WNDD Announces its Newest Board Members

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WNDD is pleased to announce its newest Board and Associate Members. The group consists of notable community and business leaders that are well respected in their industries and communities for which they serve. Their diverse talents, business acumen and experiences are of incredible value to the region. These exceptional individuals are ready to participate with the WNND Board and their jurisdictions to partner towards economic vitality through ongoing economic development programs.

The Board is responsible for regional economic development strategy and planning, collaborating with the various private and public agencies to successfully realize the goals and projects in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.

A big welcome to our newest Board Members!

Board Members

Kelly Frost
City of Fallon Councilwoman

Lara Mather
Storey County Community Relations

Larry Walsh
Douglas County Commissioner

Associate Members

Anthony Beuttner
Buettner, Inc. CEO, CCM

Carol Chaplin
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority President and CEO

Heidi Hill Drum
Tahoe Prosperity Center CEO

Stacey Sept
Nevada Rural Housing Authority Director of Community Development

The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act

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Congress Passes Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

As small businesses in the United States continue to be impacted by COVID-19, Congress successfully passed the CARES Act which is intended to assist business owners through various provisions. When implemented, there will be many new resources available for small businesses, as well as certain non-profits and other employers.

A guide has been complied to help provide information about the major programs and initiatives that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA), as well as some additional tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA.

Guide Topics

• Paycheck Protection Program Loans
• Small Business Debt Relief Program
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Emergency Economic Injury Grants
• Small Business Counseling
• Small Business Contracting
• Small Business Tax Provisions

See the Small Business Guide to CARES Act.

For more information visit: SBA

WNDD Announces Four-Month Grace Period On Business Micro-Loans

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On March 20, 2020, the Western Nevada Development District (WNDD) announced that it is extending a four-month grace period to businesses that are part of its Micro-loan program.

The WNDD provides short and long term, fixed rate, low interest loans to qualified borrowers interested in the creation of new small businesses or the expansion or retention of existing small businesses.

“We have a half-dozen businesses that have been using our program,” said WNDD President Roy Edgington, City of Fernley Mayor. “All are facing unprecedented challenges in the face of mandatory statewide business closures. This action is to reduce the stress and burden to make these loan payments when the flow of revenue has virtually stopped or been drastically reduced.”

The Micro-loan Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. The Program provides affordable, non-conventional financing to eligible small businesses that are not able to receive funding elsewhere. Businesses receiving these funds will in turn be required to produce a sufficient number of net new jobs, or in the case of business retention, retain existing jobs.

“Once we clear the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be ready to assist these and other businesses rebound through our Micro-loan Program,” Edgington said.

For more information contact: Sheryl Gonzales at: 775.473.6753 or SGonzales@WNDD.org.

The Results Are In!

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SAVEYOUR.Town has released the results of its 2019 Survey of Rural Challenges.

The survey asks rural communities to identify their most significant local challenges they would like assistance correcting, and what steps they are currently taking to address the issues.
Typically, the results from this survey are different than common themes in media coverage and policy conversation around rural communities. And as many rural residence know, the larger public perception of the happenings in rural communities is inaccurate.

In fact the top 5 Rural Community Challenges don’t include topics like opioid addiction or poverty. They are:

  • Losing young people
  • Downtown is dead
  • Not enough good housing
  • Need new residents
  • No one shops in town

Learn more about the survey!

Follow Up: Pershing County/Lovelock Brownfields Initiative

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The first meeting of the Pershing County/Lovelock Brownfields Initiative drew nearly 40 participants on Jan. 27 at the Pershing County Community Center.

At this public meeting, discussion involved defining the initiative and fielding questions on directing EPA grant funds to Brownfield sites in and around Lovelock including community gateways, the industrial park and, the downtown corridor.

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.

The meeting included an overview of the EPA Brownfields Program and the Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant awarded to the coalition group that includes Western Nevada Development District, City of Lovelock and Pershing County.  The presentation also included the benefits of the Brownfields program, activities/tasks associated with assessment grant, and similar successful Brownfields projects, plus a Q & A session.

Presentations were made by Lisa Hanusiak, Brownfields Project Manager for EPA District 9, Philip Childers and Tom Mix of Converse Consulting who are conducting the assessments and Heidi Lusby-Angvick, Executive Director of the Pershing county Economic Development Authority.

