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Record of Proceedings

Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - August 18, 2026

Board of Supervisors — Tuesday, August 18, 2026
BodyCarson City, Nevada
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateTuesday, August 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:07:59

Original source
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1:17

Made it on time.

1:20

All right.

1:21

Um welcome to the parks and recreation commission meeting.

1:26

Um we're calling this meeting to order at 5 30.

1:29

And we'll start off with roll call to establish a quorum.

1:33

Chair McDermott present.

1:35

Vice Chair Shuty.

1:36

Here.

1:37

Commissioner Baker Roberts.

1:39

Commissioner Fazer.

1:41

Commissioner Meyer.

1:42

Here.

1:43

Commissioner Moan.

1:44

Here.

1:44

And Commissioner Walt.

1:46

Here.

1:46

We have a quorum.

1:48

Awesome.

1:50

Rolling in to item number three, uh, public comment.

1:54

Anyone from the public is welcome to come up.

1:57

Mr.

1:58

French, please write your name on the form in front.

2:02

We have three minutes.

2:12

Thank you very much, Denny French.

2:14

I'm very pleased to be here.

2:19

Anyhow, the deal is that I have concerned about a tree at the senior center.

2:24

And I would like someone to alert Mr.

2:27

Tonsett, Bob's pants said he's the arborist.

2:31

It's stressed.

2:32

I don't see a water source, and it is in dire stress.

2:37

I'd also like to applaud whoever is working with the Ronald D.

2:42

Wilson considerations to put a pollinator landscape area in.

3:00

But it sounds like a great idea, and I'd like to hear it considered for many more of the parks.

3:06

There are areas in it that would be perfect and help with the corridor considerations.

3:45

It was brought up by an individual at the public comment point.

4:31

Anybody have any questions, comments, concerns about them.

4:38

And do we have a motion to approve the uh PRC minutes from Monday, June 15th, 2026?

4:45

Perfect.

4:46

We have a second.

4:49

Thank you, Kurt.

4:50

And the minutes are approved.

4:55

All those in favor?

4:56

Aye.

4:58

Any opposed.

5:00

Perfect.

5:03

All right.

5:04

Item five A for discussion, the presentation of record and recognition of parks, recreation, and open space.

5:13

Department employees for outstanding customer service.

5:16

And I'll pass it to Jen.

5:18

Thank you, Mr.

5:19

Chair.

5:19

Jennifer Budge, Parks and Recreation Director.

5:22

As you know, we have some really amazing staff.

5:25

We often hear complaints and we don't really provide an avenue for the public to be able to share the positive feedback that they encounter with our staff every day.

5:35

So we created the Parks MVP program.

5:37

And this is our first kind of real presentation to acknowledge those staff that we've heard from the public.

5:43

And we got dozens and dozens of emails from the public just talking about how wonderful our staff is.

5:49

And I wanted to read a few of the quotes that we received from the public.

5:54

Um and just take a minute to acknowledge them for all their hard work because they work so hard for all of us, and we should all take some time just to make sure we say thank you.

6:05

So uh Nate and the guys were wonderful at my husband's service and was successful and it was successful due to their efforts.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation███████████████████████████████████████39%
Urban Forestry████████████████16%
Trail Planning██████████████14%
Memorandum Of Understanding█████5%
Fundraising████4%
Public Comment████4%
Procedural███3%
Education Funding███3%
Public Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - August 18, 2026

At 5:30 PM on August 18, 2026, the Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission met to discuss recognition of staff, a bike park partnership, urban forestry, and departmental updates. The meeting included public comments, unanimous approval of minutes, a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for a bike park MOU, and staff presentations.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the June 15, 2026 joint meeting with the Open Space Advisory Committee were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Denny French expressed concern about a stressed tree at the senior center and praised the consideration of a pollinator landscape area at Ronald D. Wilson Park. He also requested that facilities like restrooms and parking be included in bike park planning.
  • Charles Norria (Muscle Powered board member) supported the bike park, noting that trail building is a high-growth recreation segment (6-7% per year) and that Carson City is one of the last major municipalities without a bike park.

