2011 progress edition

8/7/2019 2011 Progress edition

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Progress

D o u g l a s C o u n t y

2 0 1 1


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Page 6 | Sunday,January 9, 2011 | www.recordcourier.com

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Happy New Year and wel-come to 2011! If youre like me,youre ready to start this yearfresh with new ideas and goals.

A look at our communitys ac-complishments in 2010 andgoals for 2011 tells a story ofchallenges and optimism com-bining to bring us into an excit-ing new year filled with oppor-tunity! The big business story dur-

ing 2010 was the expansion

and renovation of Carson Val-leys only hotel-casino. The pur-chase of Mindens Carson ValleyInn was completed early in theyear, and owner Mike Pegramand his partners immediatelystarted investing in improve-ments to the property. The im-pressive new look extends fromthe front desk through the hotelrooms, a new restaurant andonto the casino floor.

Carson Valleys entrepre-neurial spirit shines through inthe person of CV CabinetWorks Ray Tomalas. Ive beenin business pretty much mywhole life, he says. Most ofmy life, Ive worked for myself.I really got a good thing goingon here, something special. Imwilling to put money into it tokeep the doors open, to keep itworking. Ray shows theres a real

passion for living here in Car-son Valley; and that was sharedworldwide when more than 50Douglas County destinationswere included on the NationalGeographics geotourism web-site. During the year, residentswere invited to submit their fa-vorite landmarks and events.The website features eateries,inns, museums and other placesthat make Douglas County spe-

cial. Few places in the Valley are

as popular with tourists asNevadas first town, Genoa. Lo-cated at the base of the CarsonRange, the town features muse-ums, parks, lodging, shops anda variety of activities during theyear. The annual Candy Dance

festival has served as the townsmain fundraiser for years. Anew event will bring more visi-tors to Genoa and help brand itas a destination. Following asuccessful inauguration, theGenoa Cowboy Poetry & MusicFestival will enter its secondyear this spring. Developing a plan that

brings all these things togetherhas been left in the hands ofDouglas Countys new econom-ic vitality manager, Lisa Grana-

han.According to the plans man-

ager, the goal is to create a com-munity that matches the Valleysnatural beauty and highlights itsfriendly residents, sports,schools and opportunities forcultural enrichment.

Thats what I call progress!

Niki GladysPublisher

MakingProgress

Inside

Bettingon Carson

Valley

Page 7

Water sows the seedsof Mindens future

Page 12

Carving out aliving despitehard times

Page 9

Geotourismputs Valleyon the map

Page 14

Q&A onDouglaseconomic

vitalityPage 18

Genoabringsvisitorsto the

ValleyPage 16

LETTERFROMTHEPUBLISHER


3/16

www.recordcourier.com | Sunday, January 9, 2011 | Page 7

by Kurt [email protected]

While a lot of work has beendone on the major parts of the Car-son Valley Inn, a lot of whats beendone has been behind the scenes.

A third of the hotel rooms and allof its suites are being renovated with

new carpet, new furniture and fix-tures. New carpeting covers thefloor and a new decor greets hotelguests entering the hallways.

When I bring people by whohavent been here for a while theirjaws drop, said Marketing DirectorBill Henderson. A lot of the workweve done is behind the scenes, butit makes a big difference.

Regular visitors to the CarsonValley Inn can find the first big

change in Hendersons own offices,which used to be down the hallfrom the bathroom.

Now a set of double doors and alarge desk greet visitors to Hender-sons offices.

The offices have been renovatedthroughout the building, includingthe call center. The registration desknow juts out into the foyer.

Some of the real changes werebuilding in efficiencies in services,like adding on and building a laun-dry to handle the hotels linen.

We were using a service, butthey were suffering from the econo-my and the sheets were getting towhere you could see throughthem, Henderson said. So we in-stalled our own laundry and werewashing all of our own linens forthe hotel, the restaurants, all thenapkins, everything.

To add room for the laundry andstorage, the casino built an additionon the west side.

Henderson said that instead ofstockpiling supplies, theyve startedordering as needed to save moneyon storage space.

New carpet and lighting in thehotels west wing gives a soothingappearance. The hot tub and the barin the suites are getting new granitecountertops and stone tiling, givingthem more of a lodge feeling.

The furniture is on its way andshould be here the first week of Jan-uary, he said. All the rooms will beready by the end of January.

For those guests who need com-

puter access, but didnt bring a lap-top, the hotel is installing a newbusiness center. The service is freeto guests.

