Good morning.

I'd like to call the meeting for the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners to order at 1001 on February 17th, 2026.

And I'd like to, if I could start with asking Mr.

Brooks again, salute to the flag.

And to the republic for which it stands.

Thank you.

We'll move now to roll call.

Chair Andreola.

Present.

Vice Chair Garcia.

Commissioner Garcia.

I mean Commissioner Hill.

Here.

Commissioner Clark.

Present.

And Commissioner Herman via phone.

Here.

County Manager Kate Thomas.

Chief Deputy DA Mike Clarge.

Present.

And I'm Jan Gallisini or County Clerk, Madam, you have a quorum.

Thank you.

We are going to share that the invocation due to weather will be rescheduled.

So we'll move now to item four.

Chief Edwards.

Actually, it's 4A1 to be technical.

Perfect.

Good morning, Madam Chair, Madam Vice Chair, Manager Thomas and Commissioners.

Richard Edwards, Fire Chief, Chucky Meadows Fire and Rescue.

Here to share some important fire safety updates.

In the last month or so, since we've been providing this information and out in the community talking about wildfire preparedness, we've been getting a lot of questions about home hardening and so forth.

So I want to just provide a quick overview, if I can, use the overhead.

And talk a little bit about fire safety and wildfire preparedness real quick.

You would never know it with today's weather.

But now is the time to do our preparations because before we know it, fire season's going to be right around the corner.

And so we should take the advantages that we have now to take care of these things.

And what we talk about is uh home hardening, and there's different zones around our homes that we should be looking at.

Um at home, really is our vegetation management.

We're trying to look atwards.

I don't mean to interrupt, but did you have an overhead?

I I do if we can get the overhead.

Thought maybe we could check behind you.

There we go.

Voila.

All right.

Just like sorry to interrupt.

Thank you.

Um, so at home, really, vegetation management's the key.

We want to limit those flammable um vegetation in three different zones.

Uh the immediate zone is that zero to five foot zone, uh, closest to our home where it's the most vulnerable and should be rigorously maintained for fire resistance.

This is what we worry about during large wildfires where we get the ember casts that come through the neighborhoods where those embers are going to land up against the home.

And if there's something combustible there or flammable, that's what's going to catch your home on fire.

So ideally, we should have nothing combustible uh within that zero to five foot uh area.

So try to use rock instead of mulch, um, remove any plants, prune back those overhanging bushes and shrubs.

Um, we really don't want to see any fuels within about 10 feet of your chimney.

Um, and then no storage under decks.

Um, that's another big one and firewood piles.

Uh, we use a lot of firewood here in Washoe County, trying to make sure our residents don't store the firewood on their deck.

And I get it, there's a convenience factor to that, but it's also a great way to catch those embers and burn down your home.

Um, that the next zone is that immediate zone.

This is the five to thirty foot range, and this is where we want to really reduce the encroach encroaching fire's intensity by offering as little fuel as possible.

So we want to keep the grasses mowed down below four inches if possible, um, remove excess vegetation.

Um, we really like to see no trees within 30 feet of the home.

And if there are large trees there, try to trim them up uh six to ten feet from the ground so a ground fire does not become a crown fire and allow that fire to spread even more rapidly.

And then we want to make sure there's no branches of any of those trees hanging over the house within 10 feet of the structure.

Um, and then as your trees get out further than that, we want to make sure there's at least 10 feet between the tops of those trees amongst each other.

That way a fire does get in one, it doesn't travel to others.

Um, and then the the extended zone we look at is that 30 to 100 foot zone.

And then really the goal here is just we want to keep the fire on the ground if at all possible.

So we keep levels of the forest vegetation separated to avoid fuels or fires from spreading upwards.

Again, trying to keep those ladder fuels out.

So we don't want the fire to start in the grass, get into the stage brush or the manzanita or the rabbit brush, and then get up into the tree.

So if we can trim that out and keep it thin, we have a better way of protecting our homes.

And the more our homeowners can do to protect their homes, the better job we can do as firefighters because we have a limited number of resources here in the Washoe County for fire resources during a major incident.

So if you can do your part on the front end to protect your home, we can do our part to better protect it to get in there and protect it against the big fire.

If we come in and you have overgrown vegetation against your home, there's gonna be very little that we can do to protect your home during a major incident.

We just don't have enough resources to park a fire engine at everybody's home.

So some food for thought there.

Hopefully that helps.

I know we've had a lot of questions into our office about that in the last probably four to six weeks.

Um there is another uh big event coming up.

There's a community forum on February 24th here in the chambers at 5 30 um to talk about homeowners' insurance uh laws related to wildfire.

Um so Nevada Insurance Commissioner Ned Gaines will be present uh to provide an overview of the new law and how it pertains to homeowners and fire prone areas of Washoe County, as well as how insurers may implement the provisions and what resources are available to all of our homeowners.

Uh, following the presentation, we will also have representatives from Trucky Meadows Fire and Rescue and Washoe County Emergency Management uh will be present to discuss wildfire preparedness and risk reduction risk reduction efforts and personnel on uh at the ready to answer more questions regarding to vegetation management and so forth.

