OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sparks City Council Meeting - September 8, 2025

City Council & Boards — Monday, September 8, 2025
BodySparks, Nevada
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateMonday, September 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:48

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Let's call the order of the Spark City Council meeting for September 8th with a roll call.

0:15

Mayor Lawson here.

0:16

Council members Abbott.

0:17

Manuel?

0:18

Here.

0:18

Anderson is absent.

0:20

Baby?

0:20

Here.

0:21

Rodriguez.

0:22

City Attorney Duncan.

0:23

City Manager Louthan.

0:25

We have a quorum.

0:26

Thank you.

0:26

Thank you.

0:26

All right.

0:27

Let's move on to our opening ceremonies.

0:29

Our invocation speaker today is Pastor Barb West.

0:39

Thank you, Mayor.

0:41

Thank you, everyone.

0:43

Would you buy our Heavenly Father?

0:48

How thankful we are that we can come to you to ask you to be here with us with our city council.

0:56

We're so thankful for Mayor Ed Lawson and this beautiful city council members that you put together.

1:05

Thank you for that.

1:06

We live in this place called Sparks.

1:10

We pray that you would bless it and continue to give wisdom to our leaders, Lord, that they might lead us into the future.

1:20

Thank you for our police department and our police chief and all of our law enforcement officers that work so hard to keep us safe.

1:31

Thank you too, Lord, for the school teachers and for youth who are interested in government.

1:40

Thank you that they're here today.

1:43

Lord, we just want to thank you for all that you do for us and ask you to continue to be with us in Jesus' name.

1:51

Amen.

1:54

Diamond will you lead us in the pledge, please?

1:57

Please join me.

1:58

I pledge.

2:06

One nation, individual with clarity, and justice.

2:14

Okay.

2:18

All right, we're gonna move right into public comment.

2:20

I only have one, and that's my guys from Sky Ranch Middle School.

2:25

Come on up.

2:26

I got a seat for two of you.

2:27

One of you can stand, but go right in front of the see where the microphones are.

2:32

Yes.

2:32

Go ahead and have a seat there, Micah.

2:35

And then you one of you can sit in the other chair and stand.

2:44

My name is Ben.

2:47

We're students from Scarin' Middle School in Spinach Springs.

2:51

Um we are here to discuss the problem with uh electric motorcycles in our community.

3:00

Um we have seen like a recent uptick in the problems with them.

3:05

Uh so we were gonna we were coming here to uh talk about the problems that we saw.

3:12

Um really become a problem.

3:16

All these kids have been using them as they're not just writing, they're not just writing e-bikes, writing lights uh don't follow in the city ordinances.

3:27

Our city ordinance that I read off this mark says that it might have less than 750 uh watts is that mouth when it goes full speed, and it must weigh less than a hundred pounds without the rider on them.

3:43

These the bike these e-bikes that these kids are riding now, they weigh more than a hundred pounds with provider on it.

3:49

Some make over 8,000 watts.

3:53

Some of these bikes faster than a hundred speed uh e-bikes were created to make transportation easier, but they weren't really created to make it much safer.

4:07

And um, they've now introduced a what we want to introduce a public safety problem, just like during uh yeah.

4:17

Um, we just want we it's easier, but we want that easier to also be safer.

4:26

We're here to discuss the problems with it.

4:30

And we're gonna have you back on the 22nd for a meeting.

4:33

You're gonna give a presentation in our presentation space.

4:36

We couldn't get you on because of open meeting laws for today.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████20%
Health Awareness█████████████████17%
Arts And Culture████████████████16%
Community Engagement████████8%
Public Safety███████7%
Racial Equity█████5%
Technology and Innovation█████5%
Health Insurance█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Sparks City Council Meeting - September 8, 2025

The Sparks City Council met on September 8, 2025, with Mayor Lawson presiding. Council members Abbott, Manuel, Baby, and Rodriguez were present; Council member Anderson was absent. City Attorney Duncan and City Manager Louthan were also in attendance. The meeting included proclamations, public comments from two middle school students, and approval of several contracts and agreements. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the agenda as submitted.
  • Approved the minutes of the August 25, 2025 meeting.
  • Approved consent items 8.1 and 8.2 (routine items).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Two students from Sky Ranch Middle School, Ben and Micah, addressed the council regarding the rising use of electric motorcycles in the community. They cited city ordinance requirements (less than 750 watts, under 100 pounds without rider) and noted that many e-bikes exceed these limits, creating a public safety problem. The mayor invited them to present a full presentation at the September 22 meeting.

