City Council Special

2013 LAS VEGAS METRO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FORUM UNLV FOUNDATION BUILDING BLASCO WING 4505 S. MARYLAND PARKWAY LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89154 January 10, 2013 Minutes I. CALL TO ORDER The 2013 Las Vegas Metro was called to order at 8:40 a.m., in the UNLV Foundation Building, Blasco Wing, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89154 by representatives from the Clark County, City of Henderson, City of Las Vegas, City of North Las Vegas, and the City of Mesquite. Beverly Bridges, City Clerk of City of Las Vegas, announced that this meeting is subject to the Open Meeting Law. Present: City of Henderson: Councilwoman Debra March, Councilman Sam Bateman, Councilwoman Gerri Schroder, Councilman John Marz City of Las Vegas: Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Councilman Stavros Anthony, Councilman Bob Beers, Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, Councilman Steve Ross, Councilman Bob Coffin City of Boulder City: Mayor Roger Tobler, Councilman Travis Chandler, Councilman Duncan McCoy, Councilwoman Peggy Leavitt City of Mesquite: Mayor Mark Wier, Councilman Geno Withelder, Councilman Allan Litman City of North Las Vegas: Mayor Sheri Buck, Councilwoman Anita Wood, Councilman Wade Wagner Clark County: Commissioner Steve Sisolak, Commissioner Susan Brager, Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani; Commissioner Larry Brown State Senate: Senator Aaron Ford, Senator Pat Spearman, Senator David Parks, Senator Barbara Cegavske, Senator Joyce Woodhouse, Senator Mark Manendo, Senator Michael Roberson, Senator Mo Denis State Assembly: Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick; Assemblyman Paul Anderson, Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, Assemblyman Cresent Hardy, Assemblyman Lynn Stewart, Assemblywoman Heidi Swank, Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams, Assemblyman James Healey, Assemblyman Andy Eisen 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 2 January 10, 2013 - Minutes II. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments presented. III. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA The Agenda was unanimously accepted. IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS 1. Presentation by Rob Lang, UNLV Brookings Mountain West, regarding research on Southern Nevada legislative issues. Dr. Rob Lang, Brookings Mountain West, gave a PowerPoint Presentation regarding setting priorities for the 2013 Legislative Session. The highlighted topics included the following: policy background, online reports, key findings, Nevada growth statistics, growth observations, community colleges, 2012 Nevada Ballot, and larger scale issues. Mr. Lang also reviewed the six topics to be discussed in breakout sessions: K-12 Education, Higher Education, Infrastructure, Health Care, Government Reform, and Economic Development. 2. Report by Tom Skancke, Executive Director, Las Vegas Regional Economic Development Council, regarding the status of the Southern Nevada’s response to AB 449 and the regional comprehensive economic development strategy Tom Skancke, Executive Director, Las Vegas Regional Economic Development Council, thanked Speaker Kirkpatrick and her legislative colleagues for putting this forum together. He said there are two things to do in this legislative session: first is to deal with present-time problems. What do we want our state to be in the future? We must bring Nevada laws and regulations into a 21st century global economy. He said the water laws in Nevada have not been changed since 1927. What do we need to do to make ourselves globally competitive? How can Nevada be more competitive with California? We have the local and statewide leadership to work on serious problems. A transit system is necessary to be globally competitive. Change the way the world thinks of Las Vegas and the Southern Nevada region. Must invest in infrastructure and create high-speed rail connectivity between Southern Nevada and California. Industries will not relocate to Southern Nevada without long-term future water resources. 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 3 January 10, 2013 - Minutes Mr. Skancke said one of the best things the state has done was adopt AB 449, to create regional economic development authorities. This requires all of them to report to the state so there is a communication line. This has created a spirit of cooperation and a phenomenal amount of intellectual energy to solve problems. The creation of these economic development authorities was powerful and insightful. It is incumbent upon the legislators to carry out that vision for the next three to five years. He is excited about the future and asked everyone go to Carson City as a unified state to solve statewide and regional problems. 