Mayor Geno Martini is proud to call Nevada and the city of Sparks home. He was born in Reno but is quick to say that’s only because there was no hospital in Sparks in those days. Raised on a ranch that sat just below the hillside near the “S”, he attended Sparks schools and graduated from Sparks High School as Student Body President in 1964. He attended the University of Nevada Reno and after graduation had a successful career in the banking industry.

His lifelong friend, former Sparks Mayor Tony Armstrong, convinced Mr. Martini to run for a seat on the Sparks City Council. In July 1999, Mr. Martini was appointed to the Sparks City Council to complete an unexpired term, representing Ward 3. He was elected Mayor Pro Tempore by the City Council in July 2003 and served until February 2005, when he was sworn in as mayor. He was elected to full terms in 2006, 2010 and 2014 and is currently the longest-serving mayor of Sparks.

Under Mayor Martini’s tenure, the City has seen an additional one million square feet of retail business space open.  He has guided the City during the highest growth periods ever, and through the most tumultuous economic challenges.

Mayor Martini has received many awards and accolades. In 2009, he was inducted to the Sparks High School Hall of Fame. He was named the 2014 Politician of the Year, given the Sparks Chamber’s Citizen of the Year Award and its Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the recipient of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Hope Award and the Nevada Chapter of Associated General Contractors Skill, Integrity and Responsibility Award and was named the 2016 Public Official of the Year from the Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities. Most recently, Mayor Martini was named the 2017 Citizen of the Year by the Reno Gazette Journal and inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

Mayor Martini has served on many boards and commissions including Director on the boards of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority and the Truckee River Flood Management Authority.  He is past President of the Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities and also served on the Regional Planning Governing Board, the Western Regional Water commission and the City of Sparks Legislative team.

Mayor Martini is a Sparks native, University of Nevada Reno graduate, successful business man and award winner and community activist. Renaming South D’Andrea Parkway, between Vista Boulevard and North D’Andrea Parkway, to Geno Martini Parkway will honor this great man who has dedicated his life to our great city of Sparks.        

There are five (5) addresses on South D’Andrea Parkway, four of which are water or electrical meters.  The remaining address is where the golf course club house sits.   Washoe County GIS has performed its due diligence by checking the street name for any existing street name duplicates or similar phonetically-sounding street names for the purposes of emergency management.

The process and procedures for the naming of streets are defined and prescribed by an interlocal agreement (A-0843, July 20, 1982) between the City of Sparks, the City of Reno, Washoe County, and the Regional Planning Commission of Washoe County (attached).   Per Section III of the Interlocal Agreement, the Regional Street Naming Committee is granted the power to review existing and proposed street names and to make recommendations regarding street names to the governmental entity wherein the street is located.  Per Section V (A) of the agreement, the governing body of each entity retains the right to accept or reject a recommendation of the Committee regarding any proposed street name.  The Regional Street Naming Committee recommended the name change of at a special meeting on August 28 and approved the minutes of that meeting on October 18, 2018.

1. The City Council could approve the recommendation from the Regional Street Naming Committee.
2. The City Council could reject the recommendation from the Regional Street Naming Committee and provide direction to the City Manager.

I move to approve the recommendation from the Regional Street Naming Committee to rename South D’Andrea Parkway, between Vista Boulevard and North D’Andrea Parkway, to Geno Martini Parkway.