CITY OF RENO NEWS RELEASE
Today, the Reno City Council held their regularly scheduled meeting. Below are some highlights from the meeting.
Fire service items: Agenda Item F.6, N.2 and N.3
• Agenda Item F.6
The City Council approved a Cooperative Agreement for Mutual Aid with the Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District Office. The mutual aid agreement considers the location and capabilities of all involved jurisdictions and results in a fair financial arrangement between all parties. The agreement is based on capabilities, depth of resources, and location of stations. The agreement provides for an exchange of resources for most short duration incidents, i.e. 12 hours, without expectation of reimbursement. Long protracted incidents such as a multi-day wildland incident would be subject to cost recovery after the initial period with a commitment to reimburse cost from FEMA reimbursements whenever possible. This agreement develops a strong working relationship between all affected jurisdictions.
• Agenda Item N.2 and N.3
In hopes of resolving issues with Washoe County, avoiding litigation, and providing the highest level of public safety, the City Council directed staff to continue working with Washoe County staff to negotiate an Automatic Aid Agreement and an agreement regarding true-ups. The Council also voted to not terminate the existing Cooperative Agreement for Mutual Aid between the City of Reno and the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and the Sierra Fire Protection District.
Automatic aid is an automatic response by both agencies at the time of dispatch that augments service delivery and assures that the closest resources respond to an emergency regardless of jurisdictions. True-ups are a financial reconciliation of the costs associated with the operation of the former consolidated fire department between the Reno Fire Department and the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. Mutual aid is an agreement between two neighboring jurisdictions, with a pre-approved contract that defines the level of aid that is generally available, the conditions under which aid is available, and any costs associated with the aid. Under mutual aid if one jurisdiction needs help from another, they request it and the aid is sent if resources are available.
Since October 2011, the City of Reno has made 13 attempts to reach out to Washoe County regarding Automatic and Mutual Aid agreements. Regarding true-ups, the City of Reno has determined that Washoe County owes the City up to $3 million.
• Agenda Item F.3
The City Council approved a Sponsorship Agreement for City services in an amount not to exceed $2,700 with Let’s Do Things, LLC. for the Official Pre-Reno Zombie Crawl Thrill Dance Under the Reno Arch which is scheduled for Saturday, October 27, 2012. This is the first year that this organization has applied for Special Event Sponsorship.
The first year of the event in 2008, 100 people participated in a “flash mob” at Centennial Park in the middle of the Zombie Crawl. In 2009, the event drew 300 participants and the 2010 event had 400 participants. In 2011, the event was staged on ReTrac and Let’s Do Things, LLC. registered 240 dancers for the Guinness Book of World Records and filled the space with an additional 400 spectators. Let’s Do Things, LLC hopes the 2012 Thriller Dance will bring 1,000 spectators and performers with the iconic Reno Arch as the backdrop.
• Agenda Item H.2.2
The City Council approved amending the Reno Municipal Code (18.08.201 and 18.08.204) in order to enable temporary small-scale urban commercial farming citywide. Cities across the nation are enabling commercial farming operations in the urban environment in order to connect urban residents with a broader food system, provide urban spaces, and foster economic benefits on vacant land.
• Agenda Item J.1
The City Council approved the streets for 2013, 2014, and 2015 as part of the Accelerated Neighborhood Streets Program. Streets to be reconstructed in 2013 will include the northeast section the city, in 2014 the streets will be located in the southwest section of the city, and in 2015 the streets will be located in the northwest section of the city. A map is attached.
The Accelerated Streets Program was approved by Council in 2008 to accelerate the completion of the neighborhood street reconstruction and surface treatment by leveraging the Street Fund revenues to bond for up to $45 million. Since Council action on February 13, 2008, $44.3 million dollars of the bond has been spent rehabilitating neighborhood streets. The funds available for the Neighborhood Street Rehabilitation Program are projected to be $2.5 million annually for the next 3 years.
