The Fiscal Year 2020 budget approved by the City Council included $300,000 to prepare and analyze a conceptual master plan for a proposed industrial area east of Sparks and the Pah Rah mountain range. The study area is comprised of land currently owned by the federal government, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and referred to as the Federal Lands Future Service Area (FLFSA). Availability of some or all this land for development, and potentially for annexation by the City of Sparks, is contingent upon passage of a federal lands bill.

The attached professional service contract (Exhibit A) with NCE is for development of  analysis of the FLFSA, which is designated by the hatched area labeled “United States of America” on the “Development Suitability” figure (Exhibit C) attached to this staff report and referenced in the proposal submitted by NCE to the City dated September 30, 2019 (Exhibit B).

NCE is an engineering firm with five offices in Nevada and California. The project team primarily involves staff from NCE’s office in Reno. If the contract is approved by the City Council, the project will be led by John Welsh, a professional engineer. Mr. Welsh was previously employed by Stantec, a large multi-disciplinary design firm, and served as project manager for preparation of a facility master plan for a possible future growth area east of Sparks in 2008. NCE’s project team also includes Stantec in a sub-consultant capacity.

As noted in the Background section, Stantec previously prepared a facility master plan for a possible future growth area east of Sparks in 2008. A new FLFSA master plan will be prepared in two phases. The first phase, provided for by this proposed contract, will update portions of the previous analyses; undertake conceptual level land planning; assess environmental and drainage issues; and, evaluate possible new transportation links between Sparks, the potential industrial area on federal lands, and the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. In particular, the first phase will entail analysis of various possible constraints that could impact the size, location and configuration of the proposed industrial development area and transportation corridors. Potential constraints include slopes, floodplains and a designated “Area of Critical Environmental Concern,” due to the presence of petroglyphs and other cultural and archeological resources, located within the boundaries of the FLFSA.

Phase 1 will include the following tasks (see Exhibit B for details):

1.   Meetings and Coordination

2.   Data Acquisition and Slope Analysis

3.   Evaluation of the Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC)

4.   Viewshed Analysis

5.   Planning Analysis

6.   Conceptual Transportation Plan

7.   Hydrologic Analysis and Floodplain Mapping

8.   Preparation of a Conceptual Level FLFSA Master Plan Report.

NEC projects completing the Phase 1 work in approximately seven months.

City staff anticipates the conceptual master plan and related analyses produced during Phase 1 can be used to inform development of the proposed federal lands bill. If a federal lands bill that includes the FLFSA progresses, the City can contract for Phase 2 of the land and facility master plans. As indicated in Exhibit B, the second phase would likely include refinement of plans and analyses for transportation, water, sanitary sewer and effluent infrastructure; a fiscal analysis report; and a cultural resources inventory. The two-phase iterative process is intended to spread the cost of analyzing and preparing a master plan for the FLFSA over two fiscal years and reduce the possibility of completing a conceptual master plan only to have to incur additional expense to revise it based on a federal lands bill.

If feasible, a new industrial area within the FLFSA could provide sites for large industrial users which cannot currently be accommodated in Sparks’s current city limits – and only on a limited basis within greater Washoe County – and therefore are locating outside of Washoe County.

The proposed contract with NCE is a critical first step towards understanding the opportunities and challenges presented by a possible Sparks industrial area in the FLFSA.

1. Approve the proposed contract with NEC.
2. Reject the proposed contract with NEC and provide direction to the City Manager.
3. Modify the proposed contract, subject to NEC’s concurrence, or direct the City Manager to revise the contract for future City Council consideration.

I move to approve professional services contract (AC-5620) with NCE in the amount of $256,940 to develop Phase 1 of conceptual land and facility master plans for the Federal Lands Future Service Area.