Henderson said that one daily

Unveiling thenew Carson

Valley Inn

Kurt Hildebrand

The new front desk of the Carson Valley Inn is just one of the changes to greet visitors to the Minden hotel and casino. Above, CV Steak restaurant manager Jean-MichelLabadie and executive chef Gary Oien.

Shannon Litz

See Expand on page 8


4/16

Page 8 | Sunday, January 9, 2011 | www.recordcourier.com

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technology issue faced by the prop-ertys staff was its antiquated wire-less Internet system.

We would get a complaint a daythat people couldnt connect,Henderson said.

Installation of the new infra-

structure has brought that down tono complaints.The system is free to hotel guests

and is available in all rooms in thehotel and motor lodge, in the RVpark and most public areas.

The $10 million investmentinto the property was just the be-ginning, Henderson said. Mil-lions have been spent on upgrad-ing during 2010.

New slots and games are beinginstalled in the casino, which has anew air system that is reducing thesmell of cigarette smoke.

The new cabaret, sports bookand bar area features 28 flat-screentelevisions.

Owner Mike Pegram is well-known for his love of the ponies, asformer owner of the race horseLookin at Lucky. Thats reflected ina new pari-mutuel horse race bet-ting at the sports book.

The new steak house, CV Steakand Bar, opened in spring in theformer Fionas Bar and Grill.

Revamping the hotel-casino isjust part of the overall plan to pro-mote the Carson Valley Inn, and bythe same token, Carson Valley.

Were doing more special events

that will bring people to the Valley,Henderson said. Weve hostedmore than 100 golf groups fromout of the area. People dont justspend money at the Carson Valley

Inn when they stay here. They goout to the Basque places, they visitGenoa Bar.

He said things like hosting theparty for Preakness winner Lookin

at Lucky in May, the Breeders CupParty and Rhymers Rodeer, in No-vember, and special concerts, likethe Four Preps, who performed atthe casino in May and December,

will become regular events.I see theyre doing Cowboy Po-

etry in Genoa this spring, he said.Were going to do something thatlarge every month.

ExpandContinued from page 7

Kurt Hildebrand

The Carson Valley Inns expansion included addition of the electronic and table games.


5/16

by Scott [email protected]

Sitting in the back office of his Mindenshowroom, small business owner Ray Toma-las lights up the conversation with his trade-mark vigor, at once gruff and jolly, uproari-ous and kind.

The 65-year-old Gardnerville residentowns a bank of colorful anecdotes, which heproceeds to empty in the boisterous recount-

ing of his Hollywood days, all while GlennBeck blares on a radio above him.Im a talk radio nut, he says. I love talk

radio.He leans back in his chair, showing off the

orange suspenders that run in parallel barsdown the brown flannel of his shirt, meetingthe dark-blue denim of his work jeans.When the conversation turns to the localconstruction industry, his tone changes,edges with pain.

Its sad, heartbreaking, he says. Some ofthe builders and developers I know are los-ing everything theyve ever worked for. Theseare solid, stellar citizens of the community. Ithurts me deeply.

As owner of CV Cabinet Works, Tomalasis one of few people whove been able to steer

a small, construction-dependent companythrough the dire straits of a decimated indus-try. Since the recession started at the end of2007, since construction of new homes inCarson Valley dropped from the triple digitsto the single digits, Tomalas has lost between50 to 60 percent of his business.

You cant blame people, he says. It will

turn around. It always does.And it has, he argues. The corners being

turned. The lights appearing at the end of thetunnel. Perhaps his journey can serve as asurvival guide for other small businesses. Inhis anecdotes and aphorisms and robustsense of optimism, Tomalas may have the an-swers.

Ive been in business pretty much mywhole life, he says. Most of my life, Iveworked for myself. I really got a good thinggoing on here, something special. Im willingto put money into it to keep the doors open,to keep it working.

Tomalas journey began in Southern Cali-fornia at the age of 15, when he started work-ing construction. He soon graduated fromLos Angeles Trade Technical College with anemphasis on finish carpentry and cabinet-making. In Ventura, he started his own con-struction company, Cal-Built Construction,which he operated for 12 years.

But it was his time in Hollywood thatTomalas now recalls with the most enthusi-asm. From 1966 to 1970, he was an appren-tice with Columbia Pictures, making propsand special effects on the sets of Bewitched,The Flying Nun, I Dream of Jeannie, andseveral films. He still looks for the baluster he

built for Guess Whos Coming to Dinner,starring Sidney Poitier. He still reminiscesabout his cup of tea with Barbra Streisandwhile doing some work on her home.