The Initiative is a key element of the Pershing County Economic Development Strategic and Revitalization Plan, adopted by the Pershing County Economic Development Authority.

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 is managing the project in cooperation with local officials.

For more information on the Community Meeting and the Pershing County/Lovelock Brownfields Initiative, visit: Lovelovelock.com.

For 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

Download the presentation pdf.

 

Federal Year 2020 Appropriations Recap!!

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In efforts to fund the federal government for the remainder of 2020, a two-part spending package comprised of HR 1158 and HR 1865 was signed into law in December 2019. Notable increases in appropriations are significant as they positively impact communities across the nation.

Projects can include:
Workforce Development
Infrastructure
Broadband
Economic Redevelopment

Some of the 2020 spending package items are:

·$333 million for the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA), $29 million above FY 2019 levels.
·$3.2 billion for USDA Rural Development, $228 million above FY 2019 levels.
·$9.9 billion for the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA), $67.5 million above FY 2019 levels.
· $3.4 billion for HUD Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), $60 million above FY 2019 levels.
·$89 million for EPA Brownfields, $2 million above FY 2019 levels.
·$1 billion for Department of Transportation BUILD (formerly TIGER), $100 million above FY 2019 levels.

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.

Sheryl Gonzales Elected to NADO Board of Directors

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SHERYL GONZALES ELECTED TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Washington, DC – Sheryl Gonzales, Executive Director of Western Nevada Development District in Carson City was recently elected to the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Board of Directors.

NADO was founded in 1967 to provide training, information, and representation for regional development organizations throughout the United States. Today, NADO member organizations serve local governments and the public within their regions through various programs focused on diversifying local economies, assisting businesses, creating jobs, and providing social services. The NADO Board of Directors oversees the association’s budget and operations and develops policy on issues affecting regional development organizations.

“We are honored to have Sheryl serve on NADO’s Board of Directors. She brings a wealth of expertise, knowledge, and leadership on regional community and economic development issues to the national level,” stated Joe McKinney, NADO Executive Director. “Most importantly, Sheryl is focused on helping our nation’s local communities pursue comprehensive regional strategies for remaining economically competitive in today’s rapidly changing global environment.”

For more information contact NADO Executive Director, Joe McKinney at 202.624.5947 or jmckinney@nado.org.

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Building on nearly five decades of experience, the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) serves as the national voice of regional development organizations. The association is an advocate for federal community and economic development programs and policies that help local communities improve their local economy and quality of life. For more information about NADO and the NADO Research Foundation, visit www.nado.org.

Western Nevada Development District Partners with JOIN Inc. to Secure $75,000 Workforce Development Grant

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Engaging Employer with School-Aged Youth in Carson City, Storey and Churchill Counties

The Western Nevada Development District (WNDD), in collaboration with JOIN Inc., has successfully secured a Nevada Department of Education Grant for Career Bound NV, a new division that focuses on workforce development by providing work-based learning experiences to K-12 students.

Serving as the intermediary between industry and education, Career Bound NV engages employers to provide students with opportunities to explore careers, develop skills and participate in job shadow and paid internships to ensure students graduate ready for employment in Nevada’s high-demand, living-wage careers.

The $75,000 grant will be used for outreach to prospective employers, parent education and student recruitment in Carson City, Churchill County and Storey County. This aligns closely with WNDD’s mission and the regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

“Work-based learning for school-aged youth provides students with resources and opportunities to explore pathways leading to living wage careers,” said Denise Castle, CEO of JOIN Inc. “This grant will support Career Bound NV in connecting employers to students in an effort to grow their own pipeline of talent. ”

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development estimates that by 2024 there will be 630,000 open jobs in Nevada through business expansion, relocation and those aging out of the workforce. Nearly two-thirds of these jobs will require specialized training or certification. On the other side of the equation, employers state that 60 percent of job applicants do not have the necessary skills needed for today’s jobs.

Castle believes the Career Bound NV program will help close that gap. “This is a collaborative effort between WNDD and JOIN in bringing together employers and students to address one of the region’s greatest economic development needs of creating and maintaining a talent pipeline of skilled workers.”

See the article at NNBV.