Uh the last item I wanted to share with the group today is that um on the regional fire service study board.

A quick update for that.

Uh Senate Bill 319 was passed during the 83rd session of the Nevada legislature, uh required uh required Washoe County, the city of Reno, and the city of Sparks to jointly establish a board by interlocal agreement to study options for the delivery of regional fire and emergency services in December.

Following a comprehensive request for proposal process, the study board selected emergent global solutions to conduct an independent regional fire and EMS feasibility efficiency and service enhancement study.

Uh the study board let met this last uh February 2nd, a couple Mondays ago.

Um, and at that meeting, the fire chiefs from Sparks and Reno and myself provided a joint presentation on the history of regional fire service delivery and governance here in Washoe County.

And this was important because at that same meeting, emergent global solutions was present to hear that presentation.

Um, and they also provided an introduction and an overview of their approach in conducting the study.

Um, and this past week, uh last Friday, actually, uh, Truckie Meadows Fire and Rescue staff had a project kickoff meeting with emergent global solutions leadership and then begin collecting documents and data to aid in this process.

And there's a lot of data that they're requesting for this process.

So uh hopefully this will be a very uh helpful and beneficial study.

Um I know there's gonna be a significant list lift for each of the three agencies to provide all that information with a final report due back to the regional fire board um in November of 2026.

So that concludes my brief update this morning.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Um I guess I'll also mention that it is the season because Living with Fire is also doing a summit on the 23rd and the 24th from 8 to 5 at the Joel Crowley Center at UNR.

So people are going to be well informed, but both on insurance and prevention.

So uh thank you so much for all you do, and thanks for all of your social media posts, especially with the weather, and you don't necessarily think of fire and and the weather that we're experiencing, but there is a correlation.

So thanks for sending that out.

Any other questions?

Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I just wanted to uh clarify the date on that was uh the 24th.

Yes.

And the time again was um 5:30 p.m.

530.

And the name of the new state fire uh excuse me, the new state insurance director.

Uh the Nevada Insurance Commissioner is Ned Games.

Thank you.

Commissioner Herman, do you have any questions or comments?

No, I don't.

Okay, thank you.

Do anything?

Yes.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Um, thank you, Chief Edwards.

I just wanted to piggyback on one of your last comments about the fire study board report.

So just so my colleagues in the public know, the the fire study board that we sit on, um, Chair Andrew and I, we will basically acknowledge receipt of that report in November.

It is not within our authority to approve A, B or C uh options that come forward in that report.

It will then go to the local jurisdictions for discussion and further uh development on that.

So thank you.

Thanks for that clarification.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

We'll move now to public comment.

Thank you, madam chair.

We are on to public comment and comment heard under this item will be limited to three minutes per person and may pertain to matters both on and off the commission agenda.

Unused time may not be allocated to other speakers.

The commission will also hear public comment during individual action items with comment limited to three minutes per person.

Comments are to be made to the commission as a whole, and virtual public comment may be taken when facilities are available.

First up, we have Alana Fitzgerald, followed by Terry Brooks.

Good morning.

Good morning.

So Alana Fitzgerald for the record.

And good morning, Chair Andreola, Vice Chair.

Um Garcia and Commissioners.

Uh, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

I am a constituent in District One, and I'm thankful to my commissioner and all of you who do the work on our behalf.

I think I thank you for the support that the county provided to the Library Board of Trustees with the work on the 26-27 budget, the budget process and the oversight of the library system during the absence of a director and assistant director.

Um assistant county manager Solera was a stabilizing force, and I'm thankful for all he and his staff did.

This leads me, though, to ask one question and to bring up one issue.

I know the question can't be answered during public comment, but possibly at some time in the future.

That question is why don't we have a commissioner who functions as a liaison between the library system andor the board of trustees?

I know it's asking for yet another duty for one or more of the commissioners, but I hope that uh it can be explained why this isn't in place and consider it for the future.

The issue I want to bring up to the forefront is twofold.

First, we have two trustees whose terms are up this June.

This will give you all the opportunity to carefully consider the renewal or replacement of sitting trustees.

If one or more is replaced, um, all candidates' backgrounds, knowledge of how boards function, um, and willingness to honor the charge of protecting our libraries will be critical for any new trustee.

And secondly, the second part of that is the challenge from this last year.

We have also raised um awareness about the need for significant training for for new trustees.

One example is understanding the county budget and how those things function.

This, I believe, would be helpful to helpful to mitigate a repeat of the level of support that was needed by the county this last year.

And in closing, I believe we all understand how important it is to have a healthy and vibrant public library system, and which in turn helps to keep our community and county healthy and vibrant as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Terry Brooks.

Good morning.

It's me, Terry Brooks again.

And today I'd like to engage in the topic of discrimination when it comes to health and age.

Because elderly people find themselves less likely to be employed, they might have less access to health insurance because of being unemployed.

And if they don't regularly work, they'll get less physical exercise.

And without good physical and mental health, they put themselves in compromise.

If the elderly are not employed and spend more time at home, they might waste time just sitting there and writing poem after poem.

And if they're not very active and don't work up an appetite, then they won't eat very much and won't sleep very well at night.