3. Discussion regarding Southern Nevada local government and community-wide 2013 legislative issues, including but not limited to submitted BDRs, environment, taxation, transportation/infrastructure, education, healthcare, and governance Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick said this effort is to work together but allow each city and county to be unique. We all want to build a better Nevada. She looks forward to working together. Breakout Sessions were held from 9:26 a.m. to 10:18 a.m. A recess was taken from 10:18 a.m. to 10:33 a.m. K-12 (Table 1) Terri Janison, United Way, reported the following:  Need to work together  The funding formula negatively affects children in Clark County  Funding formula is hugely disproportionate and needs to be changed  At the same time, do not want to hurt the rest of the state  Make sure rules are not affected negatively  Decisions should be long-term  Virtual education requires a licensed teacher in the classroom and a licensed teacher at the virtual location. Request is to have a licensed teacher at the virtual location doing the actual teaching, but to help to save money, no need to have a licensed teacher in the classroom. There would be a licensed employee, such as an aid, that would be there to assist. 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 4 January 10, 2013 - Minutes Higher Education (Table 5) Chris Giunchigliani, Clark County Commissioner, reported the following:  Look at competition in public/private partnerships  Do we look at a separate model? Do you have a separate board of regents? Do you have a model that is run by local governments?  Recommendation to ask for an interim study or identify what stakeholders are interested in looking at a community college model  Funding formula concerns; equity and distribution needed more in Southern Nevada  Higher performance expectations  Legal needs for pre-kindergarten; link that to business clusters that are needed for the next component  Create a community college system that is contained and identified and matched to community needs for training  Workforce investment dollars; this money goes to non-profit or other boards  Keep it simple  Transparency  Seamless transfer of credits; core program should be properly modeled  Need e-learning as a system; force a more integrated system  Hispanic serving institutions is a grant issue  Businesses help invest in new technology  Government to help initiate new technology to lead the way for businesses  Compete with the private sector regarding flexible schedules (offer classes on weekends, short-term, daytime nighttime)  Serve minority populations more  Student ID Number should remain with student all through school Governance Reform (Table 2) Debra March, City of Henderson Councilwoman, reported the following:  Issues in Northern and rural areas of Nevada are different than Southern Nevada  Reinstating Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations  Strengthen the relationship between state and local government and communicating more during the session and between sessions 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 5 January 10, 2013 - Minutes  Nevada Association of Counties (NACO), in the next session, will be bringing forth a bill on functional home rule; understand this may need to be phased; do a better job of defining what functional home rule is for legislators and local government officials; study past bill draft requests  Concerns about abusive authority. If the legislator grants authority to local governments, will there be abuse by the authority; monitor activities through committees and retain the ability to claw back authority Infrastructure (Table 3) Don Snyder, UNLV, reported the following:  Infrastructure is a far-reaching area.  Mega Events center is important  Ensure a healthy tourism economy  Critical to develop I-11 and take an integrated look at I-15 to draw a synergy out of the investment in I-11. Need a strategy to anticipate and properly plan for the impact of these interstates  Integrate other modes of transportation and transit that tie the community together  Important to develop high speed rail as a long-term strategy; determine starting and ending locations, type of facility; technology issue relating to the type of high speed rail system; research other successful system.  Transit Opportunities. Be sensitive to community needs; include pedestrians more and integrate bicycles;  Discuss the next generation of monorail; should be part of the overall transit model.  