— Douglas County, Nevada —

News You Can UseSeptember 2013 — Volume III , Issue 12

A major milestone for Lake Tahoe’s restoration and environmental redevelopment was reached on September 25th with the unanimous adoption by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board of the Douglas County South Shore Area Plan—the first local government Area Plan to be enacted under the 2012 Lake Tahoe Regional Plan.

The South Shore Area Plan sets goals for Douglas County’s share of Lake Tahoe’s environmental protection and restoration and opens the way for the mostly-rural, Nevada-side jurisdiction, to improve walkability and bikeablity while improving the aesthetic character of the County’s town centers. Along with increased responsibility for implementing environmental policies, the Area Plan delegates more permitting authority for small and mid-size projects to the County while maintaining TRPA’s permitting authority for

larger projects, among other safeguards.

TRPA Board Chair and Carson City Appointee Shelly Aldean hailed the approval as an important next step for local governments that are investing millions in restoration projects and are on the front line of pollutant reduction at the pristine alpine lake.

“This board and agency have accomplished many great things for Lake Tahoe and approving this Area Plan is the next step to securing a positive future for the Basin,” Aldean said. “The Area Planning framework is not a novel concept and is fully supported by the Bi-State Compact that was recently renewed by the two states.”

The framework was adopted by the TRPA Board in December, 2012 as part of the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan Update to reduce a layer in Lake Tahoe’s permit process and refocus TRPA on regional issues rather than day-to-day permitting of small projects. A more efficient

permit process will encourage environmental redevelopment and increase private investment in upgrades to stormwater systems and transportation and scenic improvements that are needed to meet regional standards, according to TRPA.

Douglas County Manager Steve Mokrohisky said the tight-knit Tahoe community recognizes that maintaining the status quo at Lake Tahoe and blocking environmental upgrades with duplicative regulations is unacceptable.

“Douglas County has a strong record of environmental stewardship and we are proud of our leadership role as the first local jurisdiction to have an approved Area Plan,” Mokrohisky said. “Our community is primed to invest in redeveloping (Continued pg. 2)

For more than a year the private and public sectors have worked together to define a shared future for the Carson Valley that enhances the quality of the downtowns, identifies economic development strategies that complement existing business clusters, and preserves the natural resources that are fundamental to the past and future character of the Valley.

The idea for the Valley Vision began in the Spring of 2013 when business owners, community leaders and citizens in Douglas County came together to define how the communities in the Carson Valley should evolve over the next 20 to 30 years.

The plan is focused on big-picture ideas such as prosperity, conservation, job generation, and quality of life, that will serve as the foundation for the future. The plan also helps to identify the policies, code revisions, and regulatory standards that make the vision

achievable.

Two workshops were facilitated by staff from Douglas County to allow attendees to look at maps, illustrations and review some of the guiding principles of the plan.

One key component of the plan is revitalization of the downtown areas in the Minden and Gardnerville areas to enhance the local downtown area and create a community to match the scenery of Douglas County.

At the Critical Issues Conference held on September 26th, County Manager, Steve Mokrohisky unveiled that Chris Bently, owner and CEO of Bently Enterprises, is working toward a renovation project of the property surrounding the Minden Flour Mill and silos into a tourist destination district.

The plan is to convert the building into a distillery and café, with the property one day also serving as a potential depot for the V & T Railroad and accompanying extension. Chris Bently’s next venture is to restore a turn of the century brick mill and creamery into a hub for

culture and drive the local economy without driving development.

The board of commissioners and towns of Minden and Gardnerville accepted the Valley Vision and will be developing a resolution.

The complete Valley Vision Plan can be viewed at www.douglascountynv.gov.

INSIDE THIS ISSUENNDA Pioneer Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Disaster Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

TRPA Board Approves Environmental Leap Forward in Douglas County’s South Shore Area Plan

A rendering of the conceptual plan by Bently Enterprises for its building in Minden.

Valley Vision Presented at Critical Issues Conference

page 2 NEWS YOU CAN USE — DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA Volume III Issue 12

the built environment to improve the natural environment.”

The adopted Area Plan meets or exceeds regional standards for environmental protection and improvement, which is required of this and all future Area Plans, TRPA said. The plans must also be recertified annually to ensure it continues to meet the Agency’s high standards.

Although the Douglas County portion of the Basin is sparsely populated, it is home to the largest concentration of tourist accommodations in the Tahoe Basin—the four casino properties huddled around the south state line. Among the safeguards built into the framework is the requirement that TRPA continue to review all projects in that area, as well as all large-scale projects and projects in sensitive areas such as the lake shoreline.