And spending less time around other people because they have no profession could cause them to lead themselves into a state of depression.

And when so many elderly people develop more disabilities, doing so they can lead to losing their previous abilities.

Not having very much action eventually leads to even less action.

And the act goes on and on developing a chain reaction.

The older a lot of people get, the more time they spend by themselves.

And by doing so, then they're less likely to be able to care for themselves.

And the older you get, the more it leads to poor physical health.

And that can then lead to state of poor mental health.

There are a lot of people who see the elderly as of no use.

Well, a lot of elderly people can't defend themselves from physical abuse.

Some refuse to help the elderly.

They refuse to understand that the elderly don't just need help, but they also deserve a helping hand.

No matter how old you are, you have a right to live.

But there are those who discriminate while others are willing to give.

Thank you.

Marisella Gusta Gutierrez Rodriguez.

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today regarding agenda item 91.

On behalf of the community foundation, I want to express our appreciation for your consideration of this allocation to support nonprofit capacity building in Washoe County.

Nonprofits are essential public partners.

They deliver critical services, extend the reach of government, and respond quickly to community needs.

However, many operate with limited administrative infrastructure, thinning staff models, and significant funding restrictions.

When organizational systems are fragile, service delivery is also vulnerable.

The nonprofit capacity building collaborative is designed to address that structural gap rather than funding one-time programs.

This initiative invests in the underlying systems of organizations and enables them to operate effectively and sustainably.

This includes organizational health assessments, technical assistance, coaching, cohort-based leadership and development to strengthen governance, financial management, and long-term sustainability.

This model supports 20 to 25 organizations based in Washoe County, equipping them with the tools and practices to improve accountability, operational infrastructure, and financial resilience.

In practical terms, that means stronger nonprofits deliver more reliable services, steward public funding more effectively, and reduce the risk of associated financial or operational instability.

This allocation partially funds the first year of a three-year pilot supported by public and philanthropic partners.

It really represents a shared commitment to strengthening the nonprofit ecosystem that so many Washoe County residents depend on.

Capacity building may happen behind the scenes, but its outcomes are visible, whether it's sustainable housing programs or reliable food distribution, or countless other community supports.

We really appreciate your leadership in recognizing that strong nonprofits infrastructure is foundational to public service delivery.

Thank you so much for the consideration and the partnership.

Thank you.

Veronica Cortez Good morning, everybody.

Veronica Cortez here, your favorite lunch lady again.

Happy belated Valentine's Day.

But y'all are lovely ladies, and I hope you got lots of roses.

Anyway, here today, because last time I was here, I was talking about running for county commissioner district five.

You know, there's seven people in that race, so I decided to pull out.

But you know, there's a spot for the Nevada Legislature District 27, which would be working with Garcia.

And so, you know, I'm gonna run in that race.

So I will be running in Nevada Assembly District 27 race, and I've been doing some talks and I got some backing.

So I'm excited about that.

So if you see my signs out there, Veronica Cortez Tamatini.

Anyway, I'm here now because I put a post on Facebook.

And I would like to verbatim the post just because it has started a war in Sun Valley.

It says, I'm not okay with vendors selling in Sun Valley without proper licensing.

We could definitely use the income, and it's not fair that I have to take out all the license and permits for my businesses when Californians can come over and just break the law whenever they want.

Veronica for Better Nevada.

I tagged Mari Lus and I said, This is exactly why we are in the situation that we are, we deserve respect.

And I am talking in regards to all the vendors that come on Valentine's Day and decide to sell their flowers and their chocolates and their stuffed animals.

That's fine.

I think it's fair that they have to fill these out.

It's $25 for a DBA, $78 for the county license, 200 for the state license.

So me as a notar, I went out to all these vendors.

I made these little packets and I handed them.

And I said, look, let me help you fill these out so that you'll be able to sell all year long.

And I was even gonna do it for free.

And all I got was backlash.

I got the Hispanic communities to turn against me saying how I was a racist, how I think I'm not even gonna say.

Whoever picks it up, my apologies, but I was I was heated.

We had both sides, we had everybody who owns a business in Sun Valley saying, yeah, it's fair, they should take out their businesses.

And then we have the Hispanics coming back saying that I'm racist, I'm the my father's Hispanic.

I sit on the cab in Sun Valley and I represent the Hispanics.

And I'm very sad to see that our community is divided over legal legalities and not being legal, and they turn it into a race war.

So that's where I stand on that.

Thank you for your work.

Have a great day.

Thank you.

Eileen Eglund.

Good morning, Commissioners.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

For the record, my name is Eileen Eklund, and I'm here today to voice my concerns about the upcoming 2026 elections.

First, though, I'd like to thank the staff of the Washoe County Registrar voters for all their hard work under often difficult conditions over the past few years, which have included major turnovers in staffing and leadership, staff shortages, technical and process challenges, and an unfortunate barrage of threats and harassment from some members of the public.

It seems that the department has made important improvements to help get us back on the right track.

I commend the staff for persevering through the turmoil and coming to work each day, determined to make our voting process more accessible, transparent, accountable, and fair.

That said, I'm concerned about the challenges that they and we will face this year.

