Board of County Commissioners Chair Alexis Hill has rebuffed an attempt by another Washoe County commissioner to revisit the upcoming transfer of the Our Place shelter for women and families from RISE to Volunteers of America management, despite its two-year bid coming in about $1.2 million higher.
After Michael Clark said he wanted to reconsider his “aye” for block agenda items on May 20th, Hill then wrote back “Typically, we would follow the reconsideration rules outlined in our Board Rules however, reconsideration of these executed contracts creates potential liability for the County under Nevada law governing contracts. Rule 5.4.2.1 empowers the Chair to decline agenda items that substantially conflict with the law or the county's ability to conduct operations. Due to the legal exposure, I will not be adding this request to a future agenda.”
Clark also indicated on social media he had mistakenly let the agenda item go through without discussion, perplexed as to why VOA got the nod over RISE. The change will take effect in mid June.
Commissioner Clark previously received an email from Candee Ramos, from the county’s communications office, indicating “the evaluation committee, which is made up of both internal staff and stakeholders, scored VOA higher in the scoring process. This was a standard procurement/RFP process that included a qualifications-based process vs. a commodity or construction low bid process. Pricing is only one of the five criteria delineated in the RFP. The team offered to let you see the scoring if you would like.”
Our Town Reno has asked to see this scoring process as well if made available.
RISE, which runs county CrossRoads programs, has had good reviews for operating Our Place in Sparks since its opening five years ago, while VOA has had controversial history running both the former Record Street shelter and now the Cares Campus, with several lawsuits and numerous complaints which have been ongoing over perceived favoritism, safety concerns, logistics and working with the community at large.
RISE started as a local grassroots organization organizing community meals in 2012, while Volunteers of America is a faith-based entity with programs in nearly all states.
Our Town Reno reporting, May 2025