Proclamations and Recognitions

  • Citizenship Day (September 17, 2025): Proclamation recognizing Citizenship Day. Jose Espana Jimenez, a new U.S. citizen (naturalized August 22, 2025), spoke about the immigrant experience and the importance of inclusion.
  • Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15, 2025): Proclamation read by Councilman Rodriguez. Jeffette Sanchez, director of the Latino Research Center at UNR, highlighted upcoming events including a mural unveiling (Sept 15) and the Nuestra Presencia conference (Oct 16-17).
  • FTD Awareness Month: Proclamation read by the clerk. Scott, a resident, shared his personal story of his father’s battle with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) and his volunteer work to support caregivers. He noted the AFTD.org website for resources.
  • Accentuate the Positive Day (September 15, 2025): Proclamation for Truckee Meadows Tomorrow’s event. Board president Edward Estepona encouraged positivity on social media. The event is sold out with 350 attendees celebrating 22 individuals and organizations.

Discussion Items

  • 9.1 – Heat Loop Boiler Project at TMWRF: Mensor Griffin, Plant Manager, presented a request to authorize reimbursement to the City of Reno for Sparks’ share of a construction contract not to exceed $3 million (Sparks share: $941,100). The project addresses a mechanical failure of a heat exchanger that compromised the heat loop system. The bid period closes later in the week; long-lead equipment expected Nov-Dec. The Reno City Council approved on August 27, 2025. Approved unanimously.
  • 9.2 – Information Security Services Agreement: Ty Reed, IT Security Manager, presented a three-year agreement with Ad Lumen (Summit Partners) for $407,200, payable in three annual installments of $135,733.34. The contract is a continuation of existing 24/7 threat monitoring services, locking in a 10% savings. Approved unanimously.

Public Hearings

  • 10.1 – CDBG Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER): KC Chavlin presented the report for program year 5 (FY2024-2025). The city received $688,234 in new CDBG funds, plus carryover and program income, totaling $1,258,973 available. $870,763.66 was expended or obligated, including housing rehabilitation, fair housing, public services, and planning. A $330,000 CDBG-CV project (Deer Park Place) was put on hold but resumed; funds will roll into FY2025-2026. Approved unanimously.
  • 10.2 – MOU with Sparks Police Protective Association (SPPA): Shauna Halterman, HR Director, presented a MOU (AC-6149) clarifying language on health insurance eligibility upon retirement. No financial impact. Approved unanimously.
  • 10.3 – MOU with Sparks Police Supervisory Protective Association (Sergeants): Identical MOU (AC-6150) for sergeants. Approved unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All items on the agenda were approved unanimously.
  • The two students from Sky Ranch Middle School were invited to give a presentation on e-bike safety at the September 22 meeting.
  • Proclamations were issued for Citizenship Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, FTD Awareness Month, and Accentuate the Positive Day.
  • The council authorized up to $941,100 for the heat loop boiler project and $407,200 for information security services.
  • The CDBG CAPER was approved for submission to HUD.
  • Two MOUs with police associations clarifying health insurance retirement language were approved.

Meeting Transcript

Let's call the order of the Spark City Council meeting for September 8th with a roll call. Mayor Lawson here. Council members Abbott. Manuel? Here. Anderson is absent. Baby? Here. Rodriguez. City Attorney Duncan. City Manager Louthan. We have a quorum. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Let's move on to our opening ceremonies. Our invocation speaker today is Pastor Barb West. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, everyone. Would you buy our Heavenly Father? How thankful we are that we can come to you to ask you to be here with us with our city council. We're so thankful for Mayor Ed Lawson and this beautiful city council members that you put together. Thank you for that. We live in this place called Sparks. We pray that you would bless it and continue to give wisdom to our leaders, Lord, that they might lead us into the future. Thank you for our police department and our police chief and all of our law enforcement officers that work so hard to keep us safe. Thank you too, Lord, for the school teachers and for youth who are interested in government. Thank you that they're here today. Lord, we just want to thank you for all that you do for us and ask you to continue to be with us in Jesus' name. Amen. Diamond will you lead us in the pledge, please? Please join me. I pledge. One nation, individual with clarity, and justice. Okay. All right, we're gonna move right into public comment. I only have one, and that's my guys from Sky Ranch Middle School. Come on up. I got a seat for two of you. One of you can stand, but go right in front of the see where the microphones are. Yes. Go ahead and have a seat there, Micah. And then you one of you can sit in the other chair and stand. My name is Ben. We're students from Scarin' Middle School in Spinach Springs. Um we are here to discuss the problem with uh electric motorcycles in our community. Um we have seen like a recent uptick in the problems with them. Uh so we were gonna we were coming here to uh talk about the problems that we saw. Um really become a problem. All these kids have been using them as they're not just writing, they're not just writing e-bikes, writing lights uh don't follow in the city ordinances.

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