In this time of extreme political division, we need to be able to trust that our elections will continue to be free and fair.

This requires not only transparency and accountability, but a commitment to making voter and voting accessible and open to all who are legally eligible to vote.

Unfortunately, voter suppression and intimidation are very real concerns in our current current political climate.

And now we have the additional threat of the president asserting that the federal government should take over the administration of elections that have always, always in our country's history, been the responsibility of state and local government.

That's in our constitution.

This threat of federal oversight and control is unprecedented and clearly driven by partisanship.

On top of this, the Department of Justice is demanding that Nevada turn over its complete unredacted voter registration list, which contains sensitive information about voters statewide.

Many fear the administration could use this information to disqualify eligible voters, to challenge the legitimacy of election results that do not favor their candidates and issues, and to target political enemies.

Simply put, I'm here today to ask this commission to make a promise to us, your constituents, that you will stand strong in the defense of our election processes and of our rights as voters, the rights of all voters, regardless of political affiliations and beliefs.

And I will I hope we'll see that on an upcoming agenda very soon.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

There's nobody else signed in, and there's nobody virtually.

Thank you.

So we'll now move to item six.

Commissioner and County Manager announcements.

Manager Thomas.

Thank you.

This item is reports and updates to include boards and commission updates, requests for information or topics for future agendas.

I do have a couple items, if I may, Madam Chair.

Of course.

Um, so we have a couple of changes to the agenda today with our inclement weather, um, and we appreciate everybody that did make it and and joining us today, but we are um going to be removing item 7a1, which is our first presentation.

Our speaker was able to make it due to the weather.

So 7A1 is was Milt Stewart from Nevada Works.

So we'll reschedule that one so that he can appear before the board at another time.

And then we're going to be pulling item 11 from today's agenda as well.

And so with those agenda changes, um, I also wanted to mention, I know there was a question about when the registrar voters would be coming before the board, and that's on the 17th of March.

So March 17th, you'll be seeing a presentation from the ROB.

Um, so just so you know that.

And then just wanted to remind everybody with the weather that we do have um, I was looking just now at the shelter census, and we have a dashboard that provides a real-time snapshot of bed occupancy across Washoe County for our housing and homeless services.

I am showing eight beds available uh currently, and just to remind those out there that are seeking shelter, we do have emergency overflow shelter.

We open during extreme weather.

We have warming centers, um, so we always have capacity for individuals to get out of the weather.

So just wanted to put that on the record for you as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Um, I just want to uh salute everyone who came out in the weather and made it in today.

This is uh was a long drive in from Washoe Valley, I'll tell you.

So no snow tires and uh four-wheel drive, and uh I saw uh one snow plow is all I saw, but it was a tough drive in, took over an hour to get in.

So didn't see anybody in the ditch, didn't see anybody wrecking, spinning out, so that was a good thing.

Thank you.

Commissioner Hill.

Vice Chair.

All right.

Well, I too wanna share with everyone that um you made it safely.

And I hope today and actually the rest of the few days, everyone's really safe.

Commissioner Herman, do you have anything?

I do not thank you.

All right, hearing no other comments, we'll move now to item seven uh presentation.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I mentioned 7A1 is going to be rescheduled, so we're on 7B1, which is a presentation by Dr.

Chad Kingsley, who's our district health officer.

He's here to discuss the accountability and the impact of an active well-resourced public health district.

And we welcome Dr.

Kingsley.

Hello.

Hello, good morning.

Dr.

Chad Kingsley, district health officer for the record.

Thank you, Chair, as well as commissioners for this opportunity just to come and update our last six months.

Uh, you've received our presentation and executive breeze, so I'll be concise and just focus on a few key uh key themes from that presentation.

Um, at its core, northern northern Nevada Public Health exists to prevent first, detect early, respond fast, and protect the community every day, not just during emergencies.

And what I want to emphasize today is that Northern Nevada Public Health is delivering measurable value, even a year where public health funding volatility and workforce constraints are becoming the new normal.

Just uh reviewing over one uh points that you received, but want to go ahead and go to uh discuss our channel chip.

Uh so pivoting to that because it's uh foundation, everything that follows and much that we do.

Uh Northern Nevada Public Health in partnership with Renown conducted 15 focus groups with 600 plus survey responses, and we reported that recently in a public forum uh held in quarter one of this year, January.

So this process is just not a report, it's a consensus building tool for the entire regional health system.

It's also a tool that our nonprofits can use to apply for grants.

The CHA identified uh eight priority findings, mental health, access to health services, economic stability, health risk behaviors and early detection, violence prevention and crime, environmental sustainability, substance abuse, and maternal child health.

Now, the newest one on here is number three, economic stability.

That's the first time it's ever appeared.

And so our uh our community is is concerned about our economic stability and what we can uh as not only for our health care, especially focused, but how that overall impacts our community at large.

The important part, none of these priorities can be solved by public health alone, but public health can lead the system that solves them.

This is the role Northern Nova Public Health is increasingly playing.

My conveyor, a data authority, and a trusted operational partner.

Uh air quality, have those numbers uh there before you some great work there.