Needs to be an integrated approach to all aspects of moving people through our community  Needs to be public and private sector cooperation  Finish what is started  Water Issues. Smart, long-term planning; need strategic dialog conservation discussion  Physical Asset Infrastructure. Need to understand existing assets and how to replace those assets in the future; create inventory of existing infrastructure; 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 6 January 10, 2013 - Minutes  Infrastructure funding. Elevate the level of intellectual dialog and integrity of communication on all of these issues. State, local and federal funding must all be considered. Cooperative effort; develop a proper funding mix of who does what and the appropriate role of state, local, and federal funding. Need a proper means in place to manage this. Anticipate changes in the world; fuel issues impact transportation  Take a mature look at the current tax structure and what it should be in the future. Health Care (Table 6) Mark Dougrava, University Regent, reported the following summary from a patients’ perspective:  Access to high-quality healthcare  How to find good healthcare in Southern Nevada  Patient anxiety and morale is low  Lack of a public medical school based in Las Vegas  Transparency of provider identification and credentials  Southern Nevada is underserved  Private schools to provide more providers. (Ties into workforce development and economic development)  Mental-health issues. Mental-health patients wait in emergency rooms because of nowhere else to go  Attracting more providers to Southern Nevada (provide incentives such as small business loans; loan forgiveness)  Need for bench and clinical research infrastructure  Potential for medical tourism if we offer high-quality healthcare Economic Development (Table 7) Dr. Rob Lang, Brookings Mountain West, reported they discussed the following:  Need to be competitive in services, education, and infrastructure in the state  Nevada has an “inferiority complex”  Need a model to figure out what benefits Nevada  Tourism is an important core for the economy  Available tools regarding special improvement districts 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 7 January 10, 2013 - Minutes  Need a transit system  Make investments by creating entertainment districts  Need money to fund categories; difference in other states (other states recognize that rural areas need help) 4. Discussion regarding legislator’s observations concerning key Southern Nevada issues for the upcoming 2013 Legislative Session Senator Mo Denis summarized that it would be beneficial to continue having these meetings. He believes there are ideas to discuss during the session. He is excited about this session and making a better Nevada. He hopes to get things done early in the session. He thanked everyone for participating in this forum. Senator Mike Roberson said this is a great process and he believes they agree on 80 to 90 percent of the critical issues. He is encouraged everyone will work together. He believes what is good for Southern Nevada benefits all of Nevada. Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick stated she would like more forums to be scheduled. She suggested elected officials take this information back and have immediate discussions with staff. Her doors are open during the session and the legislators will work very long hours to get things done. She thanked everyone for all their work organizing this forum. Assemblyman Cresent Hardy stated that regional groups working together for a common cause creates success. He believes regional cooperation is important and it is important to stay involved during and after the legislative session. He thanked everyone for their attendance and participation in this forum. Questions How can we make a Southern Nevada caucus happen? How would you like participation from the business community, the Southern Nevada lobbyists, and the local governments? How can we make this happen during and after the session? Assemblyman Hardy reported that Assemblywoman Kirkpatrick asked him to meet with Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani and find out how this works. 3013 Las Vegas Metro/Chamber of Commerce Forum Page 8 January 10, 2013 - Minutes Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said the Southern Nevada caucus held in the 90’s was very effective. They found areas we could agree and went to the Legislature together. The local governments would like to be involved so we go to Carson City with one voice. Assemblyman Cresent suggested individuals could be assigned to different tasks discussed today. It was noted that the Chamber of Commerce has a conference facility area for meetings. People were encouraged to sign up if they are interested in participating in a caucus. Terri Jansen asked the legislators to look at the financial impact of the Evergreen Clause so in bad times it does not damage the budgets that are going through the school districts. Assemblywoman Kirkpatrick stated that does not mind having that discussion toward the end of session. They need to solve other problems first. We have to determine what kind of state we want to be. Education and the Evergreen Clause are two separate pieces of policy. Assemblywoman Kirkpatrick commented that there has been good dialog during this forum. She encouraged people to reach out and work together. Senator Mark Manendo suggested that the legislators be available to meet on Saturdays to discuss these important issues. V. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments presented. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned by all entities with a quorum at 11:52 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Tedie Jackson, Minutes Clerk City of Henderson