PRIORITY BUDGETING LEADS TO $1 MILLION FOR ROADS

MAY, 2013 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15

DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA

NNEWSEWS Y YOUOU C CANAN U USESE INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Reduce Wildfire threats

2

Genoa in VIA magazine

3

Commissioners and Staff Hike new paved trail

3

FAQS 4

Cowboy festival Continued..

2

It’s too soon to release official final reports on the 2013 Genoa Cowboy Festival, but according to Town Manager, Sheryl Gonzales, the event did see an increase in atten-dance and was overall a success.

“The entertainment was world class, the day pass was the value of the century and the ambiance of Genoa makes the event work well,” said Gonzales. “There was a good positive feeling from everyone.”

This was the 4th annual event and the festival featured a variety of western art, Car-son Valley history and culture, and cowboy music and poetry. The event also fea-tured tours of historic Carson Valley ranches, some working and some preserved. Western and Native American culture was honored and celebrated through a variety of activities and events.

“I think this event not only showcases Genoa, but it showcases the history of the val-ley,” said Gonzales. “The ranch tours brought people behind the scenes and gave peo-ple a first hand look at things they otherwise wouldn’t see.”

Many items on the itinerary were also free to the public such as Western Art Galler-ies, Dutch Oven Cooking, The Mountain Men Encampment, Wrangler Rich Cowboy Gear Demo, Roving Entertainers, Leather Carving, Blacksmithing and Western Mer-cantile Row.

Along with the Town of Genoa, a host of over 150 volunteers helped to bring the festival to life. With the town of Genoa under renovation, event volunteers and Town staff successfully managed to maneuver the public through Genoa’s renovation set against the backdrop of the Sierras. (Continued Page 2 )

Dave Stamey was just one of the many perform-ers who entertained at the festival.

GENOA COWBOY FESTIVAL; ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR

On May 20th, the Board of County Commissioners approved the final budgets for the County, towns, East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts and the Redevelopment Agency, utilizing a new priority based budgeting program. Douglas County is the first county in the nation to implement priority based budg-eting and has used the process to add value for taxpayers by successfully balancing its budget, stabilizing its revenues and expenses, and shifting over one million dollars of property tax revenue to preventative road maintenance.

The County has faced multi-million dollar imbalances in its General Fund over the past several years, due to declining revenues and increasing expenses, but has been able to close the structural imbalance by focusing on long range financial forecasting, planning and prioritization. The Fiscal Year 2013-14 (FY13-14) budget, beginning July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, totals approximately $120 million over 62 funds. The County has worked cooperatively with its labor unions to stabilize personnel ex-penses, including salary reductions and merit freezes for four years. (Continued Page 3)

PAGE 2 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15

The event helped many of the local businesses in the town of Genoa with the Genoa Bar reporting record breaking sales.

Sponsorship revenue helped fund the event with local sponsors including Ne-vada Energy, Capital Beverage, Nevada Johns, Genoa Station Bar and Grill, Horse Tales Publication, Nevada Humanities, Nevada Arts Council, 99.1 FM Talk, Nevada State Bank, Nevada Commission on Tourism, Clear Chan-nel Outdoor, Heritage Club, Camelot Party Rentals, Bently Ranch, 1862 David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa, and the largest contributors John and Kate Pifer and Douglas County.

There are areas where the Steering Committee is looking to improve for next year, according to Gonzales. The goal is to Improve ticket sales, ease of use for the attendees with the on-line ticket program, parking, publicity and sign-age.

The Cowboy Festival is something the Town of Genoa would like to see develop and continue to improve as long as it continues to be a profitable fundraising event, according to Gonzales.

“We have a really good program, with volunteers that are committed to its success. We just need to continue to strengthen the event,” she said. “There are a lot of extended benefits for the community at large, including Carson Valley and we will continue to build on that.”

If you would like to learn more about the festival or follow the event next year visit www.genoacowboyfestival.org.

GENOA COWBOY FESTIVAL; Continued…..

Event organizers were able to overcome construction in the downtown area.

Homes being threatened by a wildfire in our community is an ever-present concern. Whether or not your home will survive a wildfire can be as simple as creating defensible space. The term “defensible space” was coined to describe vegetation management practices aimed at reducing flammable vegetative fuels reducing the wildfire threat to homes.

The Three R’s of Defensible Space • Removal: This technique involves the elimination of entire plants, particularly

trees and shrubs, from the site. Examples of the removal would be the removal of dead trees or flammable vegetation/shrubs.

• Reduction: The removal of plant parts, such as branches, and cutting of grasses, constitutes reduction. Examples of reduction are pruning of dead woody material from shrubs, removing ladder fuels (tree branches), cutting grasses, and removing pine needles and leaves.

