After an email by attorney Hawah Ahmad to Reno City Attorney Karl Hall expressing concern a public comment by Troy Regas was missing from the most recent Reno City Council meeting video on YouTube, due to technical difficulties, a new version was uploaded which does now include it.
“I am hoping that this is just an Open Meeting Law violation and not an attempt by the City of Reno to set aside and invalidate Mr. Regas' comment regarding Mr. Denton and the ridiculous proposed business license changes,” Ahmad had previously written.
In his comments (at the one hour mark above), Regas brought up Grant Denton who was recently selected as the Reno News and Review activist of the year, and nine women now identified as Jane Does making misconduct allegations against him. Our Town Reno has previously reported on some of this alleged misconduct, which the founder of the Karma Box Project denies.
As part of his comments, Regas mentioned an office Denton was paying just $200 a month to use, specifically Suite 1401 on the 14th floor of City Hall at 1 East First Street.
We obtained a temporary use license agreement (above) made on September 23rd 2020 between the City of Reno and the Karma Box Project for $200, starting in October 2020 until September 2021.
We asked about this to the City of Reno, whether it was unusual at such a low price, and how long Karma Box used the space.
“The agreement was not renewed,” a communications employee wrote back. “Coming out of the pandemic, as staff numbers grew, the City stopped renewing space use agreements at City Hall in an effort to reclaim space for increased staffing needs.”
Regas asked for an investigation of Denton, who is now contracted by Washoe County to run its safe camp program at the Cares Campus. “Apparently no one on this dais remembers the #metoo movement or even the debacle with the City Manager a few years ago,” he said.
Former City Manager Andrew Clinger, who now has a top job at UNR as Vice President for Administration and Finance, was terminated in 2016 with a $228,000 severance package, while maintaining his innocence. A city-funded investigation did not find evidence to substantiate sexual harassment allegations against him but did back claims a hostile work environment existed.
After Regas spoke, Mayor Hillary Schieve responded to the complaints about the proposed, updated new business codes, drafted by an external party, which she agrees need to be entirely redone, but did not address the comments about Denton or Clinger.