WNDD Economic Recovery Update

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14 Ways Western Nevada Can Become More Resilient

Greetings Fellow Nevadans,

In the April 2021 edition of the Western Nevada Development District’s Economic Recovery & Resiliency Update, you’ll find a variety of information you can use, including:

– Resiliency and recovery tips from national experts
– Funding provided to WNDD members via the American Rescue Plan
– What the Economic Recovery and Resiliency Council is up to
– Data and information regarding economic recovery
– Grant and funding opportunities
– And more!

This monthly newsletter is part of WNDD’s effort to identify and develop strategies to create and build a more resilient economy in our region.

Read the Update!

Wndd Member Projects Score More Than $5m In Federal Grants

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Reno Stead Water Reclamation Facility & Tahoe Prosperity Center

A City of Reno water infrastructure project essential to regional business and long-term job growth was given a $5 million boost from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The largest ever EDA grant to a Western Nevada Development District (WNDD) member, it will help fund the Reno Stead Water Reclamation Facility (RSWRF) Effluent Treatment, Storage and Reuse project to help expand the region’s ability to process effluent and provide quality water for reuse by commercial users, new and old in Reno, Nevada.

The EDA also announced a grant award of $164,348 to the Tahoe Prosperity Center to facilitate a Tahoe Basin-wide Economic Recovery and Resiliency Plan.

Both projects were supported by the Western Nevada Development District’s 2020-2025 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, also known as a CEDS. The projects emerged from a selection process that identified and ranked projects of regional significance that will support jobs and create economic resiliency.

The infrastructure improvements at RSWRF not only allow the facility to support current and future business interests, including the proposed Reno Stead Airport Logistics and Manufacturing Park, but also commercial growth and business expansion planned in the nearby Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

“This project will support business expansion, decrease the need to import water from outside the region, and lessen the likelihood that future flood events will impact local businesses,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

The City of Reno estimates that this investment will help create 167 jobs, save 48 jobs, and leverage $76,750,000 in private investment. The EDA grant was matched with $9.8 million in local fund.

The Tahoe Prosperity Center (www.tahoeprsperity.com) will facilitate the recovery and resiliency plan with local business, political, education, and community leaders, along with government jurisdictions, non-profit partners, and Tahoe’s residents, according to its CEO Heidi Hill Drum.

“Tahoe’s Transition – Economic Recovery to Resiliency will create an action plan with steps for the region to implement to diversify the regional economy, which has become dangerously dependent on the Tourism sector,” Hill Drum said in a recent press release. Since the Great Recession, the Tahoe Basin has transitioned from 42 percent reliance on the Tourism sector to 62 percent. Tahoe struggled to get back the 5,000 jobs lost in 2008 and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the region lost another 9,000 jobs, according to the Prosperity Center.

From public works projects that drive new opportunities and build infrastructure, to regional partnerships that foster a skilled workforce, WNDD is an important economic development partner for new businesses entering western Nevada’s business landscape and for fostering projects that create economic resilience.

Cornerstone to these efforts is the CEDS — a locally-based, regionally-driven economic development planning process and document that successfully engages the region’s community leaders, private sector partners, and stakeholders in planning for the region’s future. Members submit applications to WNDD for the CEDS ranking process. After the careful review of the proposal by a member committee, the projects are ranked by a number of criteria including measurable regional economic benefits, measurable community benefits, fully-developed plan and strategy, and alignment with the CEDS goals and objectives, along with local and regional support.

These projects then become part of WNDD’s annual work plans which include the application for grant monies from the EDA or other applicable federal grant providers. The WNDD member agencies are in a greater position to attract federal funds and technical assistance by demonstrating resources are used efficiently and effectively reflected in the CEDS.

To date, WNDD has helped its members secure over $35 million grants or low-interest loans.

Pershing County & Lovelock Residents/Businesses…We Need Your Input!

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Join us for a virtual visioning tour of downtown Lovelock

Community outreach and engagement are crucial elements of the Lovelock/Pershing Brownfields Initiative.

