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TALKING POINTS Southern Nevada is ready Building officials consider what's to come in busier times I by Bruce Spotleson t was one of those meetings that makes you feel optimistic, even at 7 a.m. That's the time people get together from NAIOP, the commercial real estate organization. Its members are definitely morning people. No matter how good or bad business is, NAIOP's builders, developers and commercial Realtors never seem to sleep in. Which means that many of the other folks who support and surround their industries can't, either. The topic of the July 19 discussion at the Orleans was "How to Work with Building Authorities." Four veteran officials were on hand to discuss their operations and describe their departments' contingency plans for keeping up in a construction recovery — or even a boom, if you want to think big. On the panel were Chris Knight, director of building and safety for the city of Las Vegas, as well as building officials Gregory Blackburn of North Las Vegas, Ron Lynn of Clark County and Mohammad Jadid of Henderson. All of them have had their budgets whacked in recent years, but their ability to keep pace with builders remains essential to a construction and commercial real estate rebound. So they talked about how they'll keep up in a recovery. They reported they even see modest hints that one is under way. "We're seeing some positive growth. We've found the bottom and are on our way back," said Blackburn, who noted that remodeling and tenant improvements have kept his smaller staff busy over the past few years. Jadid reported that Henderson has issued 5,171 building permits so far this year, 165 more than during the same period in 2011. He noted that Union Village continues to move forward, and there's a big new St. Rose tower and parking lot being built. He said Henderson monitors service levels in its departments, and should they begin to slip, the city will review staffing levels. Knight said Las Vegas is seeing a "slight uptick" in single-family residential permits, but commercial permits remain flat. Since fees pay for staffing, the city would need additional revenue to add staff. Knight watches economic indicators and said he doesn't plan to add personnel until the economy truly has improved. All of the speakers expressed pride 'We're seeing some positive growth. We've found the bottom and are on our way back.' — Gregory Blackburn, a building official in North Las Vegas Opened up for criticism by Richard N. Velotta W 22 hen the Nevada Tourism Com- mission ap- proved spend- ing $600,000 to sponsor the Reno National Championship Air Races, it took a big risk. Commissioners had to know there would be critics ready to jump about the appropriateness of spending an unprecedented amount to sponsor an event that last year ended in tragedy. In September, a plane crashed near the event grandstands, spraying debris into a crowd, killing the pilot, 10 spectators and injuring 69 people. As a result, insurance for the event skyrocketed more than 500 percent to $2 million. Race organizers said they didn't find that out until May. Race director Mike Houghton made a last-ditch effort to rescue the event, one of Northern Nevada's premier tourism draws, by seeking commission sponsorship. Commissioners, viewing the distribution as a one-time invest- ment, unanimously supported the request. The commission routinely distributes sponsorship money to organizations statewide for events, but the outlays are usually much smaller. Commission staff analyzes the po- tential rate of return on state tourism grants. In the case of the Reno Air Rac- es, event attendance is normally about 215,000, including 70,000 visitors who come to the region. It fills 15,000 hotel rooms and has a direct and indirect economic impact of up to $80 million. The state anticipates getting a $6 mil- lion return on its $600,000 investment. So was it a wise investment of tax- payer dollars? And was it really even taxpayer dollars being spent? The commission has taken great pains to explain that the money is gen- erated by room-tax revenue from the state's hotels and that the $600,000 was a surplus over the anticipated amount. How would the money have been spent if not on the races? Most of it — $500,000 — was going to be used to advertise the state's new branding mes- sage. Instead, the state will rely on the media to write about that. The bigger concern to the commis- sion now may be the precedent that was set by their support. Commission Chairman Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki emphasized that the sponsorship was a one-time expense. about the cooperation taking place among entities in recent years and marveled about what Jadid said are now "almost invisible" jurisdictional lines. It wasn't so long ago there were significant code differences among the valley's municipalities. But a crisis can inspire positive change and is also perhaps a reason their offices are generally considered more helpful now. "It's a much more collaborative approach these days," Knight said. "In the building and safety department, I think you will find us a lot more customer-friendly." Contingency plans and a friendlier environment mean the stage is set. What we need next are a few more transactions. Tourism Commission makes a risky call by committing $600,000 to sponsor air show But how long will it be before other organizations seek similar treatment? Proponents argued that the race has a 48-year track record and tradition, and that it was a nonprofit group that made the request. But would it be any different, for example, if another nonprofit made a pitch to build a large outdoor music festival venue and contracted with the organizers of the Electric Daisy Carni- val to have multiple events throughout the year that promised to bring thou- sands of people to Southern Nevada and guaranteed a huge return on the investment? Hopefully, the commission will have a good response. rick.velotta@lasvegassun.com / 259-4061 / @VegasInc_TheRV The Reno National Championship Air Races event fills 15,000 hotel rooms and has a direct and indirect economic impact of up to $80 million. | 6 AUGUST 2012 |