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Employees in the News
 Bert Bracy, Code Enforcement Officer II |
Bert Bracy Earns Essentials of Personal Effectiveness Certificate At the March 24, 2009 Washoe County Commission meeting, Bert Bracy, Code Enforcement Officer II, was one of several Washoe County employees presented a certificate of completion for Essentials of Personal Effectiveness, one of five certificate programs offered by the Human Resources Department as part of its Excellence in Public Service program. Washoe County encourages lifelong learning and the professional development of all employees. The Excellence in Public Service program is designed to support employee development and performance. The completion of these courses over 2 years demonstrates the employee's commitment to continuous personal and professional improvement and to Washoe County's Journey of Excellence. The Essentials of Personal Effectiveness certificate awarded to Bert provides the foundation for a successful career at Washoe County and is designed for all County employees. Congratulations Bert! |
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Bill Whitney and Lynda Nelson Presented County Leadership in Conservation Award by Washoe County Commission The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) awarded their Medium County Leadership Conservation Award (for counties with a population of 150,000-499,999) at their fifth annual County Leadership in Conservation Awards to the Washoe County Regional Open pace and Natural Resource Management Plan. The award recognizes leadership, innovation, and excellence on local land conservation and park creation initiatives by county leaders across America. The TPL conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Washoe County recently completed an approximately 18-month process that resulted in an update to the Regional Open Space Plan and added a Natural Resource Management component to the plan. Bill Whitney and Lynda Nelson led the process. The Trust for Public Land published the following article on its website: |
 Bill Whitney, Senior Planner, Community Development and Lynda Nelson, Planning Manager, Regional Parks and Open Space |
2009 County Conservation Awards
Even though the U.S. government owns more than half the land in southern Washoe County, home to the eastern Sierra Nevada foothills cities of Reno and Sparks, residents and lawmakers worked together to adopt the county's first Regional Open Space Plan in 1994. Fourteen years later, the County's popular Open Space Program completed a major update to the plan.
For the update to succeed, the Open Space Program had to balance the priorities--and funding sources--from a wide range of divergent interests, including voters in the county, land developers, conservation organizations, private entities, and representatives of city, county, state, federal, and tribal government--hardly an easy task. But public support made it easier.
In 2000, voters approved a County bond to generate $28.3 million for parks, trails, and open space. Then, in 2002, citizens returned to the ballot box to approve a $200 million statewide bond, of which $10 million was earmarked to acquire land along the Truckee River, which flows through Reno/Sparks from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake just northeast of the city. A 2006 statewide capital series bond created an additional $12 million for land acquisition throughout the county. Using these voter-approved funds, the County leveraged an additional $14 million from state, federal, and private sources to create more than 60 parks and trails, and preserve nearly 10,000 acres of open space.
In addition, the Truckee River Flood Project used $45 million from a dedicated one-eighth cent sales tax, enacted in 1999, to acquire nearly 140 acres of future parkland and trails in the river's flood zone. And the sale of public land in southern Nevada through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act provided another $183 million to help consolidate a patchwork of federally owned land, and preserve an additional 40,000 acres of open space in Washoe County.