• Replacement: Replacement is the substitution of fire resistant vegetation and ground covers for hazardous and easily ignitable materials around the home. For example, remove stands of flammable shrubs, and replace with a fire resistant planting that is irrigated, a well maintained flower bed, or plants spaced apart to not promote the spread of fire.

Defensible space is just one way to help make your home resistant to wildfire. Other good tips include preparing your home against burning/flying embers, making sure your home is easily identifiable and clearing the drive way of vegetation and ob-structions for easy access by emergency responders.

Take the time to get prepared and to create defensible space prior to hearing the sirens and seeing the smoke. To learn more about defensible space and what you can do, visit www.livingwithfire.info or call the District at 775-782-9040.

REDUCE WILDFIRE THREAT TO YOUR HOME

PAGE 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15

GENOA FEATURED IN AAA VIA MAGAZINE Genoa was featured in the May/June issue of Via Magazine : "5 Things We Love" Genoa, NV. The piece and it featured the town’s rich history, the Genoa bar, Sierra Canyon Trail, West Fork Trail, the Cemetery, Mormon Station State Historic Park, and La Ferme Restaurant. To read the article in full visit www.viamagazine.com/destinations/genoa-nevada-5-things-we-love?shared=true.

“In a world obsessed with all things new, Genoa,

Nev., makes a virtue of its focus on the old. As

the state's earliest settlement, Genoa claims its

oldest saloon, sits on the original pony express

trail, and may even have the oldest rock walls in

Nevada. “-VIA magazine Willy Webb presides over the Genoa Bar.

COMMISSIONERS AND COUNTY STAFF HIKE NEW PAVED TRAIL

Lisa Granahan, Economic Vitality Manager, Commissioners Lee Bonner, Nancy McDermid, Barry Penzel, County Manager Steve Mokrohisky, and Scott Morgan, Community Services Director hiked from Rabe Meadow to Nevada Beach on the newly paved portion of the trail before the commissioners meeting on May 16th!

PRIORITY BUDGETING LEADS TO

$1 MILLION FOR ROADS continued… The FY13-14 budget provides additional funding for important public services, includ-ing law enforcement, courts and preventative maintenance of road infrastructure. For the past decade, the County has spent approximately $300,000 per year on preventa-tive road maintenance, but with the Board’s actions to shift funds from lower priority services next fiscal year the County will now spend approximately $1.5 million on preventative road maintenance. Another $3-4 million per year is needed to maintain County roads at their current condition.

After five years of budget imbalances, position eliminations and reductions in services, Douglas County has set itself on course to invest taxpayer resources in high priority services that add value to residents.

The County will now spend $1.5 million on preventative Road Main-tenance.

We are now on Facebook, make sure to “Like” our page and stay up to date on County services, updates and issues.

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 com-

munity for the enjoyment of our residents and visitors.

Values

Integrity - Accountability - Customer Service - Leadership - Communication - Teamwork

Priorities

Financial Stability

Public Safety

Economic Vitality

Infrastructure

Thank you for taking the time to review the information in our newsletter. We value your

opinion - if you have any questions or suggestions to improve the services and information we provide to

you, please contact us.

Steve Mokrohisky Douglas County Manager

County Manager’s Office 1594 Esmeralda Ave.

PO Box 218 Minden, NV 89423

Phone: 775-782-9821

Fax: 775-782-6255 E-mail: countymanager@co.douglas.nv.us

DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA

private partnership and envisions redevel-opment of the built environment to create a greater sense of place and destination for residents, visitors and businesses to thrive.

Q: Can you give us an update on how work is progressing at the sen-ior/community center?

A: We are 95 percent complete with the construction documents. In 30 days we will submit for a building per-mit. We will be going out to bid for the Waterloo Lane widening in June and plan to award that contract in July. We are planning to begin construction of the building on July 10. This sched-ule is based on our desire to accommo-date parking for Carson Valley Days. The project is on schedule and on budget.

Q: Could you explain the Valley Vi-sion workshops that were held in April? How does it fit in with the county’s master plan and with the towns’ plans for prosperity?

A: The Valley Vision is a public process to develop a long-range vision for the future of the Minden-Gardnerville downtown area, as well as other key aspects of the Carson Valley. The visioning process will not result in a planning or regulatory docu-ment, but it will provide a framework for future planning efforts within the county and towns. Businesses and residents are increasingly concerned about the heavy truck traffic and lack of pedestrian connec-tions that help to create a vibrant down-town. This is a similar effort that we re-cently pursued in the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, which resulted in the South Shore Vision through a collaborative, public/

Q: What is the status of the Eagle Gas Station property?

A: At its February meeting at the Lake, the Board of Commissioners approved initiating the tax sale of the property. After 90 days if the bank doesn’t pay the taxes, the Town of Gardnerville will proceed with the acquisition of the property. The Town wishes to establish a gateway entrance to the historic downtown area

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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