It was probably one of the most fun timesin my life, he says. But I learned very quick-ly to get back to reality.


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Shannon LitzRay Tomalas of CV Cabinet Works in his Minden showroom on Dec. 1.

See Spirit on page 10


6/16

Reality eventually ledTomalas over the mountainsto Gardnerville, where heslived for the last 25 years.

I just got tired of the po-litical correctness of Califor-nia, the political climate, hesays. How can anyone notwant to move to this area?This is Gods country. Thepeople here! Ill never leave.If there is such a thing as pastlives, then I might have beenliving here in the early1900s. I just feel so comfort-able.

In 1991, Tomalas foundedTomalas Custom Cabinets.

I built a great reputationfor high-end cabinetry, hesays. But thats differentthan selling manufacturedcabinets made elsewhere inthe U.S.

In 2000, in response to

the evolving needs of hiscustomers, Tomalas startedCV Cabinet Works. Thecompany combined his cus-tom products with supplyand sales of manufacturedproducts. Today, with ashowroom in Minden and aworkshop near his home,Tomalas offers two lines ofmanufactured cabinets, cus-tom closets and customgarage cabinets. His compa-ny currently has three full-time and three part-time em-

ployees.I had a customer that, for

the price, wanted customcabinets only in the kitchen,he says. I first offered man-

ufactured garage cabinets,but then I built some in theshop that turned out to be abetter product for the sameprice.

For years, Tomalas said,his business has been drivenby peoples desire to be or-ganized.

Its such a great pleasure

when youre doing a closetfor a little old lady, he says.

The reason they want usis because of the quality ofthe company and the serv-

ice. Ive based my wholebusiness on it, my whole lifeon it, and its very rewarding. Were dedicated to service.Anyone can do what we do,


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Shannon LitzDan Holley works on a countertop at the CV Cabinet Works shop on Dec. 1.

SpiritContinued from page 9

Shannon LitzBob Brackett at the CV Cabinet Works shop on Dec. 1.


7/16


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Heading into the boomyears of Carson Valley con-struction, Tomalas had histwo businesses, TomalasCustom and CV CabinetWorks, based out of a nearly10,000-square-foot suite offIndustrial Way in Gard-nerville. Three years ago,when the recessive tide firsthit, Tomalas began cuttingexpenses.

As geologists can recordthe shrinking levels of an-cient lakes by declining

notches in the hills, so mayeconomists record the sever-ity of the recession in CarsonValley by the shrinking sizeof Tomalas Gardnervilleheadquarters. What startedas 10,000 square feet wasgradually downsized overthe years, more and morespace ceded back to thelandlord, until finally in July2010 Tomalas decided to dosomething different.

By that point, we weredown to 2,400 square feet,he says. Most of the con-tractors I knew were out ofbusiness or not doing any-

thing.In July, Tomalas closed the

Gardnerville location andmoved into an 850-square-foot suite along Highway395 on the edge of Minden.Soon after, he shut downTomalas Custom Cabinets.

Weve cut every single

expense. Ive micromanagedthis business down to theleanest I can run it. I cantrun it any leaner, he says.There were two reasons forthe move: to cut expensesmore, and for visibility.When you come into town,the lights are on every night.It really helps with thosepeople who are new hereand dont know about us.

That untapped customerbase is important to survival,Tomalas says. The old modelof new-home constructionhas given way to the new

model of, well, remodeling.Weve definitely seen aturnaround, he says. Threemonths ago (August), wecouldnt sell a cabinet. Twomonths ago, we started sell-ing. People are tired of notspending money.

Last summer, Tomalasalso got married to interiordesigner Jeanne James,owner of Interior Lifestyles.The two have since teamedup on promotions.

If you buy our cabinets,youll get one free hour of in-terior design work, he says.Right now, the deals are

there. Were doing whateverwe can to give value to thedollar people spend on us.

Tomalas has another trickup his sleeve. For years, heran Prime Cut Barbecue Co.and made a savory reputa-tion for himself cooking

Western-style barbecue at

local events.Inside the Minden show-

room, visitors can find an as-sortment of James Gangsauces and spices for sale, aswell as Rays Rub Toma-las own special blend forbeef, pork and chicken.

I sell a lot of that, hesays. I have a real passionfor barbecue, and I did verywell with it. There again,youre dealing with people,and I love dealing with peo-ple.

