Washoe County Board of County Commissioners Meeting - June 16, 2026
Washoe County Board of County Commissioners Meeting - June 16, 2026
The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners met on June 16, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:37 p.m. The meeting included a presentation by the Washoe County Leadership Academy, approval of consent items, and several public hearings regarding public nuisances in Sun Valley. Key actions included adopting ordinances to incentivize smaller and attainable housing, forming the Truckee Meadows Housing Authority, and declaring multiple properties as public nuisances.
Consent Calendar
- Approved 15 items (6.A.1 through 6.I.1) including grants, interlocal agreements, and appointments. Notable: acceptance of federal grants for schools and roads ($19,881.75), Sun Valley parks assistance ($150,000), appointment of Pamela Mann as HSA Director ($235,060.80 annually), and land acquisition for Swan Lake ($500,000 from LWCF grant). All passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Donna Dawson Schwartz, Earl Ravid, Bill Moton, Cody Phinney, and others spoke in support of their applications for the Library Board of Trustees, emphasizing the importance of libraries and their qualifications.
- Multiple speakers (Pam Dar, Terry Brooks, Penny Brock, Deborah Jalen, Roblin Williams) raised concerns about election integrity, mail-in ballot processing, and the Registrar of Voters' operations. They cited issues with insufficient addresses on voter rolls, lack of observer access, and allegations of disenfranchisement.
- Heidi Soper (Sun Valley CAB chair) urged the board to confirm nuisance complaints on multiple Sun Valley properties, citing blight and safety hazards.
- Amy Owens highlighted pedestrian safety on Sun Valley Boulevard, noting five people hit by vehicles in six months (three fatalities). She asked for immediate safety improvements.
- Pat Davison spoke in favor of housing incentive ordinances, thanking staff for their work.
- William Bates proposed a "non-habitable" zoning designation to expedite removal of squatters.
- Rose Stewart (mother of owner of 320 Quartz Lane) acknowledged the mess but noted some vehicles were dumped by others, asking for collaboration.
- Several speakers provided input on the Library Board appointments, advocating for training, diverse representation, and support for library staff.
Discussion Items
- Leadership Academy Presentation (Item 5.A.1): The 2025-2026 WCLA class presented their wildfire mitigation and home hardening pilot project focused on Sun Valley. They distributed 355 activity books to fourth graders, assessed 9 homes, and recommended continuing partnerships and scaling the project countywide.
- Library Board Appointments (Item 18): After four rounds of voting, Andrea Tavner (District 4) and Marcus Nesbitt (District 3) were appointed to the Library Board of Trustees for terms ending June 30, 2030.
- Library Board Liaison (Item 19): Commissioner Alexis Hill was appointed as the board’s liaison to the Library Board of Trustees, with no term limit.
- Truckee Meadows Housing Authority (Items 20-21): The board unanimously adopted a joint resolution of intent to form the TMHA. Subsequently, Vice Chair Garcia (3-year term) and Commissioner Hill (2-year term) were appointed to the TMHA board.
- Housing Ordinances (Items 27-28): Adopted Ordinance 1759 (small unit density bonus for units under 1,200 sq ft) and Ordinance 1760 (density bonuses for attainable housing and senior housing, with 30-year affordability minimum for rentals and 9 years for ownership). Staff noted these are the culmination of over two years of work.
- Groundwater Remediation District (Item 29): Adopted boundary and fee ordinances for District No. 24, updating the Central Truckee Meadows Remediation District boundaries and fee schedule.
- Public Nuisance Hearings (Items 30-34): Five properties in Sun Valley were declared public nuisances due to accumulation of junk vehicles and debris. Owners were given five days to abate; if not, the county will conduct abatement and place liens. District Attorney Large and staff acknowledged the complexity of parcels with deceased owners, and committed to developing a long-term solution, including possible legislative changes.
Key Outcomes
- All consent items and block votes passed unanimously.
- Housing ordinances 1759 and 1760 adopted unanimously.
- Truckee Meadows Housing Authority formed; Commissioner Garcia and Hill appointed as BCC representatives.
- All five nuisance properties declared public nuisances; abatement orders issued.
- The board directed staff to explore legislative solutions for properties with deceased owners and to improve code enforcement processes.
- County Manager Thomas clarified that the GovTax contract was exempt from competitive bidding as a professional service requiring a Nevada appraiser certificate.
Meeting Transcript
Commissioner Clark, you ready? Okay, thank you. Good morning. I'd like to call the Washa County Board of County Commissioners meeting to order on June 16th at 10 a.m. Thank you all for being here. Mr. Brooks, would you be so kind to lead us into the salute to the flag, please? Thank you. We'll now move to roll call, please. Chair Andreola. Present. Vice Chair Garcia. Here. Commissioner Hill. Here. Commissioner Clark. Present. Commissioner Herman is appearing by phone. Are you here, Commissioner Herman? Yes. Thank you. County Manager Kate Thomas. Here. Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Large. Present. And I'm Yvonne Strickland, Deputy Clerk. Madam Chair, you have a quorum. Thank you so much. We'll now move to public comment. Manager Thomas. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is public comment and comment heard under this item will be limited to three minutes per person, and it 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 is Donna Dawson Schwant, followed by Pam Dar. Is this one? Can you hear me? Okay. Good morning. My name is Donna Dawson Schwartz. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today to introduce myself and to let you connect a face to my application for the Washoe County Library Board of Trustees. I would like to be one of the library's trustees because I would like to have an active role in supporting our library's system and its continued success. You've read about my background in education and civic involvement, but today I would like to share something that I think demonstrates my skills in leadership and problem solving that can be beneficial to the board. During my last year of teaching, I was asked to take on the task of producing my school's accreditation report to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. This would involve bringing together the various stakeholders in my school, faculty, teach uh parents, and students, and guide them through an evaluation of their efforts in meeting the goals and mission of our school. As you can imagine, each group could list many proud examples of their successes. But my task was also to guide them through the critical exercise of evaluating their weaknesses and creating plans to remediate those weaknesses. At times the process was challenging. The groups found that listing their successes was the easy part.
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