Sparks Mayor Geno Martini gave a picture of the future of Sparks in his annual State of the City address Monday, and the overarching theme was 'growth.'
The mayor said revenue from property taxes, sales taxes, building permits and licensing fees are all up, and projected to increase in the next fiscal year. But Martini clarified that it's important to watch that growth closely.
"It's controlled growth," Martini said. "It's not out of control. We are making sure we are growing at the right pace, so that we have enough sewer capacity, so we have enough roads, so we have enough police, we have enough fire. We are not out of control and we don't want to be out of control."
Martini said in the address one of the biggest accomplishments for Sparks is development in the downtown area. Old casinos are getting refurbished and repurposed, and more housing is going up, which he says will add about 1,000 more residents to the downtown area. That will be a shot in the arm for downtown Sparks restaurants and businesses, which have been hurting since the recession.
"We've been trying for 15 years to redevelop downtown," Martini said. "It's never happened. Well, all of a sudden, now it's happening. It's exciting. It's something we've always wanted."
But the mayor did mention some challenges. He said the coming year will bring "some pain" in the form of more construction-- and traffic-- to major roadways.
He also said that the amount of property tax revenue coming into the city is too low to sustain a growing population. He called on the Nevada Legislature to lift the three percent cap in its next session.
The mayor also mentioned fire services in the city, and said the Sparks City Council has no intention to join in the "regionalization" efforts between the City of Reno and Washoe County, to have one consolidated fire department.