A restless entrepreneur,Tomalas envisions selling CV

Cabinet Works in the futureand then heading out intothe frontier of niche foods.He would like to hunt downthe best, if undiscovered,barbecue sauces, spices andrubs and start a businessselling the products at streetfairs and farmers markets.

I have a desk at myhouse covered with all sortsof stuff, he says, with thatunmistakable zest in hisvoice. As an entrepreneur,the challenge is building abusiness. Once the businessis up and running, its not asfun.

Located at 1685 Highway395, CV Cabinet Works isopen 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon-day through Friday and Sat-urday by appointment.

For more information,call 782-6978.

Shannon LitzRay Tomalas of CV Cabinet Works talks about his business on Dec. 1.


8/16


Shannon LitzThe Minden water tank.

by Sheila [email protected]

Carson Valley pioneersknew they wouldnt prosperwithout water to keep thelush pastures green and thefarming and ranching com-munity thriving.

Mindens water resourcespaved the way for the com-munitys progress from the

turn of the 20th century andcontinuing as the 21st centu-ry ends its first decade.

That is the legacy behindthe Town of Mindens waterpolicy and its aggressive ac-quisition 12,000 acre feet ofunderground water rights.

We were blessed by hav-ing the founders of this Val-ley understand that the useof surface water might alsolend itself to spreading therecharge area of under-ground water, said BobHadfield, outgoing townboard chairman.

The underground water

supply was never dimin-ished by use of the CarsonRiver. By putting more waterto use in the Valley as op-posed to letting it just godown river contributed tothe healthiness of the under-

ground basin.The town of Mindens

agreement to act as waterpurveyor for Carson Valleyand parts of Carson City car-ries what Hadfield calls anawesome responsibility.

Youve got to protect theresources, said Hadfieldduring an interview in thelast days of his long tenureon the town board.

Thats whats so greatabout the five board mem-bers. We understood the sig-nificance of Mindens invest-ment and the need to protectit in a way that benefited allthe people in the Valley,Hadfield said.

While water and waterrights are complicated is-sues, the basic principle ofwater law is unchanged.

To understand Nevadawater law, you need to un-derstand the basic underly-ing principle: You use it, oryou lose it, Hadfield said.

Outgoing town board

members have made suretheir new counterparts arewell schooled on the subject.

The only way to maintainwater resources was to put itto beneficial use and have aplan, he said.

Minden has had a plansince the first 500-foot-deepArtesian well was developedin 1907 to serve as thesource of water for the townssystem.

The policy of acquiringwater has been constantsince the initial founding ofthe water company to assurethere would be adequatesupplies, he said.

At the time, Carson Valleyprimarily was a ranching andfarming community.

Whatever the earliest set-tlers background, they un-derstood the uniqueness ofthe western water system. Were an alpine irrigationsystem. We primarily takewater from the river, put itover the land, reuse it as tailwater to the next peopledown the ditch, he said.

Hadfield said the well-de-veloped water system oftenis overlooked or misunder-stood by newcomers.

They just assume the Val-

ley is this way. Its not a natu-ral irrigation system. Anelaborate irrigation system ofcanals was built with thehelp of the Chinese tobring life to the Valley.

At that time, no one

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would get or had illusions itwould be huge, Hadfield

said. They understood thevalue of water. The policy ofacquiring water has beenconstant since the initialfounding of the Mindenwater company.

With the progress of thelast 100 years came someproblems including govern-ment oversight of waterquality and increased de-mand.

Minden is addressingthose issues through devel-opment of the $21 millionregional pipeline deliverysystem to north DouglasCounty and Carson City.

In addition, the town isengaged in a legal battle withthe Pyramid Lake PaiuteTribe over ownership of thewater rights.

The towns legal fees toprotect its water rights havereached $700,000.

By selling 1,250 acre feetof water to Carson City for$10 million, the town hasbeen implementing the firstphase of the system expan-sion. That includes a 2.5 mil-lion-gallon water tank andupgrading the towns currentwater delivery system to

meet the countys East Valleyand Indian Hills General Im-provement District needs.

The agreement with Car-son City provides that Min-den will pump Carsons oldwater rights in Carson Valleyon demand as well as the

purchased water rights asneeded.

The town stepped upand worked toward this goal(regional water system) be-ginning 20 years ago, Had-field said. We have beenable to help develop this re-

gional water system. Mindenis the heart and soul of theregional water system to de-liver to everybody. We aregood stewards of the water,good stewards for the Townof Minden.

