Economic officials seek participants for online survey

Northern Nevadans can deliver a strong message to economic officials and politicians through a five-minute survey conducted by a top national research firm.

Residents can indicate their choices of Nevada's top assets and its biggest challenges in an economic survey meant to determine the future of the state's economic viability, said economic officials.

Ron Weisinger, executive director of the Northern Nevada Development Authority, said the local steering committee for the project would like to collect survey responses from 1 percent of the population in each of the seven Northern Nevada counties included in the study. That means 5,500 people in Carson City would have to take the survey, which was launched two weeks ago.

So far, 57 people have taken the survey, according to AngelouEconomics. The Austin, Texas-based firm is conducting the project.

Over an eight-month period, AngelouEconomics will lead focus groups in each county with business executives, city and county staff, elected officials, industry leaders and residents to determine the marketable assets of the region and each county.

"The purpose of the survey is to get opinions, to hear what people think they want concerning economics in the next 15-25 years," Weisinger said.

The $150,000 project is organized into three reports. The first report includes an economic analysis and demographic profile of the region and workforce assessment. The first economic assessment report will be released to the public the week of March 20.

Weisinger said the steering committee, which includes about 75 business owners and local leaders, has pointed the research firm toward several key issues, such as: water availability, recruiting a young workforce and housing costs.

Rick DeMar, chief executive officer of Builders Association of Western Nevada, said the dreams of the current residents may clash with those who will move to Northern Nevada in the future.

"I think it will be good to look 20-25 years in the future, instead of just five," he said. "But I think it will be difficult to accomplish because people in the rurals that are filling out the survey are not the thousands of people that are going to move here."

-- Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

On the Net

Take the survey at www.northernNVision.org

For the region and seven rural counties, the study will:

• Define competitive strengths and assets

• Identify appropriate industry

• Identify region and county visions

• Give an action plan to follow to support economic growth and to make that vision a reality