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BUCK UPNorth Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck says city is better prepared than most for maximum recoveryNew North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck sums up her economic agenda in one word: Jobs. Buck, who is still getting used to being in the spotlight in spite of a decade as a North Las Vegas city councilwoman, said stabilizing the city's struggling firms is a top priority. She knows she must move quickly. Not yet three months into her first term, Buck faces the unenviable task of figuring out the best way to keep the city strong financially. The depth of the recession in Southern Nevada wasn't foreseeable when she first planned her successful run for office a year ago, she said.
However, Buck said, the overall economy's dire state has been tempered somewhat in North Las Vegas due to good planning and pent-up demand for services. For example, since 2005, the city has put aside about 18 percent of its revenues annually. That compares favorably with the 10 percent reserved by most cities, she said. Today, North Las Vegas is still setting aside 14 percent of its revenue. Sound economic policies don't stop with the city's budget, Buck added. The small firms comprising the backbone of the North Las Vegas economy must get help. "My dry cleaner closed up," she gave as an example. "It's important for the city to help businesses whenever you can." To that end, the city and the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce are staging a series of workshops for companies. The forums will give business owners a forum to tell the city what they need to survive. Few, if any, items are off limits for discussion, Buck said. The city may consider fee deferment as one way to help companies stay viable. North Las Vegas officials may also consider loosening advertisement restrictions to aid businesses. Outside banners and other forms of on-site advertisements aren't allowed now in North Las Vegas, Buck said. The city does not even permit advertising in shop windows. Buck was preparing to give her first major speech as mayor at the Aug. 27 Directions North Las Vegas event, which is presented by the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Business Press. The new mayor promises an upbeat, yet realistic message. "I can't stand up and paint a picture that everything is great, because it is not," she said. "But I can go over our community's needs, and address them. I can and will do more than sit and watch (the recession) happen." Buck said she wants the city to be on the right track to reap the rewards of a future recovery. "I will be talking about our strengths and why we are still as good value," she said. "We need to have the edge when the economy starts back up. We need to make sure at the end of the day they say, 'We're glad we came to North Las Vegas.'" Keeping it local The other prong of Buck and the chamber's plan to aid North Las Vegas businesses will require residents' support. Much like citizens united in the 1940s to help in the war effort, the North Las Vegas mayor said that same dedication is needed today so the city can sustain its own economy. "We need to be very patriotic locally," she said. "We need community patriotism." The city of North Las Vegas and the North Las Vegas Chamber are pushing a campaign to get North Las Vegas residents to "buy local and stay local." "It's important to help businesses by getting people to shop locally and stay locally," Buck said. Chamber President Sharon Powers is convinced residents will respond to the campaign favorably. She also agreed with Buck and other North Las Vegas officials that the city had a pent-up demand for retail and other goods. Demand may have diminished, but it didn't die. "Retail is definitely been hit the most, even big-box stores like Costco and Sam's Club are impacted," she said. "But we were kind of behind the eight ball for a number of services. You could buy clothes at Wal-Mart but there were no diversified shopping choices." Some local businesses leaders applauded the steps city leaders are taking. "I think anytime the Chamber and the city work together, it is a positive thing," said Jerry DeMangus, the general manager of Jerry's Nugget. Redevelopment in a recession Few would deny that North Las Vegas faced challenges before the economy began to erode. Its aging downtown was ripe for redevelopment. Many of the those projects are now on hold indefinitely, including the $120 million mixed-use Las Flores near the Silver Nugget, city economic development manager Mike Majewski said. Las Flores' 2010 completion date is no longer considered realistic. "They (the Montecito Cos.) are still getting their permits, if they broke ground in 2010, they could complete it in 2011," he said. "But they can't assume debt without any return (on investment)." The delay has also slowed down plans for the revamp of neighbor Silver Nugget on North Las Vegas Boulevard, North Las Vegas Redevelopment Manager Larry Bender said. Majewski does take heart knowing that even the stalled projects are not dead. "These projects are stalled, but not cancelled," he said. "The developers still want to do them." Buck talks about the importance of community and downtown revitalization not as a dispassionate politician, but as somebody who has grown up in the city she now leads. "I grew up with a vibrant downtown where people would go shopping," Buck recalled. Her roots are deep in North Las Vegas. Her father was among the first to