With the current restrictions brought on by COVID-19, we are using a virtual visioning tour and community input questions to continue the planning and reuse efforts led by the Western Nevada Development District and the Pershing County Economic Development Authority.

The virtual tour can be see at: LoveLovelock.com and takes less than 10 minutes. Browsers are shown a video of each site on the tour, asked questions, and presented open dialogue opportunities after each stop.

Bring your thinking caps as we seek your input on:

• What do you value in the downtown core?

• What historical elements should be retained?

• How do we create a better sense of place and community spaces?

• What elements are needed in the downtown core to become a destination for businesses and visitors?

• What are the building blocks for a downtown vision?

Take your tour now through August 1st at: LoveLovelock.com

What the CARES Act Means to Your Community!

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$1.5 Billion in CARES Act Funds
Available to Aid Communities Impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has begun taking applications for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) supplemental Funds (EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance). Grant funds are available to eligible communities and intended to assist in the prevention, preparations for, and response to the novel coronavirus.

The EDA has allocated $1,467,000,000 of the $1.5 Billion to be disbursed among its offices:

Atlanta Regional Office – $248,000,000
Austin Regional Office – $236,000,000
Chicago Regional Office – $225,000,000
Denver Regional Office – $193,000,000
Philadelphia Regional Office – $259,000,000
Seattle Regional Office – $266,000,000
(Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Hawaii and Nevada)
Headquarters – $40,000,000

The remaining funds will be transferred to cover salaries and expenses, and oversight activities.

EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance is designed to provide a wide-range of financial assistance for both non-construction and construction activities, including a Revolving Loan Fund, in regions across the country experiencing severe economic dislocations brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

An update Addendum to the FY 2020 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity (FY20 PWEAA NOFO) for the CARES Act Recovery Assistance has been published and addresses:

Filing Date

This funding opportunity (PWEAA2020) has no submission deadlines, and EDA intends to review applications within 60 days of receipt. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis; however, they are subject to change with the publication of a new PWEAA NOFO, cancellation of the current PWEAA NOFO, or all available funds have been expended.

Project Types

• Economic recovery planning
• Economic dislocations caused by the coronavirus pandemic
• Preparing or updating resiliency plans to respond to future pandemics
• Implementing entrepreneurial support programs to diversify economies, and constructing public works and facilities that will support economic recovery, including the deployment of broadband for purposes including supporting telehealth and remote learning for job skills.

A comprehensive description of project types can be found in Section E of the FY20 PWEAA NOFO.

Eligible Applicants

• District Organization of an EDA designated Economic Development District
• Indian Tribe or a consortium of Indian Tribes • State, county, city, or other political subdivision of a State, including a special purpose unit of a State or local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development activities, or a consortium of political subdivisions
• Institution of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education
• Public or private non-profit organization or association acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of a State

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Requirements

Except for a “Strategy Grant” to develop, update, or refine a CEDS, each project must be consistent with the region’s current CEDS or equivalent EDA-accepted regional economic development strategy that meets EDA’s CEDS or strategy requirements. In certain circumstances, EDA may accept a non-EDA-funded CEDS that does not contain all the elements EDA requires of a CEDS.

See Section A.3. of the FY20 PWEAA NOFO.

Cost Sharing/Matching

Generally, the EDA expects to fund at least 80%, and up to 100%, of eligible project costs. Additionally, EDA may establish a maximum investment rate of up to 100% for projects of Indian Tribes. Any portion of the costs for the EDA scope of work funded below 100% must be borne by the recipient or provided to the recipient by a third party as a contribution for the purposes of and subject to the terms of the award. The applicant is responsible for demonstrating that a grant rate above 80% is justified.

See Section C.2 of the FY20 PWEAA NOFO for a complete description.

FY20 PWEAA NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

CARES Act Info Flyer

Pershing/Lovelock Brownfields Initiative Community Meeting Set for January 27

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Part of EPA Grant to Spur Investment in Vacant, Former Mining and Commercial Sites

The public is invited to attend the first meeting of the Pershing County/Lovelock Brownfields Initiative. The meeting is to be held on Monday, January 27, 2020 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Pershing County Community Center, 820 6th Street, Lovelock, Nev.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants money to assess and clear properties, known as “Brownfields,” that are planned for reuse or redevelopment. Brownfields sites can include properties that are vacant, or are abandoned or underutilized sites that may suffer from real or perceived contamination.

