Economic Development Strategy Prepared by: Presented by Adam - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Gerlach, Nevada Economic Development Strategy Prepared by: Presented by Adam Hughes CEO adam@bettercity.us 801-332-9006

Activities to Date • Multiple site visits by Better City and collaborators • Interviews with local stakeholders • Built environment analysis • Historic preservation analysis • Utility and infrastructure research • Public Open House • Additional meetings and follow up with stakeholders, residents, and organizations • Lots of analysis, research, and creative juices, etc.

Current Status • Draft report has been delivered and reviewed by the County and Gerlach Economic Development Committee • Initial revisions have been incorporated • Available for additional review • Final presentation and project wrap-up (tonight!) • Remote jobs workshop tomorrow evening @ 6PM - more on this later

Project Goal To ”…create a strategic, comprehensive economic development plan that will help Gerlach Nevada redefine its economic future by identifying new economic development strategies and actionable steps for increased opportunities for employment , income , and other economic growth in the Gerlach community.”

Report Outline/Key Sections • Demographic Characteristics • Provides helpful context and informs which direction(s) will be viable • Industry Analysis • Workforce and Market Analysis • Built Environment Analysis • Conditions • Housing Affordability • Historic Preservation • Districts • Historic Tourism

Report Outline/Key Sections • Infrastructure • Water • Sewer • Natural Gas/Propane • Electric • Broadband • Economic Development Strategies • Land Use and Zoning • Implementation

Highlights - Demographics Median Age 55 49.1 50 46.2 44 45 38.4 38 40 36.9 37.6 37.4 35 36.3 30 25 2010 2017 2022 Gerlach-Empire Washoe County Nevada

Highlights - Demographics Income $80,000 $74,006 Gerlach-Empire Washoe County $71,502 $70,000 Nevada $60,000 $52,970 $52,619 $49,929 $50,000 $37,263 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $- Median Household Income Average Household Income

Highlights – Workforce and Market # Employed by Industry Employment Growth (2017) (2011-2016) Industry Gerlach- Gerlach Empire Washoe County Information 0 0 -0.8% Transportation/Utilities 0 2 7.1% Wholesale Trade 1 1 2.0% Construction 1 2 7.8% Public Administration 1 2 0.4% Agriculture/Mining 2 4 2.6% Retail Trade 2 4 1.4% Finance/Insurance/Real Estate 9 18 0.1% Manufacturing 25 51 3.4% Services 46 94 2.2% Areas of fastest regional growth (Transportation/Utilities, Construction and Manufacturing) are not expected to have a direct impact on Gerlach

Highlights – Workforce and Market However, the entrepreneurial spirit reigns in Gerlach 10 9 8 7 6 # of establishments 5 per 100 residents 4 3 2 1 0 Nevada Washoe County Gerlach

Highlights – Workforce and Market Impressive recent net increase in entrepreneurial activity 6 5 4 Number of Businesses 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Startups Became Inactive Net Change

Highlights – Housing Affordability INCOME HOUSING Housing Surplus / % Households Home Affordability % Housing Stock Income Brackets Deficiency in each Bracket (based on income) in this Range <$15k 17% <$45K 55% 38% $15k to $24k 15% $45K to $72 20% 5% $25k to $34k 15% $73K to $102K 10% -5% $35k to $49k 18% $103K to $147K 11% -7% $50k to $74k 17% $148K to $222K 4% -13% $75k to $99k 9% $223K to $297K 0% -9% $100k to $149k 7% $298K to $447K 0% -7% $150k + 3% $448K + 0% -3%

Highlights – Housing Affordability Key takeaways – • Imbalance in housing market creates additional challenges and pressures on low and moderate income individuals • Additional housing stock across the pricing spectrum is needed to help rebalance the market

Highlights – Historic Preservation • Three potential historic preservation districts identified • These designations provide additional access to grant funding and may create more historic tourism opportunities Designation doesn’t place restrictions on property rights

