Barbee gives "State of the County" presentation

by Rachel Dahl--  Jim Barbee, Churchill County manager, gave a report recently to the Churchill Economic Development Authority Business Council. He began with data about the community saying that the county has a population of 25,000 with 8,600 of those living in the City of Fallon boundaries proper. According to Barbee the median age is 39, more than 18,000 people are 18 years or older being of workforce age, and 5% are veterans. The median household income is $46,000, with per capita income being $41,000, and the unemployment rate is 3.8%. Projected growth data from the Governor’s Office on Economic Development from now until 2035 is just over 12%, which Barbee says is good news. He thinks it may be even more than that depending on how the economy moves into the future. Projected growth data from the Governor’s Office on Economic Development from now until 2035 is just over 12%, which Barbee says is good news. He thinks it may be even more than that depending on how the economy moves into the future. The major industries in Churchill County are agriculture, the navy, and geothermal production. In recapping some of the major accomplishments of the past year, Barbee said the county has recouped most of the funds that were expended during the 2017 flood. “You wouldn’t think it would take that long to bring those monies back from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), but it has taken that long and we are right on the cusp of finalizing that,” he said. “One of the last tasks in that project is we are finally at the point of re-opening Wild Goose Bridge.” He said there were several people in the community who were impacted by the bridge, losing connectivity into town. The project began roughly two weeks ago, and Barbee said that this last project, “kind of puts the period on the end of the mitigation of the projects we’ve been working with FEMA.” He also talked about the project the county is working on to “partner with the City of Fallon on their outstanding project with the youth center.” Additionally the county worked to restore the Payment in Lieu of Taxes and worked with CC Comm prior to the 2019 legislative session there was a bill change that limited the amount of resources the county could “pull from that enterprise company that the county owns and we were able to reverse that,” he said. “We also had the opportunity for Anne (Anne McMillin, Public Information Officer) to work with leadership of the county to reestablish our website and modernized that and bring it up to refresh it and engage in more activities we can do and reach out and work with the community,” said Barbee. Another focus for the county has been the issue of affordable housing and how the county can address the high cost for rentals in the community. “Part of that is looking at the property that we purchased that has potential to create some of that affordable housing,” said Barbee. The property is a roughly 30-acre parcel located off of Coleman Road near the Onde Verde subdivision. “We are looking at opportunities there to partner with private non-profit groups and developers that work specifically on creating affordable housing, multi-family opportunities,” he said. “We also see great opportunity for expansion of our infrastructure through that property as well, both on the water and wastewater, but also on our transportation capacity.” Barbee said the county has been looking for grants for several of these projects. “In fact, Marie (Henson, building inspector) told me this morning that we were just awarded $100,000 to do the preliminary engineering on the redundant well.” The well will support existing water supplies. He said the county staff has done a great job at looking for and finding resources to offset the costs to the county overall. In terms of economic development projects that the county has been involved in, Barbee discussed CHIP, the Churchill Hazen Industrial Park, that would be located just south of the Hazen townsite. The first phase of that project is 2,300 acres and Barbee said the county is working with the developer to identify how “we can get infrastructure into that area utilizing possibly resources the county has already purchased.” The county is looking at federal grants “to make that happen while also looking at the science component and making sure the hydrology is there,” he said. “There is a unique opportunity at that location because of the rail potential.” Barbee also reported that the county has been working closely with the U.S. Navy on their expansion/modernization plan and expect the final Environmental Impact Statement will be released shortly. “We have been working with the navy trying to find the best path both for them and the community, to be able to support their mission as the community always has and always will.” As part of that effort  the county has been pursuing a lands bill which would look to offset some of the economic development impacts of the expansion of the naval footprint by looking at some of the checkerboard lands that exist in the areas the county has focused on for development. “In those checkerboards to the northwest be able to have federal lands provided as an opportunity for the county to turn into economic development opportunities as we see development moving from Reno into Fernley and more toward us.” Barbee said to expect commissioners to travel to Washington D.C. over the next few months as that work continues. Additionally, the master plan update is underway, and Barbee asked that members of the community engage with the planning commission throughout that process. Upcoming workshops for the masterplan are scheduled for February 25, March 24, and April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the county administration building 155 N. Taylor Street.       Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page. If you enjoy The Fallon Post, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and make a contribution today.  Your contribution makes possible this online news source for all things Fallon.