REDEVELOPMENT KEY TO IMPROVING TAHOE ENVIRONMENT BY STEVE MOKROHISKY, DOUGLAS COUNTY MANAGER

AUGUST, 2013 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10

DOUGLAS COUNTY , NEVADA

NEWS YOU CAN USE

The future of Lake Tahoe’s natural and built environment, as well as how best to protect its pristine waters has been debat-ed at length. The conclusion of thousands of residents, visitors, businesses, environ-mentalists, scientists and local govern-ments who participated in the Tahoe Re-gional Plan Update is that the status quo is unacceptable and the need to improve the environment, economy and community through redevelopment is imperative.

On September 25th, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board will consider approval of Douglas County’s local area plan for the south shore of Lake Tahoe. The new area plan was created through years of extensive public engage-ment and encourages environmental rede-velopment of existing buildings.

Leading the way as the first entity to pro-pose a new local area plan, Douglas County has appropriately been held to the highest standard of environmental review and has welcomed the opportunity to answer questions and engage in thoughtful dialogue about how to ensure the best local plan for the future of Lake Tahoe.

Despite broad public support and clear data detailing the environmental benefits of the new plan, a representative from the Sierra Club stated recently that “local governments can’t be trusted to hold the line on development.” Unfortunately, inflammatory statements like this ignore the facts and offer no solutions to improve the environment. In the interest of thoughtful public debate, let us consider the facts.

Douglas County, its businesses and resi-dents have a strong record of environ-mental stewardship. Nearly $1.7 billion

has been invested in environmental im-provements at Lake Tahoe since 1997, including over 31 water quality projects in Douglas County. Eighteen percent of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline resides in Douglas County, but only three percent of the fine sediment material that degrades the clari-ty of the Lake originates in Douglas Coun-ty – the least amount of runoff of any jurisdiction in the Tahoe Basin.

Douglas County businesses and residents have some of the highest Best Manage-ment Practice compliance rates in the Tahoe Basin. Beyond Lake Tahoe, Doug-las County has protected over 15,000 acres in the Carson Valley and seeks to protect an additional 15,000 acres as part of its federal lands bill. There is no bi-state regulatory agency requiring us to

protect the environment in the Carson Valley, but rather our local residents and local government choose environmental stewardship as the right thing to do for future generations.

Most future projects at Lake Tahoe will be redevelopment of existing infrastruc-ture, not new development. There is very little available private land to build on at Lake Tahoe, as only 16 percent of the land is in private ownership, only eight residential building allocations are al-lowed this year and only 36,250 square feet is available for new commercial pro-jects in Douglas County. Lodging industry experts often remind us that we don’t (Continued Pg. 2)

Most future projects at Lake Tahoe will be redevelopment of existing infrastructure, not new development. Pictured here is a photo overlooking the South Shore and the beautiful blue Lake Tahoe.

need more hotel rooms in the south shore, as we already have thousands of tourist units with an average rate of less than $100 and an annual occupancy of 28 percent. Many of these units should be relocated, redeployed or re-tired, thereby reducing the quantity and improving the quality.

Too much of the built envi-ronment is blighted and has outlived its useful life, result-ing in harm to the health of the natural environment. Pri-vate investment in redevelop-ment will allow property owners to increase energy efficiency and reduce storm water runoff.

The Edgewood Lodge project is a great example of private investment that will improve the environment by prevent-

ing 500,000 pounds of sedi-ment per year from entering Lake Tahoe, restore numerous acres of wetlands and improve recreational opportunities, while increasing economic vitality in the area. The envi-ronmentally beneficial redevel-opment projects under the old Regional Plan have been ex-hausted. We need the new Regional Plan and local area plans that encourage environ-mental gain through redevel-opment.

There is no question that thou-sands of people are unified in the strong desire to improve the environment through rede-velopment at Lake Tahoe. There is also no question that open and thoughtful public debate supported by facts is at the cornerstone of our democ-racy. So, the next time you hear someone claim that the

new Regional Plan and local area plans will result in harm to the environment, ask them for facts to support their claim, as well as solutions to improve the environment, economy and community. Those of us who live, work and play in Douglas County are committed to keeping Lake Tahoe blue by turning our community green.

A note about the author: Steve Mokrohisky is County Manager of Douglas County, Nevada and served as Ne-vada’s local government rep-resentative on the bi-state consultation group that facili-tated solutions to the final draft of the new Regional Plan Update.

PAGE 2 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10

REDEVELOPMENT KEY TO IMPROVING TAHOE ENVIRONMENT CONTINUED

Hundreds gathered to listen to environmentalists, elected officials

and former Vice President Al Gore speak about the current

issues facing Lake Tahoe. Douglas County Commissioners and

staff attended in support of the event .

Lake Tahoe Summit 2013

Recorder Forms Now Online

We have exciting news to share for those who need certain forms for their real estate transactions typically recorded at the Record-er's office. Now available on the Recorder's website are interac-tive forms for the Declaration of Homestead, Abandonment of Homestead, Cover Page, Decla-ration of Value, and last but not least a Model Affidavit for Ex-emption 1.

