By The Reverend Father Ted Staver
In August of 2024, the Church was approached by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) to expand an existing access easement through a small portion of the Sanctuary. The purpose of the easement is for TMWA to access their 2 million gallon water storage tank which sits on the other side of Church property near the main Sanctuary entrance off Matterhorn Boulevard.
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| TMWA’s 2 million gallon water storage tank |
TMWA has had access to their water tank since July 2007 when they entered into an agreement with the Church. As it turns out, the road to access their tank is not big enough to allow their large tanker trucks to get to the tank to perform their water distribution task.
After one year of discussing the possibilities of allowing them to expand the road to accommodate their access, the Church agreed to work with them in such a way that both parties would benefit. The Church agreed to lease approximately half an acre of the Sanctuary for the expansion of the access road.
Because the existing gate would have to be moved approximately 50 feet, it was decided to replace the old gate (which was constructed in the early 1980s) with the gate that used to grace New Mount Zion in southwest Reno. TMWA agreed to pay the cost of removing the old gate and replacing it with the Zion gate and fencing. TMWA also paid the Church a fee for the expanded easement and will pave the entrance when they put in their new road.
An agreement between TMWA and the Church was finalized in August 2025 – one year after they originally approached us – and construction of the new gate and fence was completed in November.
We have posted a gallery of photos with before and after images of the process. As you can see from the photos, the new Sanctuary gate is quite impressive and gives the Sanctuary entrance an entirely different character. I should mention that the new gate is automated with solar-powered motors, security cameras, and the latest technologies and phone apps. The Ministers that reside at the Sanctuary appreciate the upgrade, as does the Congregation.
All this was made possible by Bishop Gene Savoy, Jr. It was his negotiating skills that made this happen. Thank you for your support!
Photo Gallery
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| The Sanctuary entrance before construction began |
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| The New Mount Zion gate on the upper level of the sanctuary |
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| Work begins with the removal of the Zion gate. |
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| After about 5 hours of work, the Zion gate has been removed. |
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| The massive gate posts have now been relocated and are being concreted in place. |
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| All four gate posts have been set and are waiting to have the gates placed on them. |
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| After the gates were set and adjusted and the minor details fixed, it was time to automate the gate. |
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| At last, we come to the final phase where we gave our beautiful gate a fresh coat of paint. |
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