A Discussion with Summer Pellett and the Issues Facing Reno Ward 2
A day after I published my article analyzing the Reno Ward 2 City Council race, I received a message from Summer Pellett asking if I would be willing to meet for coffee and a chat.
I met Summer at a local coffee shop, and we ended up talking for over an hour about neighborhoods, development, city finances, growth, infrastructure, and the challenges facing Ward 2. It was a thoughtful conversation about how cities function.
Summer came across as grounded and engaged in the discussion: someone who has spent years thinking about planning, neighborhoods, permitting, infrastructure, and the practical realities of how growth affects a city.
The conversation started with a sense of place and a connection to where you live. We discussed how cities change rapidly and the need for a vision and direction to keep what people care about.
We discussed my article, and Summer told me how she has been out campaigning and dropping off flyers, so it was good to get the update and see that she is making it happen.
Getting to Know Summer
Roots in Midtown Reno
Summer told me that she and her husband purchased and renovated a home in Midtown, where they live with their three children. They also bought and renovated an office building in Midtown, where they operate their business. That renovation mindset seemed to shape much of how she thinks about Reno.
Education in Government
Her background is in government and planning. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Reno, with coursework in urban and land-use planning. That is unusual for our City Council and is an important experience to bring to the job.
A Background in Planning
Her planning background translated into real-world experience when she served as a planner for the City of Sparks from 2004 to 2009 and on the Storey County Planning Commission from 2017 through 2023. Unlike some in government who talk about development issues from the outside, Summer has worked inside the system.
Contractors not Developers
Summer serves as the COO of her family’s construction company, overseeing accounting, office administration, insurance, HR, and safety, a role she has held for the past eight years. Her husband works as a union journeyman carpenter and is the CEO of their company.
During our conversation, Summer made a point of clarifying that she feels this is misunderstood. We’re contractors, not developers: union workers who build with their hands, she explained.
Link: Campaign Website, Campaign Facebook
Summer, her husband Kyle, and their children took a picture after she registered to run for Ward 2.
How Summer Would Improve Reno
Livable Neighborhoods
Summer’s philosophy is centered on creating neighborhoods where people can live complete lives, where housing, businesses, parks, schools, and recreation connect naturally rather than forcing residents into traffic and long commutes.
That philosophy aligns with her support for expanding walkability and bike connectivity in Ward 2, Midtown, and downtown Reno. She talked about wanting Reno to feel more connected, physically and socially, and to become a city where neighborhoods don’t feel isolated from one another.
Neighborhood preservation was a focus of the conversation. Summer talked about protecting the character of established neighborhoods. She said ADUs have impacts that need to be recognized and regulated, while ensuring they fit with the surrounding neighborhood. She believes Reno needs clearer rules regarding short-term rentals.
Balancing the budget and containing spending are the biggest issues facing Reno, as I write in this article.
City Budget and Finances
Summer believes Reno needs to balance its budget, reduce or restructure debt where possible, and become more financially disciplined.
She spoke about reducing wasteful spending and improving how Reno uses public dollars. She believes the city needs to become more disciplined financially.
She talked about the need for foresight and the importance of pursuing federal and state grants for infrastructure and long-term planning projects.
Summer said that she believes businesses should do their fair share to help maintain downtown facilities such as the Reno Events Center, Reno Ballroom, and National Bowling Stadium, something that I have written about.
The CARES Campus is a source of ongoing problems for Reno and an undue cost that needs to be fixed.
Downtown Blight
Summer believes downtown blight has become a major concern. She supports stronger enforcement against neglected vacant properties, empty lots, and deteriorating buildings that sit unused for years.
Incentives to Repair
She talked about the need for incentives to encourage owners to renovate their properties, to develop vacant land, or sell it to someone who will. She also emphasized the importance of helping property owners fix blighted buildings before they deteriorate beyond repair.
Permitting
She spoke about making Reno’s permitting process easier and less expensive. As someone involved in construction, she understands how delays, uncertainty, and red tape can drive up costs for businesses and housing projects.
Homelessness
We agreed that Reno needs to fix the downtown homelessness problem. She argued that Reno carries much of the burden for addressing the negative impacts of the CARES campus, and she believes the county should reimburse or directly cover additional police costs associated with the campus and surrounding areas.
The Pellett Construction building in Midtown. Summer told me about the costs to renovate and what it’s like to own and build in Reno.
Developers and Related Issues
Summer emphasized that there are formulas that determine the infrastructure costs associated with new development and that state law controls how those fees are calculated and capped.
She pointed out that the city cannot legally require new development to fix existing deficiencies and stressed the importance of prioritizing current and future infrastructure needs with existing revenues.
The broader goal, she explained, is to stop relying on growth-related revenues to pay the infrastructure demands of already developed areas.
Tax Increment Financing
In her view, tax incremental financing (TIF) should be used only when there is a direct and measurable public benefit, such as public access along the river, the revitalization of public spaces, public parking garages incorporated into downtown redevelopment projects that directly increase tourism and economic activity, and infrastructure improvements that serve more than one project. She was adamant that TIF not be used simply as a financial tool to benefit private development deals.
Datacenters and Industry
Summer believes data centers should not be built in residential neighborhoods and that Reno needs uniform, codified rules and regulations to keep industrial uses, such as data centers, separated from housing. She said that heavy industry belongs in areas such as TRIC, which was designed for that purpose.
I wrote about the impact of data centers on our neighborhoods in this article.
Conclusion
As I left the meeting, what struck me was how operationally focused Summer was. She talked like someone who has spent years in planning meetings, permit reviews, budgeting conversations, and neighborhood disputes.
I came away understanding why she believes she is qualified to represent Ward 2. She has experience in planning, government, construction, and business, and a personal investment in Reno.
In a city wrestling with growth, debt, affordability, infrastructure strain, neighborhood preservation, and questions about what Reno should look like in the future, that experience is important.
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Sounds like ward 2 will be in good hands.
Nice article. Of the 4 candidates running in Ward 2, Pellett seems clearly the best choice. She seems wonderfully normal. (Can wonderfully normal compete with entrenched, aligned bullies and their selfish interests? Just askin'.) Hopefully she can "make a difference" in her Ward.