We uh helped to advocate for clean transit, and uh the 2.15 million grant for hybrid buses was granted.

So great community partnership there, and the wonderful work of our staff with 99% on time on plan reviews.

Community health, and uh, two points in here they like to emphasize.

And recently there was a media over the weekend.

Uh it's gonna start with the pertussis or whooping cough uh because it's a clear example why surveillance capacity matters.

So in 2024, we had eight cases.

In 2025, we had 40 cases.

So this is not a rounding error, it's a signal.

And uh we recently had another exposure over this past weekend of another school and uh another case this morning.

Uh but in 2025, we had two high school exposure events with over 200 students.

And the key point is protests is just not a school problem, it becomes a system problem because when exposures events occur occur, families seek testing, clinics run out of supplies, and providers quickly uh deplete post-exposure prophylactis medications.

So our epidemiology and disease survey surveillance team is doing what the public expects.

They're finding cases early, notifying contacts, and reducing spread.

But to be transparent, we are approaching the practical limits of surveillance and contact tracing capacity, not because of performance, but because of volume and workforce uh constraints.

And that is what exactly why maintaining sustaining disease surveillance remains one of our top operational priorities going in 2026.

Uh with that, transitioning to our new tuberculosis building, which is very exciting.

So it's not just a ribbon cutting, which we are inviting you all to uh come and participate with us, and hopefully we have good weather by then.

But tuberculosis is one of the most complex and resource-intensive infectious disease and public that public health manages.

And as Northern Nevada Public Health sustains uh tuberculosis control year after year with high adherence and case management, this TB building uh funded through ARPA represents something very important.

Long-term capacity, infection control, operational readiness, and a stable clinical home for some of our most valuable patients.

This is what responsible infrastructure investment looks like.

It's not flashy, it's not up, it's not optional, but it's essential.

And we uh so we expect the TB Clinic to be uh up and functioning by April 1st.

It is 100% been on time, so it's a very good success for us, so no delays.

Um environmental health services continued to uh deliver um our quality inspections for our community as well as transparency towards that.

We managed over 400 inspections at the uh nugget rib cook-off, even when there was a small tsunami of water the first day it was opening.

But hot August nights, Great Italian festival.

Um we offer our AMC courses, but uh on average we did with about foodborne disease complaints about six to ten a month on those points.

Uh we also have maintained 92 to 98 percent of our current commercial plan reviews, uh improvements since uh since I began, and it's when we've met our 14-day goal.

We also had a uh third-party EHS uh come in and evaluate, and one thing from that that we're beginning to pilot is announced visits to all our permitting, so not just surprise inspections, but uh we'll be following two different uh articles or uh studies that did that so we can deliver that to our community.

So we listen to our community and we're able to deliver that.

Um we did get a PFES grant, uh PFAS grant two with sampling of uh safe drinking water, even though the federal government has removed all EPA regulations for PFAS in water now.

We still have the grant and we'll still be able to deliver that for our community.

So another great point.

Um lastly, so yeah, continuing with our public health department.

Just want to uh the IHCC, which is the inner health care uh community collaborative health care uh collaborative, had their highest uh attendance this past month.

Uh it's a wonderful uh venue that uh EMS hospitals come together to prepare and discuss for emergencies, but also how we are coordinating here within our uh community for cross uh collaboration.

Um recently we did uh secure a new franchise agreement for EMS to continue delivery uh stable and uh EMS service to our community through REMSA, and as we move forward with that as a being able to continue to deliver and analyze and have enhanced data for performance.

Vital records, very strong.

We are um there are more deaths than births, but that is a normal trend that we are seeing across the nation, uh, but continue to do high numbers in uh providing that service to our community.

So overall, just want to go ahead and um close with and the value of Northern Northern Nevada Public Health is not theoretical, it's measurable.

It shows up in faster detection, fewer outbreaks, safer food, cleaner air, resilient EMS oversight, and stable services for families.

It's often said that when we do our job, we're not noticed or you don't know we're there.

So uh as we move into 2026, our priorities are clear.

We sustain disease surveillance capacity, open and operationalize the TB clinic, finalize EMS franchise revisions, continue modernization and performance accountability.

Commissioners, thank you for your partnership and thank you for supporting the staff of Northern Nevada Public Health.

They're doing exceptional work for this community every day.

Thank you.

Do we have any questions?

Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Doctor, for your for your report.

I notice on the report that you didn't talk about anything about uh the space of your staff.

I know I've been over there a few times and just seems to be very jammed in there, very sardine-like, and the way you're jammed in and all the paperwork that's involved and files and so forth.

Any any plans in the future for fixing that or getting a little more elbow room for your your folks?

Yeah, highly appreciate that.

And we are focused on that with the TB building, it's kind of been a spark because we have some additional spacing over there that we're gonna be able to put staff in.

But the county's also made available a section of the C building that's currently under construction.

Um, we're just trying to secure funding so we can move some cubicles around and update our equipment and get some more elbow room.

So we do we won't be playing a shell game, and so I've been very transparent with my staff because sometimes when you say you are going to move someone, it's very challenging where they feel at home and where they're at in their cubicle or in their office.

