has offered to relinquish the title of the land to the city. The city is moving forward with the park’s acquisition.
• As the new Sparks Master Plan rolls closer to completion, the council endorsed the conceptual master plan for utilities in the Sparks area. The plan specified that one service provider be assigned per utility service.
The Master Plan is the guiding document for future growth in Sparks and covers topics such as land use, public facilities, infrastructure, natural resources and transportation among other topics.
• The council approved funding that will meld the regional Hazard Mitigation Plans for several municipalities into one regional plan. The participating jurisdictions are Washoe County, the City of Sparks, the City of Reno, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The price tag for rewriting and redesigning the plans totals more than $65,000. A state grant is funding 75 percent of the cost. Each municipality must fund the remaining 25 percent. The City of Sparks approved its share of the bill for plan-writing, which is $5,000.
• City Council members had elections on their minds as they reviewed Bill 2572, an ordinance providing for the conducting and holding of the 2008 municipal elections. According to the Sparks City Charter, the City Council must oversee any city election process.
• Council members heard the first reading of a bill that redefines the City’s municipal code definitions and taxes concerning transient lodging. The redefinition is necessary in order to bring the city’s code in line with a new Nevada state law. The bill redefines fees that room operators must pay when providing transient lodging.
• The council set new environmental control inspection fees for hazardous materials. The fees will take effect May 1. The increase will be phased in, rising each year on Jan. 1. The motion passed, with a no from councilman Ron Schmitt.
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