Top 5 things you need to know about the Washoe County Board of Commissioners meeting

Commissioner Kitty Jung elected Washoe County Commission Chair.

Reno, Nevada. Jan. 12, 2016. The following report highlights several important agenda items from the Washoe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Videos of County Commission meetings are replayed regularly on WCTV (Charter Ch. 193). You may also watch videos on-demand online

1. Board of County Commissioners elects Chair and Vice Chair for 2016. The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) unanimously elected Commissioner Kitty Jung as the Chair of the Board. Chair Jung represents District 3 and was elected Chair of the Board for a term of one year.

Chair Jung, who was appointed to the Washoe County Commission on Aug. 29, 2007 by Gov. Jim Gibbons, has been re-elected twice by her constituents. She represents District 3 which includes downtown Reno, West Sparks, Panther Valley, Golden Valley, Sun Valley and Raleigh Heights.

She believes that responsible and sustainable development (economic, social, and environmental sustainability) is crucial in order to maintain and improve our quality of life here in Washoe County.

Particularly close to Jung's heart is protecting the vulnerable in Washoe County.

See Chair Jung’s complete bio.

The Board of County Commissioner also unanimously elected Commissioner Bob Lucey as Vice Chair.

Vice Chair Lucey is the Washoe County Commissioner of District 2. His district includes areas south of Interstate 80 and west of Virginia Street to the Huffaker area. It also includes everything continuing south to the southern border of Washoe County (outside of the Tahoe Basin).

Vice Chair Lucey was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in November 2014 and started his term in January 2015.

Lucey is focused on transportation, tourism and recreation issues. Public safety, water and regional parks and open space are also important to the Commissioner and his constituents. He continues to strive toward Washoe County being the leader in supporting the evolution of our business community as we diversify our economy.  

See Vice Chair Lucey’s complete bio.

2. Cathy Hill named Washoe County Comptroller.  The Board of County Commissioner approved Washoe County Manager John Slaughter’s appointment of Cathy Hill as Washoe County Comptroller. She comes to Washoe County from the National Judicial College. Prior to her time there, she was the fiscal administrator at the Second Judicial District Court. Hill brings more than 20 years of accounting experience in profit, not-for-profit and governmental organizations.

Hill has her undergraduate degree in Accounting and her Master’s degree in Business Administration. She also has her certification in Professional Human Resources. At the District Court, she was a member of the Nevada Supreme Court Minimum Accounting Standards committee.

3. Public Defender/Alternate Public Defender/Conflict Counsel department presentations. The Washoe County Public Defender’s Office, Alternate Public Defender and Conflict Counsel make up the Indigent Defense System. Their mission is to work together to defend the rights of indigent people in Washoe County by providing them access to justice through professional legal representation to protect the Constitutional rights of their clients by providing them a voice in their defense. A key accomplishment over the past year has been the ongoing shifting of resources to maximize existing funding to meet this goal.

The Public Defender/Alternate Public Defender/or Conflict Counsel attorney becomes the representation for the defendant pursuant to eligibility determined within the judicial system. The Public Defender’s Office/Alternate Public Defender, and conflict attorney represents indigent people in criminal cases, juvenile proceedings, involuntary commitment hearings, among other things. Here are some of their accomplishments:

• Staffed first Medically Assisted Treatment Court for Youthful Opioid Offenders
• Appointed to Nevada Supreme Court Working Group to revise rules regarding pretrial discovery
• Implemented new Conflict Policy with assistance from Nevada State Bar and District Attorney’s Office
• Management of Specialty Court Caseload through shifting of resources between departments.

See the PowerPoint presentation.

4. Board adopts South Valleys Regional Park Master Plan. The Washoe County Community Services Department’s Parks & Recreation division has initiated an update of the South Valleys Regional Park Master Plan. 

The plan will provide zoning districts within it allowing for multiple uses within each zone while providing flexibility for future planning. An overwhelming amount of support was voiced for indoor recreation uses (aquatics, ice skating, hard court sports etc.) and for additional multi-purpose flat fields (soccer, football, lacrosse etc.). In addition to planning for the specific uses, the design team worked closely with the South Valleys Library to address existing parking and circulation deficiencies. The Master Plan presents a current community vision to guide the future development within the park.

The original master plan for the park was completed in 1993 and last updated in 2000. At that time, the park property consisted of about 82 acres. Since the update nearly 16 years ago, approximately 23 acres have been added to the park.

Washoe County hosted two public meetings in August and September to gather input from stakeholders, neighbors, and park users to identify future needs and uses of this popular 105-acre park. With input from more than 250 participants at public meetings, the project design team created three alternative conceptual designs for consideration. After the three options were created, the County solicited additional feedback from the public prior to drafting the final plan. Using the County mail and website to reach the public, more than 500 additional survey results were gathered. The final South Valley Regional Park Master Plan was implemented based on public feedback. 

“This is an exciting time for the South Valley Complex and the surround area,” Washoe County Commission Vice Chair Bob Lucey said. “As we grow as a community, this will provide a great place for people to enjoy. I’m excited for the future of this area and gracious for the donation of the property.”

The site plan and Master Plan can be found here.

5. Specialty Court General Fund Allocation from the Judicial Council of the State of the Nevada to the Reno Justice Court. The Reno Justice Court received $116,815 in grant funding from the Judicial Council of the State of Nevada (JCSN) to expand its Community Court, Young Offenders Court pilot projects, and to form a Sex Trafficking Victims Court. The Court has operated the Court Compliance Program (CCP) specialty court since 2000, focusing its efforts on defendants with substance abuse issues. Over the years, it has become apparent that many defendants also have significant mental health and other specialized needs that must be addressed concurrently with the substance abuse in order to be successful. The grant award from the JCSN allows these important programs to be fully funded, providing the programs’ participants a chance to improve their lives.

“I am appreciative of Gov. Sandoval and Chief Justice Hardesty for putting much needed resources into rehabilitation and specialty court programs,” Judge Scott Pearson said. “Rehabilitation is far more successful at combating substance abuse and mental illness than other types of punishment.”

###