Close on the heels of Douglas County’s plan are Area Plans coming forward from four other local governments throughout the region. All plans will become part of the Regional Plan while being responsive to the unique circumstances of diverse communities around the Lake.

Several Douglas County businesses took home 6 top awards during Northern Nevada Development Authority’s (NNDA) Pioneer Awards Dinner. The Pioneer Awards recognized businesses in 5 county regions with each county chosing a business of the year. Douglas County’s business of the year award went to General Electric (GE) Bently Nevada.

GE was selected based on five guiding principles:

• Improves business climate

• Enhances education and workforce

• Unique and Marketable

• Helps maintain the exceptional quality of life

• Preserves the natural environment and infrastructure

Currently GE has 750 employees, is the largest exporter in Nevada and has established a new $4.3 million state-of the-art assembly line.

GE supports the Business Council of Douglas County (BCDC), Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, UNR College of Engineering, and the Dream It, Do it program both financially and with support from the GE Leadership team. GE’s an active corporate member of BCDC and GE has specifiacally been engaged and focused on education which is critical to building a pipeline of future manufacturing and engineering.

GE has customers and other GE employees that visit from all over the world, spending money locally on accommodations and restaurants.

GE’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program commits to hiring 5,000 veterans. Locally, GE hosts its annual job fair and Military Appreciation

fair, designed to provide vets with job opportunities and connect them with community resources available to them.

GE’s commitment to environment, health and safety are a top priority. An example of this was the emergency preparedness drill that GE coordinated with local FBI, sheriff, SWAT, and fire departments. Another example was the GE Volunteers trail building project where 70+ GE volunteers teamed up to help build the Clear Creek Trail.

Other awards received by businesses in Douglas County included:

• The Homestead Award for Best Agricultural Initiative, was awarded to Bently Ranch.

• The Kit Carson Award for Best Entrepreneur was awarded to Killer Salsa-No place Like Home.

• The Mark Twain Award for Best Marketing Initiative was awarded to No Place Like Home-Carson City Visitors Authority.

• The Silver Apple Award for Best Educational Initiative was awarded to Western Nevada College-for Dream to do and Right Skill Now.

• The Silver Spur Award for Oustanding Employee went to Jay Summerville-AVK

• The Wagon Wheel Award for Best Technology, Program or Patent went to Sierra Kombucha-Health Tea from Old Chinese Formula.

“We are extremely proud of our business community with Douglas County taking six of the nine awards presented , and with the numerous expansions and relocations we have had a very strong year,” said Douglas County Manager Steve Mokrohisky.Pinterest is a bulletin board-style photo

sharing website that allows people to create and manage theme-based image collections.

Why is Douglas County using it?

Pinterest is another tool that allows us to connect to the citizens we serve. It enables us to pin different kinds of content related to a specific topic. Photos, videos, and online news articles can all be grouped in one location to share. Be sure to check out our boards.

• Douglas County Travel

• Destination Weddings

• Douglas County Beauty

• Douglas County Eats

• Minden/Genoa/Gardnerville/Lake Tahoe2014 Miss Reno Rodeo Ashley Espin , Brett Colton - Senior Finance Manager, Bently Nevada Holly Spiers -Community Relations leader, Bently Nevada, Nancy McDermid,Douglas County Commissioner, Greg Lynn, Ernest Carey - Global Supply chain leader, Bently Nevada, and Steve Mokrohisky, Douglas County Manger.

South Shore Area Continued.....

Douglas County Businesses Receive Top NNDA Pioneer Awards

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NEWS YOU CAN USE — DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA page 3Volume III, Issue 12

On September 16th Douglas County Commissioners and Leadership came together with East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts to activate their roles in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and review the steps to prepare for an emergency in Douglas County.

“Our goal in Emergency Management, since the fire districts have held that responsibility, has been to work toward a more disaster resilient Douglas County,” said Tod Carlini, DistrictFire Chief/Emergency Management Director. “With a major disaster, the people of Douglas County will expect that they will be cared for and that those in the positions to provide that care are prepared and capable. Yesterday’s training was a huge step forward towards meeting that expectation.”

While the fire and law enforcement personnel will carry the bulk of responsibilities for the immediate threats during an emergency, other county, town and special district staff would shoulder the support structure for any major emergency, such as an earthquake. A significant event in Douglas County will require the combined effort of all county departments and entities. The training helped to identify the various roles and responsibilities for each of those departments, towns, and special districts.