But uh we are uh working with leadership and we're analyzing to provide everyone more room and be able to have C as well tuberculous.

So we should have some breathing room by the end by July 1st, we hope to to be able to move staff around.

And thanks for us coming under budget with our ARPA.

And since it's capital improvement, we can use any remaining money from the TB building for capital improvement here in this building.

So we should be able to be able to swing to provide some more elbow room for our staff.

And I highly appreciate that.

Thank you.

Thank you for for your insight on that.

Could you come back to and give us a report when that happens?

I I know it's just good for morale for the for this for the folks that work here.

Uh without without the staff, we wouldn't have anything and and just to be jammed into work and a very constricted area.

Uh it just it's just not good working conditions.

And so anything we can do to help your staff get some get some room to move a bit.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Appreciate it.

And just to um, with that, also we want to thank the county for their recent movement towards a carpool, which would actually help us many of our staff to be able to start in the field if they're doing inspections or to end the day in the field, too.

So we're being more economical with our time at those points.

But uh I'm here every six months for accountability, and I'll happily report on that when I come back.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Commissioner Hill.

Thank you.

And thank you for that report.

I'm so glad to see mental health as one of the top priorities.

We're all working as a region to see what we can do to support that.

I have major concerns about uninsured Nevadans.

And I'm just curious what are the discussions that you're having as a board?

And um, I mean, I know we're limited in what we can do on the county level, but I had heard from some experts that we'd be seeing potentially more of a crisis, like more of a crisis than when Obamacare came online.

And I'm just curious what the thoughts are and um you know what what you're looking at as a district.

So the insurance coverage here, and so thank you for it.

Great question because it permeates almost everything that we're doing.

And we're high concerns, even with our EMS, you know, so that's one point two.

How is that going to impact our EMS services here in our community?

Will the average bill go up?

And how best do we triage those patients that perhaps aren't a priority one, or we can in a better transport or meet their needs, because we as a healthcare system, we can see uh the potential historically what we see is the emergency departments become primary care.

So individuals only go to them when they don't have insurance because they have to be seen.

Um for us, we tend to be the safety net with our clinic, but uh about 46% of our uh clients that we see are uninsured, and we're we're afraid that may go up.

So we are exploring if we can be a look-alike or possibly an FQAC, but it it brings a lot of other challenges.

A federally qualified health center, it brings a lot of other challenges.

We do have Chaw in the community as well as Hopes is one too.

But seeing if that was something that we can do to prepare for that.

Um, we will see numbers go up.

So um, for example, our clinic is the only available walk-in clinic for women for any uh family planning, sexual health needs or anything to those effects.

So we we keep so many appointments open today just for walk-in.

Um, we may see those increase.

Um, so we're preparing where we can and hoping with the uh federal, but we're have those concerns that we're gonna be able to meet those needs.

Um, what we're seeing too is that many times if we are no longer able to provide a service, we hope that there is redundancy in our community.

But I have seen two cases of two nonprofits that have closed their doors and said, Oh, you can go to the health district now to get this.

And so we were hoping that if we weren't at it, we don't have funding for it, that they would be able to provide it.

So I think it's really gonna be collaboration within our community and seeing where we can meet those needs as best we can and really identify the sources.

So it's the old analogy of circle the wagons, and so really work together as partners to provide that.

So in a good example, when WIC was not funded, so we went about seven weeks, and uh we were if WIC funding had ceased, we would have Northern Nevada Public would have been the only open WIC functioning, was able to provide six months of staff coverage in all of Nevada.

And so um that's a priority of ours.

Always try to make sure that we meet our clients and provide them access to that care and where we can, but there there will be limits.

But I think it's always reaching out, and it's a wonderful uh collaboration with the community for during that WIC process.

And you saw Catholic charity say we have diapers, we have formula, we're ready.

And so it was really working with our community partners, and I think that will help us to be able to, as uh Chair Andrew Love State, we have to find the pennies in our sofas, you know, to find where we're at, that we continue deliverers.

And I think we can do it as a community as just active ongoing communications on those points.

Yeah, I had I've heard from some constituents who have had you know falls, they've end up in the AR, and to transfer even to a bed in the hospital has been a longer wait.

And so I'm not I don't know if that's just anecdotal.

Yeah, you know, the hospital was very busy that day, or if it just we're just seeing that more people are being hospitalized because of potentially you know care preventative care that could have been given to them.

And yeah, so I guess just keep the board posted as you learn more in your collecting data, and if there's anything we need to know about and discuss as a region, we need to do so.

Yes, thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Commissioner Herman.

Um, thank you very much for your report.

It's uh been a long time coming.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Vice Chair Garcia.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Dr.

Kingsley, thank you so much for being here.

It's scary times right now.

I think I can't I can't speak for my fellow commissioners, but I would say eight out of ten times when I pick up the phone when a constituent is concerned, it's related to the top three issues that the Cha identified this year mental health, access to health services, and the economic stability.

Um so that document for those that are here in attendance or listening online is such an important tool that we can use and lean on.

I know I've used it when I've written reports for my other job, but um, it's there, it's available, and it's very comprehensive.

So I encourage any everybody to take a look at that.

