Senior housing and tax revenue in the balance
When ground broke in October 2000, nearly 23 years ago, the Regional Public Safety Training Center was already controversial. The project, then funded via a sales-tax increase, was situated in a generally undeveloped area across the freeway from the jail complex and down the road from Truckee Meadows Community College. The site, originally 128 acres, had only neighbors to the north. Those neighbors, the citizens of Panther Valley, were not thrilled with the idea of a 24-7 shooting and high-speed driving complex in their backyard. To appease the neighborhood, the developer, Q&D Construction, agreed to build a community playground and basketball court at a site of their choosing. And so, the facility was approved and built.
Not long into the facility's operation, a memorandum of understanding became necessary in order to balance the shooting hours, days, and times, with the neighbors. Despite building the facility to replace the Pyramid Regional Shooting Facility, limits were placed on how often the police could shoot after hours. The facility was built to accommodate not only the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, TMCC Police Department, Reno Fire, Sparks Fire, and Truckee Meadows Fire, but also outside agencies who would theoretically off-set costs with the use fees. Yet 23 years later, not all of these agencies even use the facility.
In recent years, Truckee Meadows Fire took their hose south to Carson City for training. Truckee Meadows Police was absorbed into the University of Nevada Police and TMCC backed out of their financial commitment to the facility. This required the other agencies to cover the missing TMCC money however, ultimately the facility is managed by Washoe County, which has to pay for any shortages. In fact, according to records Picon reviewed, this facility is not self-sustaining, despite outside user fees for use of the facility.
Recently, the facility has been the focus of a new planned development of workforce housing, desperately needed for Washoe County. The planned 400+ unit development would be constructed across the road from the center and adjacent to the freeway. Picon has learned that a rift has developed between the Training Center, led by Sheriff Balaam and a developer. The developer had his project approved by the city of Reno, yet his request for an emergency fire road has been denied by the Sheriff and his board of directors. Despite an easement, owned by the developer, the Sheriff and his board seem hellbent on litigation. Picon finds this odd since the land in question (owned by the developer) has always been zoned for higher density living and hotels. If the Sheriff, at the time, and the other stakeholders knew the surrounding land was privately held and could be housing, we aren’t sure how 23 years later they can logically oppose such a project.
The site of the planned units would be along the freeway, northbound. Image from bridge replacement at Parr Blvd and I580.
Additionally, Picon learned that as recently as 2018, there were serious discussions with the University of Nevada Reno and the Sheriff’s Office to turn over much of the shooting facility to the UNR rifle team. Yet just five years later, one of the complaints from the Sheriff and his board is that development will hinder his plans to expand K9 and Horse Patrol training. Something seems off. Picon wonders why this land was not purchased by the county 23-years ago for expansion of the center, open space or other county facilities, like a consolidated court complex. Picon also learned that Parole and Probation were courted to relocate here and it could not come to fruition.
Picon has also been advised that the sewer line for Parr Boulevard is at maximum capacity and the developer, as part of their infrastructure, is paying for additional capacity, which would benefit the Sheriff’s Office and other users on Parr. In addition, the developer is bringing water lines and rent-capped senior living to their site. With one legal battle heating up between Reno Iron Works and the SPCA, it may be time to embrace workforce housing and rethink the law enforcement training centers’ opposition. Seems as though symbiosis had been contemplated years ago, is that not possible today? According to what Picon is privy to, the developer is willing to make accommodations that should benefit the training center, so there is little basis for talk of the need to relocate.
Ultimately, the Regional Public Safety Training Center is costing taxpayers annually, and yet the Sheriff wants the county commissioners to turn down the development and thus the revenue this development would bring to Washoe County via property taxes. Is Sheriff Balaam looking out for his training facility or the residents of Washoe County?