“The most important part of yesterday’s training was just getting everyone together and to foster relationships,” said Carlini. “Providing specific information on each attendees’ roles and responsibilities was equally important, as well as testing connectivity with lap tops and the county system via a mobile hot spot.”

Additional training was also administered for the Board of Commissioners acting as the Policy Group including a decision making exercise providing the simulation of a Disaster

Declaration for an avalanche at Lake Tahoe.

“The more we repeat these motions via exercises like this, the better we will do during an actual event,” said Carlini. “Each time they do it they do it faster and more efficiently.”

The East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts, serve as Douglas County Emergency Management along with their partners in Law Enforcement Douglas County Sheriff’s Department and the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District.

“Some preparation may be unnoticeable, other times it comes in the form of a large exercise,” Carlini said. “We prepare for emergencies, in some way, every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Carlini said the next step will be to provide specific training around the four major elements of the EOC structure, including operations, logistics, planning, and finance.

What can you do to make sure they are prepared for an emergency:

• Be Informed

• Make A Plan

• Build A Kit

• Get Involved

• Consider joining the CERT Program

More information can be downloaded at

www.ready.gov.

East Fork Fire Department lead County Commissioners and Leadership through available resources and reviewed the roles to be activated dring an emergency.

DOUGLAS COUNTY LEADERSHIP PARTICIPATES IN DISASTER TRAINING

Despite gusty winds, the crowds still came to enjoy the small-town spirit of Genoa at the Candy Dance on September 28th-29th. A craft festival featuring more than 300 exhibitors and 3,000 pounds of Genoa’s fabulous homemade candy!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

page 4 NEWS YOU CAN USE — DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA Volume III, Issue 12

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Douglas Countywww.DouglasCountyNV.gov

County Manager’s Office1594 Esmeralda Ave. | PO Box 218

Minden | NV 89423Phone 775-782-9821

Douglas County Strategic Plan

Vision

A community to match the scenery!

Mission

Working together with integrity and accountability, the Douglas County team

is dedicated to providing essential and cost effective public services fostering a safe,

healthy, scenic, and vibrant community for the enjoyment

of our residents and visitors.

Values

Integrity - Accountability - Customer Service

Leadership - Communication - Teamwork

Priorities

Financial Stability

Public Safety

Economic Vitality

Infrastructure

Q: It sounds like the county has completed some of the roadwork it had planned for the year. Are we just about done for the season, and is there work on major roads on the drawing board for next season yet?

A: The 2013 road seal and overlay program is substantially complete. County roads that were chip sealed or overlayed included Drayton Boulevard, East Valley Road, Fish Springs Road and Kimmerling. The Lake Parkway sidewalk project has been completed, including new sidewalks from US 50 to the rear entrance of Harrah’s Casino, which was funded 95 percent by NDOT. For 2014, the board tripled funding for preventative road maintenance to $1.3 million by shifting existing property tax revenue. We are planning to recycle and repave Buckeye Road from Heyborne to Orchard, which is approximately $1.2 million. The cost of this project compared to our annual funding reinforces our need to identify additional funds for road maintenance.

Q: We heard you presented at the joint NACO and League of Cities meeting at Lake Tahoe. What did you talk about?

A: We spoke on a panel with the Las Vegas City Manager about budget innovations in local government. Douglas County is the first county in the nation to implement Priority Based Budgeting and has had some early success in stabilizing our revenues and expenses through five year financial forecasting, engaging taxpayers in how limited resources should be spent, and shifting our budget process to focus on investing in the areas of highest priority to the community. The board’s action this year to shift over $1 million in property tax funds to road maintenance, as well as ending some lower priority programs, are good examples of how we can and should be spending tax dollars in a responsible and accountable fashion. We are now seeing other cities and counties around the country follow our lead. Placer County, Calif., and others have asked us to present our story to their leadership teams.

Q: They’re moving a lot of dirt for the Senior Center. What’s the progress on that project?

A: Construction of the new Community and Senior Center at Herbig Park is approximately 10 percent complete. The slab pours will be completed this week. The construction of the brick walls will continue for the next two months. The large steel columns will begin to be erected this week. Residents will see substantial progress being made on the building over the next two months, as the exterior of the building takes shape. The dirt piles on site are surplus materials from the footings and foundation, and will be spread on site as the project evolves. The project is on schedule and on budget.

Douglas County Manager Steve Mokrohis-ky participates in a monthly question and answer forum online on The Record-Couri-er’s daily Running Commentary. These are excerpts from the latest Q&A.