Public Safety

Public Safety is one of the most important focuses there is. We hope to maintain and develop an atmosphere of safety and confidence in our city. This means that we are anticipating the needs for police, fire and paramedics. We currently have need for more police officers on the ground. It is important that we don’t just have the correct ratio of police officers to citizens but continued training and up to date gear to make sure our officers are equipped to properly do their job, we want to continue to support our fire department and their needs. We have wonderful men and women who currently serve this community and we need to keep walking with them to assure as we grow we have the care needed in a timely manner. Currently our paramedics are a separate entity and we need on going communications and strategy planning sessions to make sure training and availability is in place.

Infrastructure

The best way to look at this is like the skeleton of a person. Underneath all of what you see there are structural components in place that help keep our city healthy, secure and growing.

These are important structures that you use every day or count on every day that you live. Some examples:

• Streets you drive on

• The water you drink

• The trash and waste

• The maintenance and expansion of the sewage plant

• The police that you rely on for safety and boundary keeping

• The firemen and firewoman who are just a call away when there is an emergency

• Electricity, phones, and other communications

• Street lighting and general landscape upkeep

• Parks, rec, and library

• Animal protection and control

• Schools are a part of it- though it is county who runs it- we do stay involved

I will work diligently to help ensure that these infrastructure needs are upkept and being enhanced with new technology that helps us run more efficiently and cost effective.

Economic Development

Though it would seem our job market is looking better, there are still many men and women who are without work. We must continue to foster an environment of strong business growth and vitality. We have many empty buildings that need to be filled with the right businesses. We have land that if developed correctly will bring strength to our current situation. I strongly support EDAWN and what they do but it is our job as a city to remember that we are to have the best level of customer service where developers, builders and architects prefer to work in Sparks over other entities in the area.

Sustainability

This is a crucial element that needs attention. We will see growth in the next 3-10 years that is new and exciting for our city. However, we want current businesses to stay strong, we want to make sure that we do not see new businesses arrive only to close those who are working hard to make a living. It is also important that we expand our business tax base. Sparks is primarily a bedroom community for Reno and this is a problem. Being a bedroom community is not sustainable. We need to balance out our income with new and active businesses so we can assure Spark’s future infrastructure is protected. There is some tax money that comes in during the first 5-7 years of housing projects but then following that it does not pay to upkeep roads, sewage, and other services that must be in place.

Parks and Recreation

Sparks is known for many of its events, parks, and recreational opportunities. This brings quality of life. I hope to see us grow in this area, support our city workers who are currently in place and help connect our citizens through this common need of recreation. We have had many cut backs over the last 8 years but as we step back into health it is imperative that finances and energy is placed on keeping our parks, events, and recreation strong and in place.