Um I was gonna mention the the continuity maintained during the shutdown with WIC.

Were there any other um uh services that you were nervous about during the government shutdown?

WIC was our primary, we're always concerned with EPA currently right now on uncutbacks there with our staff and our air quality and those uh intervention interventions impacts at over 20 years that we've had um with those concerns.

Um there was the umsa grants that were canceled one day and then they re-initiated the next day.

And so thankfully they weren't cut back.

So we were watching that a week following that, they did the same for a public health infrastructure grant, and it was eight o'clock in the morning on Saturday, and that would have been um eight uh nine staff for us that are directly involved in the CHA in uh delivering that to the community.

Thankfully it was reversed in two hours, so we were able to get it uh that funding back to secure um with that, but uh but the public health infrastructure does help ensure that we deliver our CHAR, what comes after the CHA, the community health improvement plan since then, uh not watching.

There are four states currently that are being targeted with all their grants, up to up to 60 different grants, and uh we're all watching that uh as national partners and speaking with our heel representatives in DC to address those, but it's a day-to-day some morning, what you wake up to.

Thank you.

And along the lines that Commissioner Hill brought up in terms of the concerns related to insurance, um, we have three official health districts in the state of Nevada, correct?

Correct.

Okay.

Um I assume that you're in contact with the other health officers and all those jurisdictions.

What kind of conversations are happening amongst yourselves?

Because we know that the public health concerns are continuing to rise.

I imagine we're all facing budget challenges.

Um, what are you and your colleagues talking about?

That's a great question.

So, as part of it, there's different organizations, but I I chair I'm the director of the Nevada Association of Local Health Officials.

So we meet monthly, and then we also meet quarterly with all our counties as well, and chief medical officers.

But yes, and sometimes weekly contact, daily contacts, usually through email with Dr.

Dr.

Lockett as well as the interim director, uh, Ms.

Ernst in Central Nevada, but also with Carson and our partners downstairs, Miss U Director Freeman.

Uh these conversations, and we are uh involved with the state, both Nevada Health Authority, Stacey Weeks.

She's usually on those meetings with us as well as uh Julia Peak.

So we have a very tight group that we that we focus and communicate regularly on.

Uh currently, right now we're taking to the district, uh, the state board of health is the recent changes in immunizations, the protocols that were set forward.

So we're working through that and with our state partners to make sure what our NRS says and how we deliver those services equally across Nevada to be able to, so we're consistent and being able to provide that guidance that Nevada has determined which is best for Nevada and following our taking in our national partners and uh on those points.

And then with that, Dr.

Lockett down south is also part of big cities, so he has those resources, so I focus on the NATO component, which is our SHO here, the Nevada Association of Local Health Officials, and we combine those together to make sure anytime we need to uh focus in certain areas, both uh here in Nevada as well as that.

Um continuing to work with, especially with Central Nevada Health District and Carson.

We want we don't want to duplicate our services, especially when it comes to public health emergency preparedness on those points, but uh supporting them where we can from uh from all points, and we have a great collaboration.

So yeah, yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you for the update.

Appreciate it.

Appreciate it.

All right, we'll move now to 8A1.

And if Vice Chair Garcia would do the honors for donations, please.

Of course, madam chair.

Today I move to approve monetary donations, treats animal food and vaccines to regional animal services.

Um, these are donations that took place during quarter one.

Great.

Do we have any public comment?

There is none.

Great.

I'll go ahead and is there any discussion?

I'll call for the question.

Second.

That was a motion.

I motioned.

You did it.

I have second.

Any further discussion?

Hearing none, all in favor, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

And it's on your screen.

Commissioner Herman.

Aye.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Herman.

I appreciate it.

All right.

That vote is unanimous.

Thank you so much.

We're gonna move now to the consent items, which are 9A1 through 9E1.

But I would like to take a quick moment to point out 9C1.

Uh both uh Commissioner Herman actually had a question about 9C1.

I too had pulled some information on 9C1.

So if it pleases the board, I would like to ask number one if you'd like to hear something about 9C1 first, or if you'd like to pull anything, or I would like to hear 9C1 first and then ask if no one has anything to pull, then we'll use it as a full vote for 9A1 through 9E1, unless someone feels differently.

So I'd like to give the option at this point.

Could we hear some information about 9C1, please?

Thank you, Madam Chair.

We have our comptroller Kathy here, Hill here to give you information on that item.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Good morning.

What can I answer for you on 9C1 on the quarterly financial report?

I I'll I'll defer to Commissioner.

I had a question, but Commissioner Herman, would you like to ask your question to Ms.

Hill?

Oh, it it's just a matter of the amount, you know, and and constituent colleagues are asking me, how come this much money?

So um how maybe you could explain that.

Absolutely, it's a great question.

This report that comes to the board, it comes to you quarterly, and is at a specific point in time.

It is an unaudited report.

Some of the numbers associated with there's many different um uh variables that come into play when the revenues recognize as we continue to work with the state as they clean up um their tax processing, uh, when expenditures or invoices are presented for payment, when the transfers are made to the other funds of the department, interest rates is a smaller portion, but it's in the millions when those increase that increases it.