If we hadnt done it,

somebody could have filedover our water rights. If itwerent for Minden, verypossibly there might not be aregional water system. Thewater could have left the Val-ley a long time ago if not forthe vision of the town and

the state water engineer al-lowing us to maintain sub-stantial water rights. Weshowed him we had visionand the wherewithal to backit up without being profi-teers.

Shannon LitzPipe leading up to the Minden water tank. Below, workers set up the concrete walls of the new tank.


10/16

Page 14 | Sunday,January 9, 2011 | www.recordcourier.com

by Jo Rafferty

As of August 2010, prospective travelersperusing National Geographics websitecan link to a website that features the Car-son Valley Museum and Cultural Center,

the Genoa Cowboy Poetry & Music Festi-val, or the Eagles and Agriculture event inCarson Valley.

In fact, they can learn about more than400 destinations in the Sierra Nevada re-gion, including about 50 in DouglasCounty.

By linking or going directly to www.sier-ranevadageotourism.org, viewers see amap that features attractions in DouglasCounty, Washoe County and Carson Cityin Nevada, and Californias Nevada, Placerand El Dorado counties.

It gives us a lot of visibility becausethey get millions of hits each day, saidNicole DeJonghe, program director for theSierra Business Council, which, along withthe Sierra Nevada Conservancy partneredwith National Geographic and many otherlocal sponsors in the GeotourismMapGuide project.

The map is interactive, currently has1,300 registered users and gets more than9,500 new visitors every month from 62different countries, according to DeJonghe.

From June through August applicationsfor about 600 Sierra Nevada destinationswere submitted to the business council forconsideration. The criteria includes places,events or businesses that promote the dis-tinctive geographical character of the re-gion and its environment, culture, aesthet-ics, heritage, and the well-being of its resi-dents, according to the National Geo-graphic website.

Destination pages can be updated byregistered users. Viewers can comment onpages, give them a thumbs-up or submitnew nominations.

It empowers the community membersin determining where they want to drivethe tourists, DeJonghe said.

All applicants are reviewed by a Geo-council committee before being selectedand DeJonghe, who serves as the Geo-councils facilitator, said some nominationswerent selected due to safety or sensitivityreasons.

The Geocouncil consists of representa-tives from the art, history, culture, NativeAmerican, government and business sec-tors.

Bill Chernock, executive director of the

Douglas County on the map

See Map on page 15

Shannon Litz

The JT Basque Bar & Dining Room in Gardnerville lit up for its 50th anniversary. Local landmarks like the JT are among those on the map established throughthe geotourism effort.


11/16


Carson Valley Chamber and Visitors Author-ity, one of about 20 Geocouncil members,said the idea of geotourism came about inthe early 1980s, with the green movement.

It brings to light some of the lesserknown, under-utilized national parks andstate parks that are out there, he said. It canbe an old mining town, St. Marys church inVirginia City or the CVIC Hall in Minden.

Chernock said the nominators all had onething in common.

They are passionate about their areas,

and they wrote with that passion, he said.Sue Knight, entertainment chairperson for

the Genoa Cowboy Poetry & Music Festivalthat debuted this year, said she thinks thefestival made the cut because it met the cri-teria.

We presented (the festival) in a way thatshowed how we plug the Valley, the historyof ranching, Basque history, Native Americanhistory and tried to encompass it and cele-brate it, and I think we did that, Knight said.

DeJonghe said National Geographic, a122-year-old organization which also fea-tures Geotourism MapGuides for othercountries on its website, contacted the SierraBusiness Council in 2009 because of the twoorganizations common goals.

National Geographic recognized the Sier-ra Nevada as one of nine geotouristic areaswithin the United States, she said.

DeJonghe said there are four phases in theNational Geographic Sierra Nevada Geot-ourism MapGuide project. The first was theYosemite Gateway, then the Tahoe EmigrantCorridor, starting in January is the Southern

Sierra, then the Northern Sierra Cascade.The Sierra Business Council is currently

working on grants to translate the website inSpanish and to make the website more inter-active by allowing visitors to post morevideos and audio recordings.

The business council also is accepting on-going nominations for new destinations.The Sierra Nevada has a ton of re-

sources, DeJonghe said.Its just a matter of deriving and directing

that tourism in a healthy and sustainableway.

MapContinued from page 14

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Shannon Litz/R-C File PhotoImmature bald eagles sit on a fence at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in February. The annualEagles and Agriculture event tours local ranches during calving season.

Shannon Litz/R-C File Photo

A view of the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Parkin Minden in February.


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large tent, to give more localentertainers a place to per-form.

As for the immediate suc-cess of the cowboy poetryfestival, Knight said it was ahuge surprise to her.

