In early March, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was able to help secure $1.4 million in federal funding for the Sparks Police department to replace outdated 800-megahertz radios and equipment that first responders use to protect the city. The funding will allow Sparks Police to purchase new P25 radios that are compatible with a new communication transmission system being installed in Reno, Sparks, and other surrounding areas.
This $1.4 million is part of the $93.8 million secured for Nevada’s Community Project Funding that supports 53 programs and construction projects in the state as part of the 2022FY omnibus appropriations package. Senators Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen made these requests in 2021 and followed through to insure they were included in the bipartisan omnibus funding bill. The money helps fund projects across the state including a new training center for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department, expanding training programs for nurses in Nevada colleges, and will help with updating transportation infrastructure in Northern Nevada as well as expand rural healthcare access.
“The funding I secured for vital projects across Nevada will make our communities safer, more connected, and better prepared to take advantage of our growing economy,” Senator Cortez Masto stated in a press release issued following the bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. “I’ll continue working to ensure that Nevadans receive the federal support they need to better our state.”
Senator Rosen added, “With over $93 million in funding for much-needed local Nevada projects included, this bipartisan package will invest in communities, create good-paying jobs, and improve quality of life across our state. The funding I secured for these projects will support our students, deliver clean drinking water, expand workforce development initiatives, invest in law enforcement and public safety programs, improve our transportation infrastructure, and more. I will always fight to ensure Nevada continues to receive its fair share of federal dollars.” Along with the Sparks Police department public safety improvements, workforce training, and healthcare projects, local Nevada governments will use the funds to help improve sewer and water systems in Reno; construct affordable housing and business developments in Clark County; and build eight miles of bike and pedestrian trails along the East Shore of Lake Tahoe. Funds will also be used to expand the Nevada CARES campus in Washoe County and support mental health services with the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Three million dollars will go towards the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation facility in replacing the fiber optics between Sparks City Hall and TMWRF to help keep communication lines available during high wind and heavy weather events as well as other infrastructure improvements and UNR will receive $3.1 million for its State Public Health Laboratory Project to establish a toxicological lab to better confirm results of drug testing.
To view the entire breakdown of Nevada’s Community Project Funding budget, visit www.cortezmasto.senate.gov.
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