Supervisors look to clear up Carson City's identity crisis

Could words and imagery about the V&T Railroad or other local attractions capture imaginations and benefit the city financially?

The Carson City Board of Supervisors wants to see someone give it a try. They've allowed the city's Redevelopment Authority to spend $32,500 - half the cost for a consultant - to help the Capital City establish a clearer identity to lure more tourists and investment.

"A train runs through it!" joked Supervisor Shelly Aldean.

Roger Brooks, Destination Development, would develop a "brand" for the city, along with a development and marketing action plan that could be adopted by businesses and be used in advertising and other marketing efforts to increase awareness about the city.

That amount is half of the $65,000 total that will be paid to Brooks for his work. The remainder would come from the Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau, if its board of directors approves the idea, said Candace Duncan, executive director of the bureau.

"We have a lot of the pieces, but we need someone to put it all together," she said.

Brooks has conducted research for the city related to its attractions, such as its historic structures and lively arts community, said Joe McCarthy, the city's redevelopment manager.

"Heritage tourists," he said. "They have the money in their pockets."

Duncan said she's partial to focusing on the future Virginia & Truckee Railway, an 18-mile tourist railroad being constructed to run from Gold Hill to Carson City. She's not alone in her enthusiasm for the project, but the struggle to get it built has been long and well chronicled.

"What if we build a brand for a non-existent railroad," Aldean asked.

"It better happen," replied Mayor Marv Teixeira, who is also a member of the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T. "It is what nobody else has, and nobody else has it."

The expected date of completion of the railroad is 2011, Teixeira said.

The brand and related marketing tools probably wouldn't be rolled out any time soon, possibly not until 2010. This likely would include promotional materials that businesses could display.

"We want to get the community to know about it, then be excited about it," she added.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.