I really thought we had

taken on too much. Itwouldnt work, she said.Im glad to be wrong.

Chernock said the eventshould eventually impactthe entire valley in a positiveway.

Anytime you have an in-flux of people for an eventlike this, restaurants, hotels,everyone benefits, he said.Genoa lends itself to anevent like this. It fits verycomfortably into the cultureand environment of thetown. Thats why it was aninstant success.

While the Candy Dance

and Genoa Cowboy Poetry& Music Festival might bethe big draws to Genoa,Knight, who helps coordi-nate entertainment for otherfunctions in town, said therewill be other events in 2011that should add to thetourist trade in the area.

In June, July and August,well be having our OldTime Music Festival,Knight said. Also in Junewill be the SnowshoeThompson Celebration.

Scheduled for June, thecelebration commemorates

the dedication of theThompson statue, located infront of the Mormon fort.

This event really attractsa lot of Norwegian touriststo the area, as well as familymembers of Thompson,Knight said. March is alsothe Snowshoe ThompsonCross Country SnowshoeTour, which has becomevery popular.

The Sunday afternoonconcert series will also re-turn this year, as well as theSt. Patricks Day dinner, theEaster egg hunt, and adozen other annual happen-

ings.Sure the Candy Dance is

the signature event inGenoa, Gonzales said. Butweve become a multidi-mensional town as far asevents go and that can onlybe good for the future.

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Shannon LitzCarson Valley residents Krista Jenkins and Natalie Nielson of All HatNo Cattle perform at the Genoa Fire Station during last years GenoaCowboy Poetry & Music Festival. They are expected to return thisyear.


14/16

Freelance writerJoyce Hollisterinterviews EconomicVitality Manager LisaGranahan

In July, former Assistant tothe County Manager LisaGranahan was named Eco-nomic Vitality Manager toguide the countys EconomicVitality Strategy and ActionPlan, adopted in September.By creating the new staff po-sition, Granahan said, thecounty commission showedits commitment to makingDouglas County one of thebest communities in whichto work, live and play.

The plans vision, to devel-op A Community to Matchthe Scenery, was inspired by

the areas greatest natural as-sets mountains, valleys,trails, lakes, and open spacesas well as its friendly people,sports and cultural opportu-nities and education. Eco-nomic prosperity can flour-ish when all aspects of com-munity life are encouragedand celebrated.

While Granahan is new inher position, as assistantcounty manager she helpedto develop the database from

which the plans 12 projectswere selected. For a year,consultant Karen Craig siftedthrough 10 existing plans,such as the Douglas CountyMaster Plan and the Mindenand Gardnerville prosperityplans, which had been de-veloped during the previous

10 years.Craig also met with busi-

ness people and communityleaders to identify opportu-nities and resources. Out of900 recommendations, the

county chose to focus onfour projects in each of threecategories: distinctive down-towns, outdoor recreationand lifestyle, and educationand workforce. The timelineextends to 2022, but asGranahan points out, several

projects are already up andrunning and may be com-pleted in less time, whileothers are still in the plan-ning stages.

The projects range from

creating pedestrian friendlyand convenient parking inGardnervilles downtown topromoting internationalawareness of sports aviation soaring and the like atthe Minden-Tahoe Airport.An example of an earlier

plan now elevated to actionstatus is the 2002 Genoalandscaping plan with itsgoal of energizing and at-tracting new business to thetown. Developing the areastrail systems marries wellwith the emerging emphasison geotourism in the West.

Recently, Lisa Granahanand freelance writer JoyceHollister talked about theeconomic vitality plan, whathas been accomplished so far

and whats to come.Joyce Hollister

How has the implementa-tion of the Economic VitalityPlan progressed?Lisa Granahan

Karen Craig started withus in September of 2009.Her task was to develop aneconomic vitality strategyand action plan, which shecompleted a year later, inSeptember of 2010, but wesaw projects start to takeshape during that time. Andall the 12 different projects,youll see theyre all on dif-

ferent trajectories. Some aremoving forward very nicely,like the Main Street Gard-nerville project, where someare just barely starting to getout of the gate. Then, theresthe time frame for this proj-ect: its a 12-year plan. I

think were very pleasedwith the progress so far. Allthe projects are moving for-ward at different speeds.