Highlights – Infrastructure Water/Sewer • Sewer is the limiting factor • Operating at 45-50% capacity • Gerlach could nearly double in size before major improvements are needed Natural Gas • Empty line is available going into Empire • Economically unfeasible unless a very large user were to commit • Not a viable option in the near-term

Highlights – Infrastructure Electricity • History of outages and insufficient capacity • Bottleneck is the 7.2kV line that services Gerlach out of the Empire substation • Aging power poles • Severely undersized – 25kV is the typical residential transmission voltage

Highlights – Infrastructure Electricity – Possible Solutions • Replace power poles • 5 miles of line between substation and Gerlach – additional 3-4 miles of line within Gerlach • Estimated cost of $8,000 to $10,000 per pole • Total cost estimated at $1.2 to $1.8 M • Service would still be undersized at 7.2kV • Upgrade transmission service to 25kV • NV Energy unable to provide detailed estimate, but would be a “multi-million dollar project”

Highlights – Infrastructure Electricity – Possible Solutions • Micro-grid/Solar Solution • Construct a dedicated solar field that can power Gerlach • 1.5 MW solar field would require 4-6 acres of land • Would cost approximately $2-2.5M to construct • Hybrid option • Upgrade power poles as necessary to increase reliability of the grid • Construct a solar field that can handle the majority of the demand, including peak summer usage during Burning Man ramp-up

Highlights – Infrastructure Electricity – Possible Solutions • Solar Field Considerations • Cost estimates do not include storage solutions • Would still be partially reliant upon the NV Energy grid unless storage is built • Storage could be centrally located, or distributed amongst households • Excess power could be sold back to NV Energy • Creates partnership opportunities with Burning Man if storage can be transported to the playa

Highlights – Infrastructure Solar/Microgrid - Funding • USDA grants/loans • Bonding capacity from the County and/or GGID

Highlights – Infrastructure Worst-Case Scenario – 100% covered by bond Investment $ 2,000,000 $ 2,500,000 $ 3,000,000 Term 25 25 25 Interest Rate 4% 4% 4% Annual Payment ($128,024) ($160,030) ($192,036) Per Structure ($1,049) ($1,312) ($1,574) Per Month ($87) ($109) ($131)

Highlights – Infrastructure Broadband • Ideal solution will cost ~$600,000 plus significant monthly costs (~$10,000/month) that will be passed along to consumers • Additional bandwidth is reportedly available by the local ISPs, but the pricing is prohibitive for many residents • Too many residents are relying upon free Burning Man offering, which becomes congested and unreliable during peak periods • Good connectivity is available, but it comes at a price – Empire Mine

Economic Development Projects Key goals - increased opportunities for • Employment • Income • Other economic growth

Business A Which Employs Individuals E and F Employs Who Spend Money Individuals B and C at... Who Spend Money at Business D How do you inject more fuel into the engine?

Business A Which Employs Individuals E and F Employs Who Spend Money Individuals B and C at... Who Spend Money at Business D External Purchases How do you inject more fuel into the engine?

Transfers (retirement income) Business A Which Employs Individuals E and F Employs Who Spend Money Individuals B and C at... Who Spend Money at Business D External Purchases How do you inject more fuel into the engine?

Transfers (retirement income) Business A Tourists Which Employs Individuals E and F Employs Who Spend Money Individuals B and C at... Who Spend Money at Business D External Purchases How do you inject more fuel into the engine?

Transfers (retirement income) Business A Tourists Which Employs Individuals E and F Employs Who Spend Money Individuals B and C Export at... Businesses Who Spend Money at Business D External Purchases How do you inject more fuel into the engine?

Catalytic Projects Key market observations: • Local population is currently too small to support additional businesses, unless those businesses are export- oriented • Workforce is too small to warrant a recruiting effort • Any new initiative will need to be ”home-grown” • There are many talented individuals that have marketable skills

Entrepreneur Center and Incubator: Top Priority Project • Programming to help foster export-oriented businesses • Utilize the skills and talents of local residents, and prospective residents • ”Artisan Entrepreneurs” • Should include location-neutral coworking space for remote working