Fernley senior committee sets April 18 planting day, March 1 fan-drive start and coordinates donation outreach

The Fernley Senior Citizens Advisory Committee set an in-person planting day at Desert Memorial Garden Cemetery for April 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and discussed logistics for donation letters, storage and pick-up.

Committee members debated whether to solicit monetary donations or in-kind plant donations from retailers such as Lowe’s, Walmart, Tractor Supply and a local nursery. Jordan Hicks presented two donation-letter templates — a generic template and a more specific version addressed to individual organizations — and the committee directed him to finalize the letter(s) and coordinate with staff so letters can be distributed to business-license email addresses by March 1.

Members discussed practical concerns about donated plants: storage constraints, local wind and sun conditions at the cemetery, and the need to select species that will withstand the site. Jackie LaVoy and Lisa Callahan said they favored plants suited to local exposure; Sharon Holly suggested contacting Tractor Supply and other vendors for donations. The committee agreed to accept both monetary and in-kind donations depending on what donors can provide.

On the fan-drive, the committee agreed to begin accepting fans on March 1. Members discussed tying a first distribution to a Small Business Expo (tentatively May 9, contingent on city scheduling) and scheduling an additional distribution around June 13. Potential distribution sites discussed included The Nest and Squeeze In; staff agreed to confirm the expo date, provide a City of Fernley logo for promotional flyers and post materials to social media.

Committee members asked staff to coordinate pick-up logistics and to place follow-ups on the April agenda to finalize locations and promotion. No formal motion to obligate funds or accept donations into a city account was recorded during the meeting.