QTell me about how you

developed the plans scope.A

During the planningprocess, when Karen startedher work, there were 10plans that had been put to-gether over the last severalyears. Some of them weremore focused on economicdevelopment, like theNNDA (Northern NevadaDevelopment Authority)Northern NVision study.Some of them were less spe-cific but involved economicdevelopment, like the Town

of Genoa strategic plan. Inmy role as assistant countymanager I worked withKaren. We pulled all the is-sues and strategies andloaded them into a databaseto come up with the 12 proj-ects that were going to make


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Shannon Litz

Lisa Granahan is Douglas Countys Economic Vitality Manager.

Economic Vitality Plan Q&A with Lisa GranahanECONOMIC VITALITY STRATEGY

AND ACTION PLANProjects and Champions

DISTINCTIVE DOWNTOWNSTahoe Revitalization, Mike BradfordMinden Momentum, Not yet determinedGenoa Destination, Dave WhitgobMain Street Gardnerville, Paula Lochridge

OUTDOOR RECREATION & LIFESTYLETremendous Trails, Melissa Shaw Granat

Ascent Douglas, Jim SladeSports Aviation Destination, Linda Mae Draper-HivertInspired Mobility, Carlo Luri

EDUCATION, INNOVATION & WORKFORCEMaximize Western Nevada College Facility, Brian PalmerEnergize Science Park, Brian PalmerExperiential Education, Ray SidneyMulti-generational Community Center, Janice Rice

MORE ONLINEFor more information on theEconomic Vitality Strategy andAction Plan, click on the Power-Point presentation link from thehome page of the DouglasCounty website:douglascountynv.gov


15/16

the greatest difference or have the most capitalin terms of environmental, economic, social,cultural aspects.

The focus areas that enhanced our vision, ACommunity to Match the Scenery, are playingup our existing downtowns, which includes thecasino corridor at Stateline, focusing on outdoorrecreation and lifestyle, and improving educa-tion innovation and workforce. We narrowed itdown to those three areas.

Q

What are a few of the active projects?A

Im seeing energy that really impresses me,such as the Sports Aviation Destination projectwith Linda Mae Draper-Hivert and the waythings are coming together nicely with thatproject. Theres a focus on education. Im sureyou saw the Education Day article (Third-grade learning takes flight at airport, by ScottNeuffer, R-C, Oct. 1). That was so exciting, togets kids excited abut aviation and maybe be-coming future pilots.

And awareness is expanding. (We have a) sis-ter city, New Zealands Waitaki District, that waswritten about in The Record-Courier (DouglasCounty welcomes New Zealand into the fami-ly, by Scott Neuffer, R-C, Oct. 27). The WaitakiDistricts soaring environment has similarities to

this area. The Sister Cities project does a lot topromote the airport because the seasons are dif-ferent. When its not the time to be soaringthere, it is the time to be soaring here. You finda lot of the soaring pilots going back and forthbetween the two.

While working for the county in 2007, Iserved as the interim town manager of Genoa.Now Im staffed on the Genoa Destination proj-ect. I am really enjoying working with that teamand champion Dave Whitgob. We call the teamthe Posse, and they have dusted off somelandscaping plans that were developed in 2002


JANUARY 19 5-7 PM LAKE TAHOE CC THEATRE FOYER

Connecting our Communities

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County HDR Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization TRPA

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Special to The R-CA glider soars over New Zealands Waitaki Valley. The Waitaki District has become Douglas Countys sister community.


16/16

through the RedevelopmentAgency. We are gettingready to talk to the businesscommunity and the resi-dents about what could im-prove the business opportu-nities there, to (foster) greatlocal services and visitorservices, and create the des-tination. I really enjoyed thetime I spent working withthe town of Genoa. I valuethe passion and the volun-teer spirit there and their re-spect for history. Its excitingto capitalize on Genoas as-sets.

Q

I understand that theEconomic Vitality Strategyand Action Plan has thehelp of volunteers, calledchampions, who are teamleaders for the various proj-

ects. How do you workwith them, and how willthey stay motivated for a12-year span of time?A

Im the coordinator, coor-dinating all the work of allthe champions, but JohnEndter is the overall cham-pion. I call the championsthe Triple P they are allvery passionate private-sec-tor people. I think thatswhat makes the wholechampions aspect really ex-citing. These volunteerswere chosen because oftheir passion, because of the

respect people hold forthem in the community orwith their peers, because oftheir ability to get thingsdone. When we talked tothem, we said, Hey, thiscould be a 12-year commit-ment. But they have suchvision. There were broadgoals developed throughthis plan, and we let themflesh out their goals and puttogether their objectives.Theyve pulled togethertheir own teams. Because ofthe synergy and the energythat the champions arebringing forward and thefact that were starting to seemovement, I think that mo-mentum will carry itself aslong as we the staff can con-tinue to support their ef-forts.

