Bring them in

As a community we are situated in a good location plus we have many things that are going good for the community. We are heading for a great future and the task we have is to get ready for what is coming in the upcoming series of positive events.

The financial slow down that is being experienced as a nation and as a world is affecting this community. However, we have not been affected as much as many other places. There are many reasons for this. One is that we did not have as big of a real estate bubble as other places. We have had a lotr of foreclosures, but not nearly as many as other communities.

Perhaps one of the fastest growing places in recent years for foreclosures has been Las Vegas. The values of homes there have dropped by 35 percent. There are community after community that are having financial struggles. Meeting the financial challenges is always a struggle, but not as much if their financial obligations have been met in a responsible manner. A community always needs to plan the budget with a surplus in preparation for the rainy day that might come. It is never known what major expense might come up unexpectedly or a major revenue source is lost.

When Nevada was heading for financial disaster in recent years, steps were taken to turn that around, putting the city in a much better financial situation. Measured by the sales tax revenue, we have been holding our own. There was one month when the revenues were down, but basically as I understand it we are not doing that badly -- especially when compared to many other governments. This helps to put us in a better position than other towns when the economic conditions are turned around.

Nevada -- Crossroad to Adventure, is a new theme of signs people see when they come into the community. This is a take off of a brochure that was printed in recent years that shows all of the many places to see within this community. The crossroad is the two major highways that intersect here in Nevada, which contributes to our being in a good location.

The future for U.S. Highway 71 is that it will become an Interstate Highway. When it does, there will be more traffic going up and down the highway. Our challenge is to do what it takes to get a good portion of that traffic to stop in our town and to spend their money here.

The city is in the process of making some significant steps that will help in bringing some of that traffic into Nevada. Steps are being made for street lighting improvements at U.S. Highway 71 and K Highway. This is something that is greatly needed. It will let the travelers know that there is something here. At the present time, it is dark at the intersection. Most of us do not think anything about the darkness, because we are familiar with the intersection. The lighting will make a big difference -- something that is needed.

A few months ago, I was asking different people what is the most important thing that we need for economic development. The consensus seemed to be to develop the area near the highway. Many of the communities along major highways have had a great amount of development near the major highways.

There is a great opportunity awaiting this community to develop this area with major businesses, including at least one motel. There are many weekends during the year that we do not have adequate motel accommodations.

Champion Diamonds makes a great economic impact on our community. It probably brings in more tourists to sleep and eat in this community than anything else. How do you get to Champion Diamonds? You cannot get there from here. There is a great need for an outer road that will go to Champion Diamonds and to the municipal golf course.

The city and the county are in the process of developing a dispatch center. It is great for the community to have the them cooperate in this manner. It will reduce duplication and it will also reduce the cost of staffing the dispatching that we currently have. This will be administered by a new commission and will be located at the new county jail. It is reported that this will be a state of the art facility. At the present time there are three dispatchers when you include the ambulance district. The ambulance district should certainly be included and have representation on the board.

Those at the joint meeting that was recently held said that the board members of the ambulance district were not informed of the effort that was being made for the joint dispatching. This is rather interesting to the citizens of the community as the director was aware of it. To save the most money for tax payers, all three entities need to be involved.

There are many things going great for this community that has a great future. Still, there have been some incidents that have occurred in recent months that many citizens have been concerned about and want answers. Anything can be put on the Web, still, on www.nevadarevealed.org information and questions have been posted which many people may or may not agree with. Joe Kraft, a well informed citizen, has written two chapters and will be adding two more. Many citizens have questions and would like for the council to provide answers to the issues he has brought up. Answers are needed.

In total the council and the city staff are doing a tremendous job and doing many things that are providing a base for great things to happen in the future. We as a community certainly need to "bring them in."