graduate from Rancho High School. Buck was born in North Carolina but her family moved back to North Las Vegas when she was only 6 years old. She briefly moved to Idaho when she first married, but missed her city and soon returned. Although the downtown of Buck's childhood won't likely return in appearance, that vibrancy could begin to re-merge once the recession ends. An out-of-town investor is considering plans for a major mixed-used commercial and office project along the "island" stretch of Lake Mead Boulevard downtown. However, the city has chosen to put out a request for proposals for development on parcels owned by the North Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency, Bender said. Still going strong Other bright spots for North Las Vegas' economy include he $600 million Veterans Affairs Hospital now under construction at the corner of North Pecos Road and the Las Vegas Beltway. Construction on the hospital should wrap by 2011 with the first patients arriving in 2012. The hospital will have 90 beds and a nursing facility with another 120. It is expected to double the number of local VA employees by adding up to 1,000 new jobs. Two of four phases are already complete, said spokesman Steve Stern, the VA's special assistant to the director. The facility will be across the beltway from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' North Las Vegas campus. The two also have agreements in place to work together, Stern said. The one-two punch of the VA hospital and UNLV campus are expected to bring ancillary medical businesses and other firms into the surrounding area for decades to come, Majewski said. "UNLV took 30 years to build on Maryland Parkway. This is a long-term project," he said. One shorter-term development has cranes moving dirt right across Civic Center Drive from Majewski's office: The new $135 million North Las Vegas City Hall. All of the city services will be consolidated in the one facility. Bender is not shy at pointing out the difference between North Las Vegas and some of its neighboring communities. "Las Vegas isn't building their city hall, but we are still building ours," he said. Buck predicts that even the recession will have a few positive effects on North Las Vegas. "What I like to see is because of the struggles, we see more of a sense that people want to take care of each other," she said. "Neighbor taking care of neighbor, it has made our community cohesive." Contact reporter Valerie Miller at vmiller@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5286. Redevelopment: The Bumps and the Bright Spots The past year was a mixed bag for development in North Las Vegas. Some vital projects proceeded but others either stalled or faced other obstacles. But redevelopment of the city's core took another step forward as August concluded. The North Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency was scheduled to send out a request for proposals for key parcels of land it has amassed. North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck expects the oldest part of the city -- downtown -- to be the least difficult to develop. "We have some infill areas downtown, and the interest in that is huge," she said. The city's redevelopment agency has acquired close to 60 parcels in an area city officials see as the focal point of downtown redevelopment, namely the Lake Mead Island. The area is named for its location, which is surrounding the patch of land bordered by the north and south stretches of East Lake Mead Boulevard. North Las Vegas Redevelopment Manager Larry Bender described the area as "blighted" and said the city is looking for a good mixed-use project to bring pedestrians downtown. While the RFP leaves much leeway for the ideas of potential developers, Bender would like to see a mix of commercial and residential development built on the site. Most of the city-owned parcels are now vacant. A 7-Eleven convenience store and a Cricket Wireless are located on one parcel, on the corner of East Lake Mead Boulevard and Donna Street. "We are asking for proposals," Bender said. "We would consider a public-private partnership." The current market value of the city-owned land is between $12 million and $13 million, said Mike Majewski, North Las Vegas' economic development manager. The city paid a total of about $18 million for the land over the years, according to Bender. But getting such a project going in the current economy won't be easy. The recession has set the clock back for most development, Buck said. "Everything is kind of going into hibernation," she said. Another factor is Texas land investor Bill Watts, who has managed to acquire much of the privately-owned land in the area. Watts proposed a public-private development to the North Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency in June, but the city opted to send out an RFP instead, according to Watts' local attorney, Robert Gronauer. The lawyer was dismayed at the city's decision to send out an RFP. His client has already acquired the rights to purchase about $9 million in neighboring parcels, if he can strike a deal with the city. "It was a little disappointing, because if you look at the (Lake Mead) Island property, (Watts) is the only one who can respond with a development proposal," Gronauer said. Watts' plan included a mixed-use commercial, retail, office and residential project. If he reaches an agreement with the city, a project could still be as much as three years or more away from breaking ground, his lawyer added. "If the economy