I dont think all thoseprojects are going to take 12

years, some of these projectswill be well underway andbe completed before that,but some of them are goingto take longer. I absolutelyenjoy working with champi-ons. Things seem to movefairly quickly in workingwith them.

Q

How did you find the

champions?AWorking through the

process, names came up,ideas came up, projectscame up, and certain peoplejust seemed natural, so wetalked to them. With MainStreet Gardnerville, PaulaLochridge is a lightning rodthere, so she makes totalsense for that project. Shewas glad to sign on. It wasthe same thing as we talkedthrough each of the projects.

Q

How does the county

help?AOne of the Karens focus-

es was to define the roles ofthe county, of which thereare five:

Leadership; that is therole of the board (of com-missioners) and the countymanager, Michael Brown.Their role is to keep thisplan in front of us all, talk-ing about and making thepolicy decisions needed tomake it a reality. Thats thehat they wear.

My role in this is theother four areas. Partner-

ship; I am working verystrongly with our partners,which might be NNDA,chambers of commerce, orNevadaworks, to make surewe are all working in thesame direction and comple-menting each other. Somereally good examples in-clude new businesses suchas EMCO, TechSpec, andthe North Sails expansion.All of those have happenedthrough our solid partner-ships with NNDA. We pro-vide support to NNDA tobring businesses in or helpthem expand.

Facilitate and communi-cate; I work strongly witheach of the teams and thechampions to move theirprojects forward and to helpthem connect with the part-ners when they need tocommunicate. Melissa Shaw

Granat of Tremendous Trails(the trail system project)and Carlo Luri of InspiringMobility (transportation) are

putting their thinking capson to see where their twoprojects can cross. Commu-nicating is also what Imdoing with you, to commu-nicate progress to the com-munity.

Leverage resources; asthese projects more fully de-velop, we have to find fund-ing for them. My task is towork with other partnerslike WNDD (Western Neva-da Development District) tolook for the funding. In aformer life I was a grantsmanager, so Im not new togrants or to finding funding.

And we live in a great com-munity with a lot of givingfolks. There are a lot offoundations in our commu-nity.

Q

measure progress?A

Were looking at finaliz-ing measures for the overall

plan, such as employment,per capita income and valueof manufacturer shipments.With each of the projects, asthey are more fully identi-fied, well be looking atways to measure success ona project-by-project basis.

Q

Have you encounteredany surprises?A

Things that pop up that Idont expect are other greatideas. As with the partnermodel, I try to hook themup with the right partners

and the right resources.Were committed to these12 projects, but I try to con-nect others to make theirown movement. Someonewill call me on Monday

ith this great idea and

will call me with a relatedidea, so I put the people to-gether. No idea is a bad one.

Q

How will you communi-cate progress to the commu-nity?A

I want to put all the in-formation in a newsletterthat we e-mail out, sayevery few months or so. Aswe get into next year wewill see newsletter updates.John Endter and I can beavailable to speak to serviceclubs who are interested inthe topic, and then at theappropriate time there willbe an update to the board.

QDo you have any bench-

marks you want to reach in2011?A

For 2011 we hope to seef k b i i

being made to businesses inGardnerville, county own-ership of the Martin Sloughportion of the Seeman

Ranch north of Carson Val-ley Inn and other businessexpansions or relocationssuch as the North Sails andEMCO High Voltage expan-sions. Other specifics willbe identified as projects fur-ther develop. If people wantto be involved in attractingbusiness here, I encouragethem to look at the AscentDouglas website (www.as-centdouglas.com), and ifthey would like us on Face-book or follow us on Twit-ter, that would helptremendously. Were look-ing to generate interest from

the type of manufacturerswe want to come to thisarea, to create communitybuzz and show how greatDouglas County is andwhat a great place it is for

d i d


Q&AContinued from page 19

Handyman & Home Improvements

Bill KellyOwner

Lets Billd ItLets Billd It

661-476-4522661-476-4522GIVE ME A CALL LETS BILLD IT TODAY!FENCING DECKS PATIOS SHEDS

TRIM WORK CABINETS CONCRETE

Shannon Litz

John and Jennifer Crawfords 1967 Chevy Camaro and Micky Rileys 1940 Ford Tudor Sedan on Esmeralda Avenue during the Main StreetEvent. Events such as Main Street bring visitors to Carson Valleys downtowns.

2011 progress edition

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