Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District news; notes by Tom Daly

Apparatus – In late July TM received two new Type 1 structure engines and assigned those to TM#32 Eastlake and TM#40 Mogul. These were authorized in the FY19 budget. Two more engines are in the FY20 budget.

Strategic Plan – This plan will be delayed until January 2020 in order to add a five-year financial projection as to expected revenues and expenditures and will include a Fleet Management Plan and a Facilities Master Plan.

Fire Marshal – This vacant position will likely be filled and announced at the November 2019 TMFPD Board meeting.

TM#37 Hidden Valley living quarters renovation and new vehicle bay – A Special Use Permit (SUP) is needed from the Board of Adjustment, so look for that at their September or October meeting. Also, the City Council of Reno is slow walking their required second vote on a minor boundary adjustment for the site and the County is insisting on an expensive sewer line adjustment when only a short connection via an easement is needed. Once approvals are received the living quarters work will proceed immediately with ground breaking for the new apparatus building likely in the Spring of 2020.

Personnel – On 8/27/2019 the BCC will consider the appointment of Deputy Fire Chief Alex Kukulus to the Emergency 911 Advisory Committee for a term of four years ending June 30, 2023.

Wildfires – The District’s first large-scale (about 1500 acres) wildfire impacting structures is burning in the Red Rock area with only minor containment to date, see  KOLO-8 coverage.

Reno City Council meeting (8/26/19); notes by Steve Wolgast

The city council voted unanimously to ask the Finance Department to prepare an ordinance approving the $55M bond request for the RSWRF plant expansion.  Council Member Brekhus was absent.  This is still a preliminary step, and does not oblige the city to issue the bonds.  The bond request will come up for a vote in October (probably).  This will allow more time to determine exactly how they will handle the increased effluent produced by the plant.  A “work committee” is being assembled that will be tasked with developing a plan and presenting it to the city council.  Conditions will be included in the finance ordinance including a cap on the effluent flow volume that can go to Swan Lake.

There was some ambiguity regarding the maximum effluent flow that will be permitted to be discharged into Swan Lake.  Director Flansberg said the current flow in the winter is approximately 1.8 million gallons per day (mgd).  Council member Duerr reiterated her condition that this be reduced by the diversion of 0.5 mgd to the TMWRF plant.  The inference is that the maximum net flow to Swan Lake should be 1.3 mgd this winter.  Flansberg said that NDEP would issue the permit for increasing the plant discharge after the construction on the plant expansion begins.  This sounds illogical.

Residents raised the following concerns during Public Comment.

• Reno residents could consider changes enacted in Texas law that gives residents about to be annexed by a city the right to vote on the annexation.
• There’s a lot of construction going on right now.  The city should allow time for the new housing capacity to be absorbed before rushing to approve more.
• It’s premature to approve the RSWRF sewer bond.  There is no sure method now to dispose of the extra 2 mgd of effluent that will be produced.  There are a number of possible scenarios that could work, but all of them are speculative at this time.

Current construction viewed from the Steamboat Hills:   Wolgast_General_Comment_082619

Open issues facing the RSWRF expansion: Wolgast_Agenda-Item_D3_082619A