Strategic Plan to Address Growth in Southern Nevada

3. Conclusion/Call to Action

We, who live in Southern Nevada, are very fortunate to live in a place that offers so many opportunities. Yet, as Southern Nevada’s metropolitan area continues to grow, we face a number of serious challenges to continue to make this a place where people want to live. It costs a great deal of money to build and maintain a dynamic, healthy, and diverse region. Our financial resources must be managed efficiently and effectively. We need a regional perspective to avoid duplication and to wisely invest of public dollars. Despite the many things that need to be done, a clear message that emerges from this Strategic Plan is that much has been or is being done right. The Authority congratulates all those community leaders that have done so much to make Southern Nevada the place that it is.

The community leaders who participated in the Authority’s work can point to some significant benefits which came out of their planning process. Over the past 18 months, there have been many opportunities for the Authority members, through a variety of forums, to squarely face the issues of growth and development in Southern Nevada. Never before, to thebest of our knowledge, have these issues been addressed more thoroughly and comprehensively. All of the issues required to be addressed by SB383 have been reviewed and considered. Decisions have been made. Action has been taken. The assignment was completed fully, and within prescribed deadlines. And, throughout this process, many important lessons were learned:

• No challenge outlined in SB383 was insurmountable.
• Strategic, regional approaches to planning and financing public needs offer the best chance for success.
• All local jurisdictions can effectively work together to address critical needs, without compromising the unique character of their respective communities.
• People from different backgrounds, with various points of view,can come together to address common problems through collaboration and consensus.
• Advice from all community interests is critical to the success of any regional strategic efforts.
• Southern Nevadans are very interested in the issues of growth, and have a lot to say about how to solve the challenges we face.
• Little support exists for maintaining the status quo, with widespread support for immediate, meaningful action.

This plan discusses additional solid recommendations for action in the categories of Private Sector responsibility, Public/Private
partnerships, and Volunteers. The strategies in these three categories focus on maximizing the effectiveness of the governance, financial and legislative strategies. Clearly, the ability to rely on public/private partnership opportunities, meaningful private sector contributions of resources, and the use of volunteers will reduce the demand for taxpayer support of financing growth and development. Many of these strategies are certainly closely linked, and may even share implementation steps.

Understanding that key community issues and responsibility for successfully solving community challenges is not the job of any one group, entity or individual is critical to the effective implementation of this Strategic Plan for Addressing Growth in Southern Nevada. Everyone must be committed to achieving the community’s vision. Local government and private sector leadership must work together to develop a realistic, yet ambitious, plan of action. Individual community members, civic groups, private foundations, and volunteer groups must take responsibility for doing their part. The path to the future lies in this sense of commitment and responsibility. The very quality of our lives, in fact our prosperity as a region, depends on it.