So right now, to rely upon the 31 million dollar fund balance is not an accurate picture for the for the whole year, but it is for this point in time only.

Thank you.

I think that's the important clarification.

And that's what I was going to just point out that it really is a snapshot right now.

Yes.

That may look differently.

Highly likely it will.

In the next quarter, yes.

Commissioner Herman, did you have any follow-up question?

No.

No, I don't.

Great.

Any questions about that item?

Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I have a comment.

Uh, whenever I see unaudited uh reports, uh I'm not the least bit impressed.

Okay, as as the chair pointed out, it's a snapshot.

It may change.

I know there was a lot of work involved, a lot of man hours, a lot of woman hours, a lot of staff time involved in this, but when they come in unaudited, it's like the what?

Tell us tell us when it's audited.

That's when we want to see it, in my opinion.

Thank you.

For the recognition, you'll see it as an audit season as well when we have the financial I was gonna say audits to come.

Yes.

Stay tuned.

All right.

If it's so pleases the board, then um, I would like to actually call for public comment.

And we don't have any.

Do we have any public comment on 981 through 91?

We do, Joanna Katz.

Thank you.

Hi.

I just wanted to quickly introduce 9E2.

Um, what AHA projects is in case you're unfamiliar.

Um we are a nonprofit that does support capacity building.

And when we came to Reno, we knew we were gonna get a building.

We just didn't know exactly what we were going to be putting in that building.

So what we did is we took about a year and did a needs assessment with nonprofits, local nonprofits, and discovered that there is a huge need to reduce overhead, share resources, and um have storage.

So we went and we said, how can we help?

And that's the feedback that we got.

So originally we thought we're gonna do some big theater in this building, but now where we're standing today, we do have a 16,000 square foot building off of Moana, centrally located with access to um transportation bus stops.

We are using half of that space as event space um for nonprofits specifically, so they can do um events, um, fundraising at a very affordable option, and that side of that space can hold up to 240 people.

On the other side of the space, we have six office suit, some shared um co-working office space, and conference rooms.

Um we also have a nursing room or a quiet room, if you will, um, and we are focusing on sharing resources on a daily um matter with that with that side of the building.

Um, we have a lot of nonprofits already interested.

And um currently where we're at, we have um our permits approved, thank goodness.

Um, and we just had all of our rough ends approved as well.

So we are looking to open this building for nonprofit use, specifically for our um community starting around June, which my boss hates when I put dates on it, but that's really where I feel like we're headed.

Um for 9EB, the part of the question that we went around asking people how can we help instead of saying here's what we're offering.

So, how can we help?

They really needed great internet, they needed some privacy room where they could have some of those more um confidential conversations uh with some of the people that they're serving.

And so that's exactly what is on here that we'll be providing.

We do have access to fiber.

Um, we do have access to everything that is listed on here.

Um, so those will um be in effect starting in June.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

There's nobody else signed in, but I do have an email to place on the record.

Thank you.

I'll entertain a motion at this time, Madam Chair.

I move to approve.

And a second by Commissioner Hill.

Any further discussion?

Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Commissioner Kerm Herman, are you I'm on it?

Aye.

Okay, great.

Motion carries unanimously.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

We'll move now to item number 10.

Thank you.

Thank you, madam chair.

This is a recommendation to accept a fiscal year 26 adoption savings subgrant award from the state of Nevada Division of Child and Family Services in the amount of $607 and $22.

No county match.

And it's retroactive for a period of July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2026.

It supports provides supportive services to facilitate and maintain the successful adoption of children from the Wash County Child Welfare System.

It also authorizes the agency director to execute the war award and related documents.

I will point out that we have received this grant for three previous years.

So I just want to point that out.

Thank you.

Do you have any public comment?

There's none.

Thank you so much.

Any questions?

I'll entertain a motion at this time, please.

So moved.

Second.

We have a motion by Commissioner Hill, second by Vice Chair Garcia.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

And it's on your screen.

And I heard Commissioner Herman was an aye.

So motion carries unanimously.

Thank you so much.

And just a reminder we pulled item 11.

We'll move now to item 12, which is public comment.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

This is your final public comment and comment heard under this item is limited to three minutes per person.

It may pertain to matters both on and off the commission agenda.

Unused time may not be allocated to other speakers, and please make your comments to the commission as a whole.

Thank you so much.

Do we have any public comment?

There's no one signed in.

Thank you so much.

We'll move and close item 12, move to item 13.

Commissioner County Manager announcements.

Manager Thomas.

These are reports and updates to include boards and commission updates, requests for information or topics for future agendas.

I don't have anything for you.

Thank you.

Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd uh request some information.

Is this the uh shortest county commission meeting we've had?

We could have done it.

We could have done it at 11.

Any other comments?

Vice Chair.

Commissioner Herman, do you have any comments?

Yes.

I uh wanted to thank our county manager for attending uh most of my cats and and the folks in those areas were very impressed and and really appreciated it.

That's it.

Thank you so much.

I don't have anything other than hopefully everyone will be safe and huddled at home.

If they don't have to travel, stay home.

So thank you.

This meeting is adjourned at 10 58.