The regional community homeless advisory board, comprised of local elected officials from Reno, Sparks and Washoe County, on Monday decided to meet less frequently.
Officials said progress has been made on dealing with the area’s homeless crisis, and Washoe County has taken the lead on providing homeless services county wide.
The decision comes after a record number of people experiencing homeless last year died, as first reported by This Is Reno.
“This has been very much a community collaborative agreement,” Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson said. “We came together and made this thing happen during a time in the pandemic, when we all kind of realized that it was I’ve been on this board since the day it was put together. It was a way to bring everybody into the room.
“We’re going in the right direction. So with that, my comment is going to be that I think … this board has done what it’s supposed to do.”
He called for disbanding the board or reducing meeting frequency to once or twice a year.
Sparks Council member Chris Dahir agreed.
“I’m gonna say that we’re still at the beginning now,” he said. “But with that said, you know, I don’t mind tweaking my own mind and trying to find another answer [to] this format. I think, I don’t disagree that this format, you know, every six months would be just fine.”
The board agreed to meet in September after getting an update by county staff on the Cares Campus, hiring and safety concerns at the facility.
Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark questioned county staff about the Karma Box nonprofit, which had its tax-exempt status removed by the IRS.
“We have from Karma Box … a corrective action plan with dates that need to be adhered to, and we are closely following up each week as those steps are taken,” Washoe County’s Dana Search said.
She said Karma Box committed to having issues resolved by March 15.