At this public meeting, discussion will be encouraged on directing EPA grant funds to Brownfield sites in and around Lovelock including community gateways, the industrial park and, the downtown corridor.

The $600,000 EPA Brownfields Grant, the only grant given in the State of Nevada in 2019, was awarded through the Western Nevada Development District which applied for the monies and will manage the project in cooperation with local officials including the Pershing County Economic Development Authority.

“Community participation in this process is important and highly encouraged,” said Pershing County Commissioner Rob McDougal. “The public is invited to learn and provide input that will help assist in decisions that promote the removal of blight and contamination, create healthier places to live, work and play, and create jobs and new economic opportunities.”

The Brownfields Initiative is a key element of the Pershing County Economic Development Strategic and Revitalization Plan, adopted by the Pershing County Economic Development Authority which was facilitated by WNDD. Grant funds also will be used to conduct reuse planning for high priority sites, develop downtown/gateway revitalization strategies and conduct community involvement activities.

For a meeting agenda, materials and more information contact Sheryl Gonzales, Executive Director of the Western Nevada Development District at (775) 473-6753 or via email at sgonzales@wndd.org, or Heidi E. Lusby-Angvick, Executive Director of the Pershing County Economic Development Authority at (775) 273-4909 or by e-mail at pceda.hlusby@gmail.com.

See the article at ThisisReno.com

Winds of Change Workshop: Bouncing Back from Disruption and Disaster

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Anticipate, withstand and bounce back. That was the message to the region’s civic and business leaders at the Western Nevada Development District’s Resiliency Workshop held Nov. 13 at Storey County’s Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center.

The shocks and disruptions of today’s economic landscape can range from extreme weather, natural disasters, industry closures or declines, and major data breaches.

Speakers Brett Schwartz, Associate Director of the National Association of Development Organization’s Research Foundation, and Tonya Graham, Executive Director of the GEOS Institute, led the workshop on how to identify vulnerabilities and create the tools for a quick recovery.

Planning and building a resilient community is a key component to WNDD’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy or CEDS program. This locally-based, regionally-driven economic development planning process engages a range of partners, including community leaders and residents, tribes, the private sector, educational institutions, and other stakeholders. A completed CEDS enables regional entities to seek financial assistance from public and private funding sources for development projects within the region, based upon the CEDS’ strategies and projects.

“Economic resilience is a combination of initial response, quick recovery and longer-term initiatives to bolster capacity that can help a region withstand a disaster or downturn,” Schwartz said. “Regional thinking really works in this situation because you share similar risks and hazards and vulnerability in one county or city can impact another.”

The explosion of new businesses locating at Storey County’s Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center is a perfect example of one county’s economic initiatives and growth creating a region-wide foot print, he said.

Shocks and disruptions impact all five community “systems,” said Graham.

“Human health and safety; natural ecosystems, economic, or local business; the built community resources and our cultural resources all have to be considered,” she said.

Climate change and its impacts are a front-burner challenge for many regions but can also be an opportunity for creating new industries and opportunities. Reducing greenhouses gasses can also be a pathway to positives, like generating your power source locally, she said. The GEOS Institute has launched the Climate Wise program to help communities to adapt strategies to deal with climate change.

“Economies are truly regional in nature,” said Sheryl Gonzalez, Executive Director of Western Nevada Development District. “Resilience has become the new normal and our CEDS planning has to recognize and respond. We want to be able to build back better.”

Participants in the workshop were the WNDD communities: the seven counties of Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Mineral, Pershing, Storey and Washoe as well as the cities of Fallon, Fernley, Lovelock, Reno and Sparks who are engaging in the CEDs process.

Workshops will continue throughout early 2020 to address regional issues and build the planning and recovery tools for a successful regional economy, Gonzalez said.