is going the way it is now, try five years. It could be longer," Gronauer said. The city's hopes for a number of promising projects have been subdued, at least for the moment, by the economic reality. Park Highlands was to be the city's "largest community yet," according to comments made by then-North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon at his State of the City address in January. He predicted "Park Highland would become the community of choice." But work on the massive master-planned development on 2,675-acres came to a halt in May after developer November 2005 Land LLC filed for bankruptcy protection. The 2005 November Land entity is a partner of the Olympia Group, which acquired the land at a Bureau of Land Management auction in 2005. The $600 million Aliante Station was opened in November by Station Casinos, but was recently reported to be operating at a loss. Montadon had called the resort "the crown jewel" of the city's economic development. North Las Vegas' new mayor remained optimistic about such projects, in spite of the economic hurdles. "What (a setback) does is it takes away jobs and takes away tax revenue," Buck said. However, she hoped Southern Highlands would restructure, in spite of losing home builders. Buck also praised the type of resort that Station Casinos had developed in North Las Vegas. "Gambling all over the valley is down. The thing that Station did is build a first-class project. They didn't skip on any amenities," she said. "In the long run, I think it will pay off for us." -- Valerie Miller Radio Days: North Las Vegas Chamber Takes Message on Air Luncheons and workshops have long been chamber staples, but the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is also going to the airwaves to get its message out to the community. The chamber has launched a radio program in an effort to keep in tune with members. The first broadcast of "North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Business Connect" aired earlier this month, and chamber officials are already preparing the next installment of the monthly broadcast. It airs Sept. 3. The half-hour program is on the first Thursday of every month on KLAV AM 1230 at 1 p.m. While excited to be over the airwaves, North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce President Sharon Powers admits she is more accustomed to putting on events and recruiting members in more traditional ways than doing microphone checks and promo spots. "We actually did some Chamber promos on KNEWS, but this was the first radio show. I did (a radio appearance) a long time ago." That broadcast memory was a good one and the Chamber president gave her radio host debut good marks. "It was fun," she said. Powers decided to give the show a go, citing the Henderson Chamber's program. The Henderson program has aired monthly for the last year, KLAV Sales and Marketing Director Bruce Garrett said. "They (KLAV) already approached us and asked if we would be interested in doing it," she recalled. "Henderson has done one in the past, too." Powers sounded like an old pro while recording a promo for her upcoming show at the KLAV studios on East Desert Inn Road. She only needs two takes, which is really nothing in radio land. "One, two, three, four ... Sharon Powers with the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Business Connect, brought to you by KLAV and the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce ..." she says, barely taking a breath. In less than 20 minutes, Powers makes it through the spot. She sees the radio show as another way to get the word out about the North Las Vegas Chamber and what’s happening in the city of North Las Vegas. Most recently, "Business Connect" featured North Las Vegas Economic Development Manager Mike Majewski. He previewed the then-upcoming Directions North Las Vegas event, which took place Aug. 27. "It gives us the opportunity to talk about some of the issues that are important out there," Powers said. Increasingly, organizations like chambers are discovering the benefits of having their own platform to reach a mass audience, Garrett said. "It helps them to reach new members one-on-one and it is an outlet for them to control the content and the subject," he added. North Las Vegas’ growth potential -- it was recently ranked 19th by the U.S. Census Bureau’s fastest-growing cities -- made it a natural fit for its own radio show, Garrett said. The North Las Vegas Chamber recruits members from all over the valley, Powers added. About 60 percent of the member businesses are from Las Vegas, Henderson and other Southern Nevada cities. Close to 40 percent are located in North Las Vegas, although many do business in the city as well. The "North Las Vegas Chamber Business Connect" guests needn’t be North Las Vegas firms, Powers said. For example, Republic Services Vice President Bob Coyle is the scheduled guest for September. He is scheduled to discuss possible trash pick-up changes and recycling campaigns. "They talk about companies that are coming online. We continue to bring in great guests," Powers said. "It’s not just a North Las Vegas focus but valley-wide issues." The North Las Vegas Chamber signed a six-month contract with KLAV to do the "Business Connect" show, and so far Powers likes it. Of course, she is no veteran broadcaster, yet. "We are going to keep it going indefinitely," Powers said. "But is it kind of hard to tell with just one show under your belt." -- Valerie Miller |
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