Washoe County health board approves series of routine items, appointments and regulation steps; votes unanimous

The District Board of Health for Washoe County unanimously approved a series of administrative and regulatory items Thursday, including the election of a vice chair, acceptance of REMSA Health monthly franchise reports and several regulatory and appointment actions.

The board elected Clara Andreola as vice chair for the remainder of the 2025 meeting cycle after Chair Reese nominated her and Paul Anderson seconded the nomination. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Board members said the votes were routine. Vice Chair Clara Andreola then presided over the remainder of the business.

The board accepted Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) Health’s monthly franchise reports for November and December 2024 and January 2025. The motion to accept was made by Member Brown and seconded by Member Driscoll and carried unanimously.

The board also approved the REMSA Health franchise compliance report for the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. REMSA was found compliant in all 17 franchise articles, and the motion to approve carried unanimously after a motion by Driscoll and a second by Anderson.

On a land-use–adjacent item, the board voted to uphold the Sewage, Wastewater and Sanitation Hearing Board’s approval of variance case H24-004VARI. Environmental Health Services supervisor David Kelly told the board the variance would allow proposed lot sizes of 2.5 acres where the regulation’s usual minimum parcel size for septic service is 5 acres; the developer proposed reserving open space so the overall septic density would remain at one system per five acres. Member Brown moved to approve the district board’s recommendation to uphold the hearing board decision; Driscoll seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

The board appointed an at-large member to the Air Pollution Control Hearing Board for a three-year term beginning Feb. 27, 2025. Francisco Vega, director of the Air Quality Management Division, presented the staff recommendation; Member Anderson moved the appointment and Member Brown seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

The board reviewed and adopted a business impact statement for proposed revisions to the District Board of Health regulations governing air quality management that relocate and update asbestos requirements. Craig Peterson, monitoring and planning supervisor, described reorganizing asbestos rules into two parts (asbestos control standards and acknowledgement of asbestos assessment), adding definitions, clarifying recordkeeping and listing exemptions. The motion to adopt the business impact statement was made by Driscoll and seconded by Anderson; it carried unanimously.

The board also voted to accept the fiscal year 2025 second-quarter strategic plan results and approved the district health officer evaluation participant list and online-survey process (the participant list was approved with the addition of the interim Truckee Meadows Fire chief). The strategic-plan acceptance motion was made by Driscoll and seconded by Brown; the DHO evaluation process motion was moved by Dr. Twardy and seconded by Anderson. Both motions carried unanimously.

Several motions were procedural and noncontroversial; public comment on the voted items was not offered or there was none. Board members repeatedly described the votes as routine and thanked staff for presentations and clarity.

Votes at a glance

- Election — Nomination and confirmation of Clara Andreola as vice chair for period 02/27/2025–12/31/2026. Nominated by Chair Reese; seconded by Paul Anderson. Outcome: approved (unanimous voice vote).

- Consent agenda — Motion to approve consent items as presented. Mover: Member Brown; second: Member Driscoll. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

- Item 8 — Acceptance of REMSA Health monthly franchise reports (Nov–Dec 2024, Jan 2025). Mover: Member Brown; second: Member Driscoll. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

- Item 10 — Approval of REMSA Health franchise compliance report (07/01/2023–06/30/2024). Mover: Mr. Driscoll; second: Mr. Anderson. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

- Item 11 — Recommendation to uphold Sewage, Wastewater and Sanitation Hearing Board decision for variance H24-004VARI (Northern Nevada Public Health Regulations governing sewage, wastewater and sanitation). Mover: Member Brown; second: Member Driscoll. Outcome: approved (unanimous). Key detail: variance would allow 2.5-acre parcels while reserving open space so the overall septic density equals the regulation’s intended 1 system per 5 acres.

- Item 13 — Appointment to Air Pollution Control Hearing Board (at-large member; three-year term 02/27/2025–02/26/2028). Staff recommended candidate; mover: Mr. Anderson; second: Mr. Brown. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

- Item 14 — Adoption of business impact statement for proposed revisions to air quality management regulations (asbestos-related chapters moved and updated). Mover: Mr. Driscoll; second: Mr. Anderson. Outcome: adopted (unanimous).

- Item 16 — Acceptance of FY25 Q2 strategic plan results. Mover: Mr. Driscoll; second: Mr. Brown. Outcome: accepted (unanimous).

- Item 17 — Approval of the district health officer evaluation tool, participant list (with addition of interim Truckee Meadows Fire chief) and use of an online survey program. Mover: Dr. Twardy; second: Mr. Anderson. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

What this means

Most votes were procedural approvals or acceptance of reports and regulatory steps rather than policy reversals. Where discussion occurred — for example the sewage-variance case — staff described conditions intended to preserve public-health protections (minimum density and locating parcels outside the 100-year floodplain). The board asked clarifying questions and approved the staff recommendations without amendment.

The board scheduled follow-up and public-hearing steps for rule adoption (the public hearing on the revised asbestos-related regulations is scheduled for March 27).