Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve called a press conference Wednesday, saying she is putting forth an initiative to clean up the Truckee River. Changes to the homeless situation in the area are a part of that plan.
Mayor Schieve and two other city leaders were chosen to be part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Only 40 mayors in the country are selected for that program. And the mayor presented a proposal about the river to the program.
"I think we should make it illegal to live along the river. It is important to save lives,” said Mayor Schieve. The mayor outlined her plan on Wednesday to clean up the Truckee River and make areas safer.
“People sleeping along the river have been stabilizing their tents by digging out the flood wall. And that it becomes incredibly dangerous. If we have a massive flood this winter, we could see a lot of people lose their lives,” said Mayor Schieve.
Cracking down on the homeless in the area is part of that plan. "It's very dangerous. We have fires. We have floods. There are a lot of different reasons why it can be fatal to live along the river,” said Mayor Schieve.
Getting help for those who are homeless is also part of the plan. "There is a lot going on downtown. We want to make sure they have wrap around services and better housing options,” said Mayor Schieve.
As part of her plan to clean up the river, the mayor is also proposing the hiring of ten new law enforcement officers. That would create a new group called the River Rangers. Up to $2 million of the current Public Safety Tax would pay for those officers. Reno would also request matching funds from Washoe County and Sparks, for the rangers. "These would all be sworn officers because they do need to be able to arrest people that are doing anything illegal along the river,” said Mayor Schieve.
The River Rangers would also have a second role as part of their responsibilities."Part of the River Rangers responsibility would be clean up as well. They will go along the river and they will sweep it," said Mayor Schieve.
Five to ten Harvard students will also be coming to the area to help out with parts of the Truckee River Initiative. The mayor is also asking that the public submit their own proposals on how to clean up the Truckee River.