Digital images of recorded docu-ments are now available from 1982 to the present. This time period includes a decade (1997 to 2006) with more real property recordings than any other dec-ade in the history of the County.

If you have any questions on how to locate your recorded documents or Douglas County marriage license, please give us a call at 775-782-9025 or visit http://www.douglascountynv.gov/index.aspx?

A DAY IN THE LIFE AT THE 911 DISPATCH CENTER

PAGE 3 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10

911, What is the address of your emer-gency?

For Douglas County 911 dispatchers, these are the words they may say over 100 times a day in an effort to help those in need.

Employees who work at the 911 Center for Douglas and Alpine County can tell you it isn’t a job for everyone. The de-mand requires the ability to make quick and accurate decisions because people are depending on them for their safety.

There are 19 employees who work five 8-hour shifts that rotate anywhere from two and up to five people are on the floor depending on the time and day. They answer calls for about 52,000 peo-ple and 8 agencies in Douglas County, Nevada and Alpine County, California.

One of the things that makes the job dif-ficult is all the information a dispatcher has to know on hand.

“As a dispatcher you have to be able to remember or recall many things such as different agencies policies and proce-dures and jurisdictional lines and busi-nesses,” said Ron Sagen Douglas County 911 Emergency Services, Manag-er. “There is a massive amount of knowledge we have to have cataloged away.”

Another thing that makes the job stress-ful is a dispatcher cannot make a mistake.

“At other jobs if a person makes a mis-take, it might get caught and get fixed,” Sagen said. “With the critical nature of our job, if we make mistakes, people can

get hurt or worse. There have been studies that compared dispatch-ing to air traffic con-trol.”

According to Sagen the statistics really sway depending on the time of year.

“We can have more than a hundred emergency calls a day during the summertime and more during the winter months while the ski slopes are open. There is no longer a true busi-est time, however, any-time you involve a holi-day where people are outdoors being active, and in most cases, increased consumption of alcohol, it’s going to be busier,” he said.

With the job, there will be days where they are taking call after call and then there are some days where they are get-ting no calls for an hour or so, and have to be “at the ready.”

“One of the most important things that we want people to realize is that even though it might seem like we are asking a lot of questions, it’s necessary,” Sagen said. “Callers need to understand that another person is going to be coming to help. The dispatcher is not going to be the one that is getting into the ambulance or patrol car. They (the emergency re-

sponders) need all the information they can to help the person as quickly as they can.”

Knowing that it is an emergency situa-tion, the 911 staff is trained to under-stand that everyone handles stress differ-ently and they are taught calming tech-niques such as using a calm voice to help the person on the other end of the line.

Dispatching is one of the many important positions and departments provided by Douglas County. Calling 911 is some-thing many of us hope never to have to do. We are fortunate to have the out-standing men and women working in this profession and we thank them for the amazing work they do.

Dispatch Employee Devin Moffat patiently awaits the next emergency call.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCE DEPARTMENTS MOVE

On August 26th and 27th the majority of the Community Development Department

moved from the third floor to the second floor of the Minden Inn, and the Finance

Division moved from the second floor to the third.

County Manager’s Office

1594 Esmeralda Ave.

PO Box 218

Minden, NV 89423

Phone; 775-782-9821

WWW.DOUGLASCOUNTYNV.GOV

DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA

Q:In the recent property tax bill

there is a new entry called road

maintenance with a tax rate of .0425

percent. Where did that come from

and does it mean our taxes are

higher?

A:As part of the current fiscal year 2013-

14 budget, the Board of Commissioners

approved reducing the medical indigent

property tax rate and shifted the equiva-

lent amount to road maintenance. As a

result, less of your property tax dollar is

going to medical indigent services and

more is going to road maintenance. This

shift is a reflection of our priority based

budgeting efforts and consistent with the

board’s desire to invest in the highest pri-

orities. This action did not result in a net

property tax increase to taxpayers.

Q:What is the status of the Waterloo

Lane improvements between 88 and

Centerville? It was closed for a day a

couple of weeks ago. Is the intent to

keep the same width and align-

ment?

A:The board approved a contract to pur-

sue engineering and design for the recon-

struction of Waterloo Lane. The consult-

ant has been doing geotechnical work to

verify the condition of the current road

materials. The future reconstruction of

the road does not contemplate significant

changes in the width or alignment of the

road, as there are private property right of

way constraints that exist currently .

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS : DOUGLAS COUNTY MANAGER STEVE MOKROHISKY

Q:There are several projects ongo-

ing in the Valley including the

C.O.D. Garage casino and the sen-

ior living apartments in Gardner-

ville. Do you get the feeling that

perhaps we are seeing signs of an

improvement in the county’s

economy?

A:We have seen an increase in building

permits, particularly residential con-

struction and remodeling/additions to

existing homes. Also, new and existing

businesses continue to make invest-

ments in their operations locally. Hous-

ing prices and sales are positive. Unem-

ployment is steady and trending down.

Taxable sales, occupancy rates and room

tax collections are all showing positive

trends. This is a slow recovery, but a

recovery none the less .

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

Safe Community

Economic Vitality

Infrastructure

Natural Environment, Resources and Cultural Heritage

Manage Growth and Change