Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sparks seeks $29,000 dumpster grant and FEMA grant for goat grazing to reduce wildfire fuel
Summary
Staff briefed the council on two pending grants: a $29,000 no-match dumpster grant to host community green-waste disposal cycles and a FEMA grant request of $397,215 (25% match) to fund targeted goat grazing on a 65-acre parcel to reduce invasive weeds and wildfire risk.
City grant staff told the Sparks City Council on April 14 about two pending wildfire fuel-reduction grants that would fund green-waste dumpsters and targeted goat grazing to lower wildfire risk in Sparks.
Mel Evans, the city’s grants administrator, said the first application requests $29,000 with no federal match requirement; the city would contribute about $4,000 in labor. The plan would place eight dumpsters per cycle at strategic locations across the city with two spare dumpsters available for overfill; staff proposed repeating placements in fall 2025 and spring 2026. Evans said city staff expect to know within about a month whether the dumpster grant is awarded.
The second proposed project is a fuels-reduction grazing program on a roughly 65-acre parcel near the Tom Wharf property, intended to control invasive cheatgrass and other fine fuels. That project is a FEMA grant administered through the Nevada Division of Emergency Management with a total cost of $397,215 and a required 25 percent local match of $99,303. Under the proposed cost split negotiated with Reno, Sparks would cover 38.16 percent of the match — $37,894 — and Reno would cover 61.84 percent — $61,409. Evans said the city expects an award decision this summer and plans three grazing cycles; he told the council goats would graze for short periods (about nine days per cycle) and that repeating grazing over cycles helps reduce seed viability.
Evans said staff previously applied to a Department of Natural Resources grant and were not funded for one cycle; the city experienced a small brush fire on the parcel after that earlier application was denied and staff emphasized the ongoing wildfire risk. Councilmember Bybee asked about schedule and duration; Evans said staff and contractors expect to mobilize quickly once an award is received and that the grazing contractor has indicated it can execute the proposed cycles promptly.
The council received the update; no formal action was required at the meeting.
