Last week, Governor Brian Sandoval revealed an aggressive new plan for economic development in the State of Nevada. The plan sets a high goal of bringing no less than 50,000 new jobs to the State by the end of 2014. To accomplish that goal, the plan focuses on a number of business sectors which had been especially identified as opportunity areas for Nevada. In addition to the old standbys of gaming and mining, the list also included sectors like alternative energy, defense-related enterprise, business IT and several others. Sandoval’s plan provides assistance for the expansion of existing businesses and incentives for enticing new business to the state. Perhaps most importantly, the plan aims to increase opportunity through improvement in education and workforce development.

Given the State’s current period of extended economic darkness, the Governor’s plan holds out the hope of shining the bright rays of growth back on the Silver State. But there is just one problem. While the governor’s plan is intended to usher in a renaissance of economic growth by reduce state regulation on private enterprise, our own Clark County government is still firmly stuck back in the dark ages of red tape and restriction. And there just doesn’t seem to be much of a will to change that any time soon.

Just ask any Moapa Valley business owner: What is the largest hurdle to strong economic growth in Moapa Valley? You can bet that ‘Clark County government’ will be on the short list of every response. Over the years, Clark County has shown a unique ability to draw out and mire down the most sure-fire economic opportunities for this small community in reams of urban-oriented red tape. And this tendency has not, in the least bit, been tempered by this extended regional economic downturn. Despite all the lip service about “unique rural standards” business is still dealt with in an adversarial, one-size-fits-all way. And, for new business enterprise, that is always the County’s way or the highway.

All this does not exactly encourage businesses to locate here in Moapa Valley. Far from it! When it takes more than 13 months, and who knows how much money, for a relatively small developer to obtain the permits to construct a modest commercial building in downtown Overton (the first one built in decades, by the way); that might just be viewed as a signal to the whole wide world that ours is NOT a business-friendly local government.

Of course, that is only the most recent example. Fortunately, permits have only recently been issued for the Family Dollar Store to begin construction at last. Thank heavens for the tenacity of the developer in that case. Few developers would have held out for so long.

But, rest assured, there has been a line of similar developers that have proposed economic opportunities to this community that were just as bright. In the end, though, they were discouraged by the labyrinthine operations of the County government. Most of these, after starting brightly down the path, have turned tail and fled away from this community with what little they had left. Who knows how many were attracted by the community but, after taking a look at Clark County, decided not even to start down the path? What a shame that is for the Moapa Valley and its struggling economy!

The bottom line is, we need jobs here in this communty. The Moapa Valley is shrivelling away. Good families have been moving out in droves, not because it is bad place to live, but because there are no jobs here and people just can’t afford to make the commute anymore. We need jobs for this community to ever recover from its current economic funk!

The Governor is positioning the State of Nevada to create jobs. The greater Moapa Valley area could benefit greatly from this. Our community has the ample technological infrastructure, and the open public land, that it would take to accomodate things like large business call centers, customer service back office facilities, e-commerce sites and corporate data centers. In addition, with our proximity to I-15 and the railroad, we could easily accomodate corporations that would locate warehouse and distribution facilities, freight transport centers or light manufacturing plants here. These facilities, if attracted to our community, would offer real jobs and the good people with which to fill them. It could breathe life and growth back into our struggling local economy.

Yes, the future could be bright. The Governor’s plan is a proposal to open the doors wide to entice just these kinds of opportunities to the state. But, if nothing changes locally, the County will slam the doors to prosperity in Moapa Valley shut again.

Face it! When a corporate developer sees that a little Family Dollar store in Overton was treated to every bit as much red tape as if they were building the MGM Grand Hotel, what earthly reason would he have to give Moapa Valley a second look? With no small-town incentives to offer and no true local negotiating power, a corporate developer might as well locate elsewhere. And that is just what they will do.

In a speech last week, Sandoval acknowledged the economic challenges that lay ahead. But he emphatically stated that the future for Nevada is bright. Unfortunately, it is hard to imagine that Moapa Valley will be feeling the warmth of that economic sunrise anytime soon. Until the dark clouds of Clark County’s onerous regulation and endless red tape is lifted we will be stuck in an economic equivalent to the Dark Ages. Unfortunately, the Governor’s state-wide plan offers no remedies for that.