Discussion Items

  • 5a – Parks MVP Program Recognition: Director Jennifer Budge highlighted positive public feedback and presented tokens of appreciation to staff. Top MVPs Nate Delaney, Christy Sanchez, and Chad Singer received extra gift certificates.
  • 5b – Bike Park Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): Dan Thornton (Muscle Powered) presented plans for a bike park at Centennial Park, funded by Muscle Powered with no city cash commitment. The MOU enables fundraising, design, and development but does not authorize construction. Commissioners discussed cost uncertainties, city oversight, potential fees, and insurance. Edits were made to remove “optional” from section 5.2 and correct numbering. The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval to the Board of Supervisors.
  • 5c – Urban Forestry Program Update: Dave Navarro (Park Operations Superintendent) and arborist Bob Tonseth reported on tree die-off, irrigation upgrades, tree mapping (TreeKeeper), and planting projects. Challenges include outdated irrigation systems, limited staff, and funding reductions ($150,000 in FY2025-26 dropped to $50,000 in FY2026-27). Future plans include heat mapping, right-tree-right-place planting, and a public “See Something, Say Something” campaign. Denny French commented on the importance of sustained tree care.
  • 6a – Director’s Report: Updates included new hires (Madison Pong, Tristan Lopez), promotion of Aaron Larson, federal lands bill progress (passed Senate committee), receipt of $14.9 million SNPLMA grant for Mills Park, and planned Parks and Recreation Master Plan update. Commissioner Walt noted the Fourth of July event success with traffic clearing in 33 minutes.
  • 7a – School Board Liaison: Molly Walt reported that recess policy passed, North Lompa Ranch property is owned by the school district but use is undecided due to declining enrollment, and Empire Elementary safety improvements were well received.
  • 7b – Foundation for Carson City Parks and Recreation: Update on new flags, flag restoration, and an upcoming golf tournament in October.

Key Outcomes

  • Approval of Minutes: Unanimously approved.
  • Recommendation to Board of Supervisors: The commission voted (6-0) to recommend approval of the Bike Park MOU with Muscle Powered, as amended.
  • Urban Forestry Program: The department will continue CIP requests for irrigation and tree planting, pursue grant opportunities, and launch a public reporting campaign in spring 2027.
  • Future Agenda Items: An e-bike survey (over 650 responses) and open house on August 24 were noted. Commissioner Moan requested a future update on pollinator gardens and community garden opportunities.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:21 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Made it on time. All right. Um welcome to the parks and recreation commission meeting. Um we're calling this meeting to order at 5 30. And we'll start off with roll call to establish a quorum. Chair McDermott present. Vice Chair Shuty. Here. Commissioner Baker Roberts. Commissioner Fazer. Commissioner Meyer. Here. Commissioner Moan. Here. And Commissioner Walt. Here. We have a quorum. Awesome. Rolling in to item number three, uh, public comment. Anyone from the public is welcome to come up. Mr. French, please write your name on the form in front. We have three minutes. Thank you very much, Denny French. I'm very pleased to be here. Anyhow, the deal is that I have concerned about a tree at the senior center. And I would like someone to alert Mr. Tonsett, Bob's pants said he's the arborist. It's stressed. I don't see a water source, and it is in dire stress. I'd also like to applaud whoever is working with the Ronald D. Wilson considerations to put a pollinator landscape area in. But it sounds like a great idea, and I'd like to hear it considered for many more of the parks. There are areas in it that would be perfect and help with the corridor considerations. It was brought up by an individual at the public comment point. Anybody have any questions, comments, concerns about them. And do we have a motion to approve the uh PRC minutes from Monday, June 15th, 2026? Perfect. We have a second. Thank you, Kurt. And the minutes are approved. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed. Perfect. All right. Item five A for discussion, the presentation of record and recognition of parks, recreation, and open space. Department employees for outstanding customer service. And I'll pass it to Jen. Thank you, Mr.

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