City of Sparks Beneath-the-Street Blunder …
Just as the City of Sparks must have been getting ready to celebrate ending 2024 with no more bad headlines here comes KRNV’s Joe Hart with an investigative report about an incorrectly connected sewer line to a city storm drain that pumped a couple million gallons of sewage into the Truckee River.
This “mistake” happened at the Atrium Apartments in October 2023 as reported by Hart.
Picon’s inquiring mind wanted to know who owns the Atrium Apartments and found it still is Silvering Development, owned by J. Carter Witt III. Silverwing Development has been in Reno/Sparks for just about 30 years, moving to Reno in 1995 after building multi-family projects in Texas and California.
Facebook post we were sent yesterday by a reader.
A reader sent us this post from Mayor Ed Lawson yesterday. They were inquiring if we thought he was referring to this “waste-water whoops” as he commented “so much disinformation today, do your homework please.”
Picon ponders Mayor Lawson might be more so talking about the upcoming swearing in, Monday, November 25, 2024, at 2PM of newly elected Sparks Ward 5 City Councilmember Joe Rodriguz. Lawson went after Rodriguez on social media posts and inquired if he was qualified to be a city councilmember. Sparks voters sent Lawson a clear message they think Rodriguez is qualified.
Social media post earlier this year when it seemed Joe Rordiguez was pulling ahead of Kristopher Dahir for the Ward 5 seat.
Mayor Lawson is a councilmember down, meaning he had Abbot, Anderson, and Dahir’s votes and now he’s just got Abbott and Anderson remaining. Lawson doesn’t have a vote on the city council due to the Sparks Charter, so if Bybee, Vanderwell, and Rodriguez vote together, Lawson becomes as much of a lame duck as Mayor Hillary Schieve in Reno.
Picon always believes you should follow the money, and in this case that would be political contributions to the Sparks City Councilmembers. Silverwing Development/J. Cater Witt III has been extremely generous to Lawson, Abbott, Anderson, and Dahir. We’re amused while he was giving the “boys” a tidy $5,000 each he didn’t do quite so much for the “gals” on the council Bybee and Vanderwell. Out of everyone in Sparks it looks like Sparks City Attorney, Wes Duncan, is on the top of Witt’s holiday card list.
Nevada Secretary of State Contribuion search Silverwing Development and SWD Partners Inc.
With all this money being dished out in Sparks to the City Council and City Attorney, we ponder if the truth will come out about how this beneath-the-street blunder could have possibly been signed off on by Sparks officials. We certainly hope Joe Hart keeps digging