City of Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson gave his State of the City Address at the Sparks Legislative Building on 745 4th Street on Monday. More than 30 people were in attendance, including members from Senator Jacky Rosen’s office, the RSCVA (Reno-Sparks Convention Visitor’s Authority), the Reno & Sparks Chamber of Commerce, and Washoe County Commissioners Alexis Hill and Vaughn Hartung. Water Bar owner Tom Turner was there, along with the Sparks City Council and Mayor Lawson’s family.
Mayor Lawson opened his address by saying that in the past year, there are two words that embody the City of Sparks: resilient and visionary. The City of Sparks’ population has grown to include more than 108,000 residents as people continue to move to the bustling area for its beauty and job opportunities. Lawson also acknowledged the City’s staff, commending them for rallying through changing COVID-19 protocols and going above and beyond in serving the needs of the community.
A short video co-narrated with Sparks City Councilmembers Donald Abbott, Dian VenderWell, Paul Anderson, Charlene Bybee, and Kristopher Dahir discussed how the City used CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act and ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to flush money back into Sparks during the pandemic. The City utilized more than $9 million of available CARES funding and $16 million in ARPA funds to help businesses stay afloat, mitigate homelessness, and provide medical and mental health services to the community. Funds were used to monitor the wastewater at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility for covid activity, and were put towards senior services, roadway/pedestrian improvements, and aiding the police department in its H.O.P.E. (Homeless Outreach Proactive Engagement) effort.
City council member Kristopher Dahir said that $4.2 million in ARPA funds are going towards building Fire Station $6, and $250,000 has been put towards its first responders in additional lifesaving equipment and automated CPR machines.
Sparks Police also launched its Virtual Academy, using a VR simulator to imitate real-life scenarios and practice negotiating and de-escalating stressful situations.
The City of Sparks had to cut a third of its staff positions during the pandemic and was finally able to bring back 34 fulltime jobs in the past year. It also formed an Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board to recommend staff on how it can foster inclusion and equity for parts of the community that represent various identities as well as bring to light inequitable barriers and solutions for how to best serve all constituents.
In the past year, city staff relaunched its Ignite Sparks podcast, revamped its website, Shirle Eiting became the presiding judge over Sparks Municipal Court 1, and Wes Duncan took over as city attorney following Chet Adams’s retirement.
City staff has also been active in organizing and hosting Third Thursday events in Victorian Square, Sparks Proud events at local high schools with police, fire, and public works in attendance. Its Hello Summer Celebration Series featuring music, food trucks, and good times took place at local parks throughout the summer, and the City of Sparks was again the home base for Hot August Nights, the Best in the West Rib Cook-Off, the water lantern festival, and dragon boat races.
Lawson touched on Golden Eagle Regional Park and the money it generates from sports tournaments (an estimated $27.74 million annually) through its one million visits per year. It features 14 fields/1.4 million square feet of artificial turf which is replaced as need with funds generated from the Nevada marijuana excise tax. In the past few months, the City of Sparks opened the new Jack Reviglio Memorial Park and All-Abilities Playground at the Sparks Marina, too.
Lawson discussed the City’s challenges as well, as the region has experienced exponential growth in population in past 10 years, causing issues in affordable housing and roadway infrastructure. Eighty-three percent of the land in Washoe County is owned by the federal government, and its cities and unincorporated areas are working to find a balance with accommodating the growth and development.
“We are running out of land so we’re working on creating denser areas where people can live, work and play, like in Victorian Square, Oddie Boulevard, and along the Truckee River. And we would love to develop the industrial area east of Sparks,” Mayor Lawson says.
“We have to continually grow, or we die, which is why the lands bill is so important to us in the future,” he adds.
Lawson admits that in local real estate, interest rates going up and the average median home price in Sparks being over $600,000 poses an issue for people trying to buy a home or stay in the area, especially with the average median income being at $86,000 a year. Lawson says that the city spends 70 cents on the dollar on fire and police services, and adds, “it’s less expensive to have police and fire when everything is a bit denser rather than an urban sprawl.” One of his focuses in this next year is going to the legislature to discuss how to implement fair property taxes that wouldn’t be based on the sale price of a home.
“We’re in a different world now. Different then it was even 10 years ago,” Mayor Lawson says. “City employees are trying their best to get out there and do the right thing, and we ask for your forgiveness and patience when dealing with our staff,” he adds.
City of Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson was first elected to the Sparks City Council in November of 2010. He was reelected in 2014 and 2018 and was appointed Mayor Pro Tempore in late 2018. He became the City’s 26th mayor on September 14, 2020.
For more information or to access the full State of the City Address, visit https://www.cityofsparks.us/.
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